PANdemonium and Odara Dance Ensemble

"Carnaval Under the Stars" is a dazzling spectacle of vibrant dance, engaging music, and beautiful costumes, featuring Frank Leto's band PANdemonium and the Odara Dance Ensemble, showcasing the Carnaval celebrations of Cuba, Trinidad, Brazil and New Orleans.

Frank Leto, musical director and leader of the band PANdemonium, with which he has recorded three world music CDs, is a multi-talented instrumentalist who plays Brazilian and Afro-Cuban percussion and Trinidadian steel drums. His love for rhythms has taken him to Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Cuba; while in Cuba, he studied soneros, tres, and batá, as reflected in his original compositions and performances.

Pilar Leto, founder and artistic director of the Odara Dance Ensemble, is a dancer, choreographer, and producer who has performed and taught Brazilian, Caribbean, and Afro-Cuban dance for over 25 years. She also studied in Cuba, with premier dancers of the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional and Raíces Profundas.

Other members of PANdemonium and the Odara Dance Ensemble also have extensive and impressive backgrounds in Latin percussion and dance.

Stay tuned to find out about a street procession that the group will participate in as part of "ArtWalk" and "FirstFridays"...!