Havana-based contemporary dance company Malpaso—whose name, jokingly, means “misstep” in Spanish—skillfully blend unfussy ballet, their native Afro-Cuban tradition, and intensely physical modern dance. (Photo provided)

LAKE PLACID – The Lake Placid Center for the Arts presents Malpaso Dance Company at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15.

Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door and are available online at www.lakeplacidarts.org or by calling the LPCA Box Office at 518-523-2512.

Malpaso Dance has a reputation for combining physical prowess, musicality, and emotion. The performance in Lake Placid will include pieces that explore the challenges of being human in an unpredictable world.

Malpaso also makes a point of championing new works by Cuban artists and will present several exciting works choreographed by members of the company.

The company’s thoughtful perspective is buoyed by the fact that they are also a joy to watch. As Helena Alonso Paisley of the Miami New Times acknowledged, “Surely, Malpaso, with its fluid, sexy athleticism, can put the lie to the old saw that contemporary dance is too cerebral to be fun to watch.”