Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo

For our evening entertainment, we decided to check out the native dances at the Center of Native Art. We had a little trouble finding it – I think the address is incorrect. It was just a few buildings down from the Qorikancha museum, on the other side of Av El Sol. When we arrived, there was a long line waiting to get in, mostly of students. The ticket takers noticed us as tourists, asked if we had the Cusco ticket and ushered us to the front of the line (This dance center is covered by the Cusco ticket).

We entered the basement and found seats in the quickly filling auditorium. A stage with a red curtain was in front of us. A small room in the back of the auditorium had examples of costumes worn by native dancers. The program began around 6:30 pm.

Each dance was introduced in Spanish and English and was performed to music played by a live band. The first three dances were couples’ dances and then a short intermission. Two more couples dances, a women’s dance and then it ended with a men’s dance. The last two dances were probably the best. The second to the last one was some sort of bird mating dance and was very sexual. The last one had men with whips and they danced together and then whipped their partner’s legs while the partner tried not to show any pain. The show was finished around 8 pm. It was a neat experience to see the native dances and native costumes.