According to information released by the National Ballet of Cuba (BNC), the 27th edition of the event will take place until November 13 and will be the starting point for the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the company’s founding, which will last until the end of November. 2023.

Presided over by the first dancer and director of the BNC, Viengsay Valdés, the meeting proposes a series of performances of the classic Giselle, with the performance of guest stars in the leading roles, as well as galas with premieres of works created especially for the occasion.

As detailed in the document, the agenda will take the National Theater of the largest of the Antilles as its main venue, while cultural institutions from the provinces of Matanzas, Cienfuegos and Pinar del Río will host other activities conceived in the festival calendar.

With more than 60 years of history, the biannual event is one of the most traditional and prestigious spaces in the world of dance, while extolling the legacy of prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso.

The last time the festival delighted the public on the island was in 2018 with representatives from twenty countries and returns to the scene four years later, as the event scheduled for 2020 suffered the impact of Covid-19 that put the industry on pause culture around the world.

(With information from Prensa Latina)

“This is my personal and professional tribute to one of country’s our eminent figures. I am sure it will be the first among the many he deserves,” the prima ballerina commented to Granma.

“I saw in Leal a devoted man, as were my teachers Alicia and Fernando Alonso, in my life,” stated Valdés in a message to the organizers of the prize, adding, “Leal was able to see, even in the most difficult times for our people, that ballet was upholding the solitary star (of the Cuban flag) on world stages and making a victory of the applause.”

Given the current health emergency the world is facing, the talented artist could not personally accept the distinction, thus Cuba’s ambassador in Italy, José Carlos Rodríguez, received the prize from the mayor of Positano, Michele De Lucía.

During the gala, the diplomat stated that the 48th Léonide Massine Positano Dance Prize also honors perseverance, having reserved a spot for this art form during such a difficult year. He commented that Viengsay Valdés represents a school of ballet created in Cuba, where great artists were nurtured, adding that no one can think of the Cuban people without thinking of dance in all its expressions.

Another segment of the event featured the screening of a clip from the video

ParAlicia, with performances by Valdés and Alicia Alonso, choreography by Tania Vergara, directed by Alejandro Pérez, and music by Frank Fernández, since the prize is also a tribute to the prima ballerina assoluta, a legend of world ballet (1920-2019) in the year of her centenary.

Viengsay Valdés concluded by stating, “I hope to continue working to extend the legacy of my idols and devote myself to the ideas of my teachers, so that Cuban ballet may continue crowing our nation and opening doors throughout the world.”

In addition to Cuba’s celebrated ballerina, another Cuban was recognized by the jury, Alejandro Virelles, the Staatsballet Berlin first dancer, as one of the best male dancers on the planet in 2020.

(Source: Granma)

Born On December 21, 1920, in Redención, a working class neighborhood in the municipality of Marianao – into a modest family established by Army veterinarian Antonio Martínez Arredondo and Ernestina del Hoyo y Lugo, a fine seamstress – this illustrious Cuban, in her early years, found in dance the calling that would guide her throughout her life.

Her stellar trajectory, which began in the Pro-Arte Musical Society of Havana’s Ballet School in 1931, was forced to take a new direction when she was obliged to travel abroad due to the low level, prejudices and elitism faced by ballet at the time in Cuba. Tracing her professional career is a mammoth task; including musical comedies in Broadway, the Ballet Caravan, the Ballet Theatre of New York, the Washington Ballet, and the Russian Ballet of Montecarlo, triumphing as a guest star in the most important companies, festivals and galas of this artistic genre worldwide. Her exceptional status as prima ballerina assoluta did not come from a capricious, unjustified reputation, but from her mastery of a vast repertoire of 134 works that ranged from the great ballets of the romantic and classical tradition, to creations of contemporary choreographers.

On November 28, 1995, in the Masini Theater in the Italian city of Faenza, she ended her career as a performer, having already established a record that would be hard to match, not only for the length of time she danced, but also for the excellence of her performances.

The greatness of Alonso, for her people, lies not only in her representing us successfully in 65 countries, receiving standing ovations, too many to count, from Helsinki to Buenos Aires, from New York to Tokyo and Melbourne, but in placing all her honors at the service of her homeland, among them 266 international awards and prizes, 225 national awards, and the 69 chorographical creations – romantic, classical and contemporary – she created, seeing the fruits of her work as her modest contribution not only to Cuban culture, but to world dance.

Over 50 years ago, upon her return to Cuba bearing foreign honors, she said without hesitation, “All my hopes and dreams consist not of going abroad to represent any other country, but my own national flag and my own art. My desire is that there is no one left who does not shout: Bravo for Cuba! when I dance. If I can’t do that, sadness would be the reward to my efforts.”

This patriotic position led to the foundation, together with Fernando and Alberto Alonso, on October 28, 1948 of the now Ballet Nacional de Cuba (BNC), and in 1950, of the Ballet Academy, with her name, where she had the historical task of training the first generation of dancers under the technical, aesthetic, and ethical values of the now worldwide renowned Cuban School of Ballet. For 71 years, particularly after the triumph of the Revolution, with great determination she was able to place the BNC among the most prestigious companies in the world, set guidelines for a training system that has now spread throughout the country and is a guarantee for Cuban ballet, while promoting a movement of international cooperation that Cuba has taken to almost fifty countries in America, Europe, Asia and Africa. She is Alicia, the guide and mentor, whose unifying gift made possible in 26 International Ballet Festivals, to bring together the most celebrated personalities of the dance in a celebration of art and friendship. And it is also the Alicia we have seen give her best as a teacher, either on the most prestigious stages or the most rustic platforms, in public squares, factories, military units, knowing that reaching the people, wherever they are, was always a way upward and never downward.

Those who had the privilege to be by her side, know the extraordinary human being she was, whose courage and firm discipline was never defeated by physical ailments, ups and downs, or misunderstandings.

She was our Alicia, the one who despite her cosmopolitanism, always longed to hear the roosters crow, enjoy the salty air of Havana’s Malecón, contemplate the mariposa and coralillo as the most exquisite flowers, or be fascinated with scientific advances and the mysteries of the universe. “A tenacious, frantic, heroic impulse – shot against illness and time – made perfection relentless,” as Juan Marinello once described her.

(Granma)

Born on December 21, 1920, to veterinarian and Lieutenant Antonio Martínez Arredondo and dressmaker Ernestina del Hoyo, in Pogolotti’s modest Marianao neighborhood, she made her stage debut as a dancer in the ballet school of the Sociedad Pro-Arte Musical of Havana, on December 29, 1931. Hence began a career on her toes that set a record, coming to an end 64 years later, on November 28, 1995, at the Masini Theater in Faenza, Italy, dancing the role of the volatile Farfalla in Le papillon.

Her rise to stardom knew no parallel, as she represented Cuba in 61 countries across the five continents, proving to be a dazzling figure from the early days of the Broadway musical comedies, to later groups with which she performed regularly, such as the American Ballet Caravan, the Ballet Theatre of New York, the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo, and the Washington Ballet, and many others around the world where she appeared as a guest star.

Her technical strength, “which was 20 years ahead of the standards of the time,” as well as her stylistic adaptability, led her to perform an amazing repertoire of 134 titles, 82 of them worldwide, the result of the work of the most important choreographers of the romantic-classical tradition of the 19th century, such as Jean Dauberval, Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, and of 62 of the most important figures of the 20th century, among them Mikhail Fokine, Eugene Loríng, Anton Dolin, George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Agnes de Mille, Jerome Robbins, Alberto Alonso, and Alberto Méndez, to mention just a few of the most relevant.

“Everything I’ve danced I’ve enjoyed a lot, it’s been very important to me, but Giselle has a special place in my life as a dancer and as a human being. It was a big challenge after a long and tough break. But I overcame it. A dancer, if a real artist, must be willing to give their all or to die on stage,” she once said.

As UNESCO Goodwill and World Dance Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba, her artistic and cultural work has been recognized with the highest distinctions both in her homeland and the rest of the world, as demonstrated by the 222 national awards and 264 international awards received from 37 nations.

Tireless in her long career, she continues to be, as Juan Marinello well defined: “A tenacious, frantic, heroic force, discharged against disease and against time, toward tireless perfection.”

Ballet dancer, choreographer, director, representative and defender of the culture of her homeland, today she defies the challenges of time, with a clear mind, determined not to be overcome. A few days ago, as a Board of Directors meeting in the National Ballet of Cuba concluded, an institution that she has led with a firm hand for 69 years, she lifted her glass for a toast to some close collaborators and asked us: “What is it to be old?”

With that sentence she summarized the vital key to her life and offered her most faithful definition.

(Granma)

BNC ballerinas have the challenge and example of a magical name in the history of ballet: Alicia Alonso. Basing themselves on their sublime director’s extraordinary performances, a school in and of itself, they must aspire to create their own Giselles, Carmens, Odette-Odilles.

Followers of the company and our readers know that that Alicia Alonso has accomplished the goal of making ballet enchanting to a broad, popular audience in Cuba, and keeping alive Giselle, a romantic ballet par excellence, in the version she herself developed. It has been, and clearly is, danced by all of the company’s leading figures.

The company has already offered a series of performances of Giselle, which along with Swan Lake, is the most beloved and demanded by the public and by dancers, since it is considered a sign of having arrived at the summit. The BNC can be proud today of having no less than four prima ballerinas for the performances: Sadaise Arencibia, Anette Delgado, Gretel Morejón, and Viengsay Valdés.

Let us recall that the first staging of Giselle took place in 1841, with a script by Teofile Gautier, and libretto by Vernoy de Saint-George, based on the German legend of the willis, described by Heinrich Heine in his book on popular traditions. The music is by Adolfo Adam, and the choreography by Jules Perrot for his wife, the exceptional Carlota Grissi.

A masterpiece of Romanticism, with its legend and touch of mystery, Giselle casts a spell on the audience and the dancers that even the passage of time cannot diminish. Impressive technique is not enough to bring the role to life; its fundamental characteristics require extraordinary acting and style.

Both qualities were exhibited masterfully in the performance by prima ballerina Viengsay Valdés on February 19. This comes as no surprise, since she has been described by the most prestigious critics as among the world’s four best contemporary dancers, but she must be seen on the stage… the harmony of her dancing, precise technique, charismatic lyricism, elegant style, astonishing arabesques, sense of interpretation, and interminable balancés (Washington Post critic Sarah Kaufman wrote that time stops when Viengsay performs this step.

But she has something more. In this era of male and female dancers with impeccable technique, it is the passion Viengsay puts into her dancing that captivates audiences in Havana, of course, but also Paris, Madrid, London, Tokyo, Washington, Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, and throughout the world.

The BNC can be proud today of having no less than four prima ballerinas for the performances: Sadaise Arencibia, Anette Delgado, Gretel Morejón, and Viengsay Valdés. Photo: Courtesy of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba
She was Giselle on the stage in Havana’s Alicia Alonso Grand Theater and gave a performance that was unforgettable, elegant, and imposing in its precision.

Viengsay moved from the innocence of the farm girl (with the famous diagonal taking the audience’s breath away), then to a broken heart and contained madness, and magically to the emotional resolution of the second act, in which she was impeccable, subtle, “as fragile as a glass about to break,” as cinematographer Enrique Pineda Barnet would say, after the performance.

It must be added that the corps de ballet was sensational, and soloist Revé, making his debut as Albretch, was an attentive partner, although in need of more rehearsal.

As she left for another of the innumerable galas to which she is invited, before leaving on tour with the BNC to El Salvador (March 31- April 1) and Costa Rica ( March 25-26), the prima ballerina was kind enough to offer a few comments to our readers:

“For me, Giselle has always been a challenge, as one of the great classics that are required for a prima ballerina. It’s not just the simple fact of debuting in the role, but rather gaining experience each time it is danced. I have directly drawn on the great masters, from Alicia herself, Fernando Alonso and Josefina Mendéz – who got me started in this role, and elaborated many artistic details for me. On this occasion I had the opportunity to rehearse with maitre Aurora Bosch and a special complement was the help and collaboration of maestro Enrique Pineda Barnet in terms of the acting, which was an important factor for the young Patricio Revé in the role of Albrecht.”

Asked if the orchestra was perhaps a little slow during the February 19 performance, the dancer responded, “I must acknowledge that yes, the musical rhythm was slow, especially in my variations, but resorting to technique, control, and the very pull of the character, I was able to come out fine.”

Viengsay announced that the company will take Giselle on tour to Spain and France, this coming May and June, adding, “Dancing Giselle in Paris is, of course, very significant, precisely because that is where the National Ballet of Cuba was awarded the Grand Prix de la Ville in 1966 during the Dance Festival, for this ballet and our version has been much praised and well-received.”

Commenting on her upcoming gala performance with U.S. dancer Brooklyn Mack, she said, “I have been invited as a special artist to observe performances and classes for students participating in the Youth America Grand Prix Regional Gala Semi-Final, in Salt Lake City, and will have the opportunity to share my experiences as a professional ballet dancer with the young participants. It will also be a great pleasure to again dance with the U.S. principal danseur, Brooklyn Mack, in the pas de deux Diana and Acteón, which we debuted in the 24th Havana Ballet Festival and was requested by the organizers of the event. Previously, I had been invited to the galas held in New York in 2011 and 2013.”

Giselle is a work of art and continues to move audiences enormously. First ballerina Viengsay Valdés, with her technique, art, and charisma has joined the distinguished group of stars who have kept this majestic piece of romanticism alive.

OF STEEL AND CLOUDS
Viengsay Valdés is a dancer who has assumed leading roles in all of the ballets performed by the BNC, which has an enviable, diverse repertory of classic romantic works, and vanguard choreographies, which provides its prima ballerinas a wealth of opportunities.

Born November 10, 1976, she began her ballet studies in 1986 at Havana’s Alejo Carpentier Provincial School, and continued at the National School with outstanding teachers, among them Ramona de Saá, Adria Velázquez and Mirtha Hermida. In 1994, she graduated with Honors. The legendary prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso soon noted the innate talent of the 17-year-old Viensgay, and invited her to join the BNC.

She advanced quickly to principal dancer and in 2011 to prima ballerina, dancing in the most important theaters of Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the United States. She has been a guest star invited by some of the world’s most prestigious companies, including the Mariinski Theater Ballet in St. Petersburg; the Bolshoi, in Moscow; the Royal Danish Ballet; and the Royal Ballet of London.

She has had spectacular seasons with Giselle, Don Quixote, an unforgettable Kitri, … balancés, pirouttes, fouttes, in London’s Sadler’s Wells Theater; with Cuban star Carlos Acosta in the Paris Grand Palais; as a guest artist at the Mariinsky, with Russian Leonid Sarafanov; and with the Washington Ballet in the Kennedy Center for a new version of Don Quixote choreographed by Anna-Marie Holmes.

Her long list of gala performances include, for example, Les Étoiles du XXIe Siècle in Paris, and among the festivals in which she has participated are those in Beijing, Japan, Laos, New York, Washington, Mexico, Turkey, Buenos Aires, Australia, and South Africa.

This past month, presented at the 2017 International Book Fair in Havana, was her biography written by Carlos Tablada, aptly entitled De acero y nube (Of steel and clouds.)

(Granma)

This year, from October 28-November 6, various functions will once again be led by some of the National Ballet of Cuba’s top dancers, performing alongside numerous guests in the concert programs or classic works chosen for the occasion: Swan Lake and Don Quixote.

Sixteen countries will be represented among dancers and companies invited to participate, including: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, South Korea, France, Britain, Spain, the United States, Mexico, Mongolia, Puerto Rico, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Russia and Uruguay.

Three of the capital’s theaters, the Mella, Alicia Alonso Grand Theatre and its García Lorca Hall, and the National in its Covarrubias and Avellaneda halls, will host the 24 functions where ballet lovers will have an exceptional opportunity to enjoy this glorious art.

INVITEES

Seven U.S. companies will be participating in this year’s festival, some with their entire troupe, others represented by a few of their stars.
Returning to Havana will be the Martha Graham Dance Company, which debuted in the Cuban capital in December of 1941, in the Auditorium Theater (today the Amadeo Roldán). Considered to be one of the most prestigious modern dance companies in the world, the organization was founded in 1929 by renowned U.S. ballerina and choreographer Martha Graham. During the festival the company will present a program featuring pieces such asDark Meadow, Errand into the Maze, Woodland, Lamentation Variations, and Diversion of Angels.

Meanwhile, Dance Americana, created by the prestigious U.S. dancer and choreographer Justin Peck, and composed of figures from the New York City Balletand Miami City Ballet, will present works by the director himself, among them, In creases,Furiant, Lord duet,and Rodeo: four dance episodes.

Furiant, for example will be performed by Ashley Bouder and Joaquín de Luz, lead dancer at the New York City Ballet, who previously performed in Havana during the 2014 edition of the Festival.

Also returning is Brooklyn Mack, lead dancer at the Washington Ballet; dubbed one of the top 25 dancers in the world by U.S. publication Dance Magazine in 2012. In 2014, he performed Don Quixote alongside the BNC’s lead dancer Viengsay Valdés, coming together again this year for the pas de deux from Le Corsaire.

Stellar Russian dancer, Maria Kochetkova, returns to Havana, this time representing the American Ballet Theater and San Francisco Ballet. Kochetkova participated in the Ballet Royalty Gala held this past August in the Cuban capital. During the festival she is set to dance Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, together with Joaquín de Luz.

The Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida, under the direction of Russian maestro Vladimir Issaev, will be performing for the first time on the island. Traveling with the company will be lead dancer Mary Carmen Catoya of Venezuela. Considered to be one of the most important figures on the Latin American dance scene, Catoya will perform Eros Game, a new version of Suite generic, by its creator, Cuban choreographer Alberto Méndez.

During a press conference regarding the festival program held at the Hotel Cohiba, Pedro Simón, director of the Museum of Dance, announced that Issaev has created a solo for Catoya, as a tribute to Alicia Alonso, which will be premiered during the event.

Also returning this year is the highly respected New York based Ballet Hispánico, directed by Eduardo Vilaro, bringing with it, among other works, Línea recta, by Anabelle López-Ochoa, while the Ballet West Company is set to debut with pieces such as Presto.

Also arriving from the North will be Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, founded in Montreal in 1957, with a program featuring the Cuban premiere of Black Milk.

From the southern tip of the Americas the Buenos Aires Ballet, featuring outstanding figures from the ColónTheater’s in-house Ballet, and the National Ballet of Uruguay (SODRE), with its director, the stellar dancer Julio Bocca, will perform under the direction of the company’s prestigious dancer Federico Fernández.

Traveling to Cuba from the Caribbean will be the National Theater Ballet of Puerto Rico’s Laura Valentín, bringing with her Piazzola en concierto, set to debut on the island alongside Cuba’s Patricio Revé.

Companies participating for the first time include South Korea’s Universal Ballet Company, based in Seúl and composed of dancers from over a dozen countries. As reported, its artistic leitmotiv is a mix of Korean traditions with the best styles of western ballet. For the 25th edition of the festival they have selected a program featuring the pas de deux Claro de Luna,“a legend from the far east” from the ballet Shin Chung and the pas de deux from Don Quixote.

Asia is set to surprise once again with Dugaraa Altankhuyag, lead dancer from the National Ballet of Mongolia and based in the U.S., who will perform from Le Corsaire(pas de deux), alongside the BNC’s Ginett Moncho.

Much anticipated is the arrival of Aurelie Dupont, one of the finest exponents of the French school of ballet. In 1998, following the success of her role as Kitri in Rudolf Nureyev’s version of Don Quixote for the Paris Opera Ballet, Dupont was promoted to Star Dancer, the highest position in the company, and a title which she maintains to date. This same year she was also named director of the dance group.

Her presence in the festival, as director and star dancer, accompanied by Hervé Moreau, also one of the Paris Opera Ballet’s top figures, is indicative of their respect for the sublime Alonso and recognition of the importance of the event.

Everything suggests that the participation of Michaela de Prince, born in Sierra Leone but residing in the United States, will be a landmark event.
She is currently lead soloist at the Dutch National Ballet, where in 2015 she offered a highly successful performance as the protagonist of The Nut Cracker. De Prince will dance The Flames of Paris with BNC soloist Francois Llorente.

The public will also be reunited with stars from the BNC, currently members of European companies, such as Joel Carreño, with the Norwegian National Ballet, who will perform Don Quixote alongside Russia’s María Kochetkova; as well as Javier Torres, at the UK’s Northern Ballet. Torres will dance the solo The Dying Swan and the Cuban premiere of Wuthering Heights,together with Uruguay’s Lucia Solari.

This year’s program could not fail to include Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet, represented on this occasion by lead dancer Semyon Chudin, who performed in Havana this past August during the Ballet Royalty Gala. During the festival he will accompany the BNC’s Sadaise Arencibia in a performance of Sleeping Beauty.
Meanwhile, the Irene Rodríguez Spanish Dance Company has once again been invited to this international event. In 2012, Irene arrived with impeccable credentials: the staging of her work El crimen fue en Granada, first prize winner of the 8th Alicia Alonso Ibero-American Choreography Contest; and in 2014 Aldabal, a seguiriya – one of the oldest flamenco styles. This year she has prepared a program featuring pieces such as El último gaitero de La Habana, Soleraand Secreto (Zapateado).

Organizers announced four premieres created especially for the Festival: Cygne, by Daniel Proietto; Oscurio (which this publication reported on last May), by Annabelle López-Ochoa, Ely Regina’s Invierno, and a fragment of El salto de Nijinski, by María Rovira.

The festival will also be full of works by choreographer Alicia Alonso, including En las sombras de un vals, and her versions of great classics such as Giselle, one of the purest gems of romantic ballet; Coppélia; “suite” from Sleeping Beauty; La fille mal gardée; Swan Lake; Les Sylphides; Don Quixote;and Dido Abandoned.

The function dedicated to Giselle is scheduled for November 2, in the García Lorca Hall, in honor of Alonso’s 1943 debut in this role which forms part of her legendary career, the 175th anniversary of the work’s premiere in Paris, and 205 years since the birth of its French librettist, Théophile Gautier.

During the press conference, the eminent Alicia Alonso, in subtle reference to the number of festivals, stated that she felt “odd, because time passes, but I feel like I’m just starting to live.”

Every festival organized by the prima ballerina assoluta is a celebration for the dance world and for thousands of ballet lovers in Cuba; always offering something new.

(Granma)

With winged guardians topping its four corners, and located between the streets San Rafael, San José, Consulado and Prado, the theatre re-opened its doors this January 1, 2016 after undergoing three years of intense restoration works.

The National Ballet of Cuba’s traditional New Year’s gala commemorating the triumph of the Revolution, organized by its director, prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso, was the ideal moment for such an occasion.

Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers presided the re-opening of the grand building, accompanied by the eminent Alonso.

Before the function began, Minister of Culture, Julián González, recalled Alicia’s illustrious career as a ballerina and choreographer, describing her as “one of the most important women in Cuban history,” and noting that after finding success in the United States she returned to the island and helped to found the Cuban School of Ballet, today a global reference of classical dance.

After the show, on the very same stage she had performed for decades, the 95 year old Alicia received a heartfelt ovation from the audience and her own company. She is “a celebration of Cuba” the poet Eliseo Diego once wrote.

One of the most important changes to the theater has been the expansion of García Lorca Hall’s entrance space, where a statue by sculptor José Villa Soberón of Alicia Alonso will be unveiled at a later date.

A HISTORIC THEATER

The fact that the Grand Theater of Havana bears the nameAlicia Alonso is a thing of careful consideration – their glorious pasts intertwined; the impressive auditorium offering its spaces to renowned artists, the assoluta gifting audiences with her unforgettable dance.

The history of the theater on Prado Street begins in 1836 when Miguel Tacón was appointed captain general of Cuba and made a royal request to build the play house, which was approved two years later.

Miguel Tacón then received financial support from businessman Francisco Marty, who hired architect Gerónimo de León to design the building, officially inaugurated on April 15, 1838 with a performance of Don Juan de Austria by Gregorio Ducló’s Spanish Theatrical Company.

In her book Viaje a La Habana, María de las Mercedes Beltrán Santa Cruz y Montalvo, better known as the Countess of Merlin, one of Cuba’s earliest female authors, described the Tacón theater as “rich and elegant at the same time[…] The main curtain and decorative adornments offer a stunning view […] the patio is occupied by magnificent chairs, as in the boxes, where a slim rail runs along the front part, and doesn’t obscure the audience’s view […] only the finest theaters of the large European capitals can equal that of Havana in their decorative beauty, exquisite lighting and the elegance of spectators…”

Such was the grandeur of the theater at the time that it was referenced in several popular sayings: “The three things people most admire in Havana: the Morro, the Cabaña and the chandelier of the Tacón theater,” regarding the enormous and striking light fixture made of fine glass, imported from Paris, which hung above the auditorium (the current chandelier is new and made of Bohemian crystal).

From its opening until 1899, when it was sold to the Tacón Realty Company based in New York, the theater saw Italian and French opera companies and global stars, such as ballerina Fanny Elssler, pianist Leopoldo Meyer, sopranos Teresa Parodi and Adelina Patti, pianist and composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Cuban violinists José White and Brindis de Salas, Cuban pianist Ignacio Cervantes and actress Sarah Bernhardt, tread its boards.

In 1906 the Galician Heritage Foundation bought both the original theater – which would later be demolished – and the entire block on which it stood. Between 1907 and 1915 the current structure was built to house the Galician Center of Havana. Belgian architect Paul Belau was chosen to design the new theater and U.S. construction company Purdy & Henderson to build it.

Thus began a new era for today’s Grand Theater. The inaugural performance took place April 22, 1915, with the opera Aída, by the Adolfo Bracale’s company, which was then followed by Antonia Mercé from Argentina, pianist Ignacio Paderewski, ballerina Anna Pavlova, Sarah Bernhardt again, Arturo Rubinstein, Serguei Rachmáninov, violinist Misha Elman, tenor Enrico Caruso, Esperanza Iris, Cubans Ernesto Lecuona, Jorge Bolet, Amadeo Roldán and Rita Montaner, Eleonora Duse, Margarita Xirgú, José Mojica, Jorge Negrete, cellist Pablo Casals, violinist Jascha Heifetz, guitarist Andrés Segovia, Carmen Amaya and many others.

Another historic detail worth mentioning is that of a further name change. In 1961, on the initiative of the Galician Center, the theater was re-named after Federico García Lorca, in homage to the poet from Granada on the 25th anniversary of his murder, but since 1985 the entire establishment has been called the Grand Theater of Havana, with García Lorca reserved for its main hall.

Alicia Alonso arrived to the theater’s stage in 1950, performing the works Las Sílfides and Las bodas de Aurora while from 1960 to date the building has served as the headquarters of the International Ballet Festival of Havana, a prestigious dance encounter which has seen the participation of ballerinas from all continents, including Maia Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev, Carla Fracci, Antonio Gades, Maurice Béjart and Julio Bocca as well as great companies and figures such as the Royal Ballet of London, Milan’s La Scala TheaterBallet, the New York City Ballet, Argentina’s Teatro Colón Ballet, the Bolshoi and Mariinsky ballets.

The grand auditorium’s main stage has seen Alonso debut her personal version of Swan Lake, give magical performances in Giselle, Carmen, Un retablo para Romeo y Julieta, Edipo Rey and so many others…

(Mireya Castañeda,Granma)

The piece entitled “Odas en azul prusiano” will be located in the Hall of Mirrors at the Museum of the Revolution in the “Irla” show, which describes the 25 years of Lara’s artistic life.

“Irla” was opened on May 28 as part of the activities of the XII Biennial of Havana.

The new piece added to the collection represents Alonso in the ballet Giselle and is a tribute to the dancer for the 70th anniversary of her first appearance in Cuba performing that character.

Giselle is the masterpiece of the dance romanticism and the significance of some dancers has been marked largely by their performances in this piece of dramatic character.

Alicia Alonso was the first Latin American to embody the character and according to global critique, her version of Giselle remains one of the most successful in the world, for some critics the best one.

(Granma)

The National Ballet of Cuba (BNC) is scheduled to perform Wednesday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where it will give four shows after a brief, warmly-received stay in Washington.

The Cubans will kick off their Brooklyn performances with “La magia de la danza” (the magic of dance), a show that is like an anthology of relevant moments of 19th century dance, including versions of classics like Giselle, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty and the Gottschalk Symphony.

The BNC came to New York after earning a burst of positive reviews, such as the one by Maritza Gueler, who wrote in Danza Hoy, “The Ballet Nacional de Cuba dances with passion, the passion of its own Cuban essence. And it dances with the pride of being one of the most famous companies in the world, whose main characteristic is the technique of the Cuban school of ballet.”

Meanwhile Sara Kaufman of the Washington Post wrote, “There are so many stellar qualities in this company, all of them underscoring a wide-open embrace of physical potential.”

Under the general direction of Alicia Alonso, the company has returned to New York as part of a U.S. tour after an eight-year absence.

The next cities on the tour agenda are the Costa Mesa and Los Angeles in California, where the tour will end on June 28.

(Prensa Latina)