We share with the readers of Cubadebate the special program for the centenary of Haydee Santamaría:

In 2022:
Friday October 21 || 5:00 pm. || Casa de las Américas: Inauguration of the exhibition The Fabric of Memory. Tribute to Haydee Santamaría, with works from the Haydee Santamaría Art of Our America Collection.
Tuesday October 25 || 3:00 pm. || Che Guevara Room: Presentation of the 2023 calendar “Haydee Santamaría one hundred years after her birth”. A co-edition of Ocean Sur and Casa de las Américas.
Friday, November 25 || 5:00 pm. || José Antonio Echeverría Library; Inauguration of the bibliographic and documentary exhibition “Centenario de Haydee Santamaría”.
Thursday, December 15 || 3:00 pm. || Che Guevara Room: Presentation of the book Hay de defend la vida, a compilation of texts by Haydee Santamaría, which Casa de las Américas publishes in co-edition with Ocean Sur and a special issue of Casa de las Américas magazine dedicated to its founder.
Thursday, December 15 || 5:00 pm. || Che Guevara Room: “Songs for Haydee”. Concert by the Ensemble Vocal Luna, under the direction of the teacher Maribel Nodarse.
Friday December 16 || 2:00 p.m. || Cinema 23 and 12: Special function of the Cuban Cinematheque with Icaic materials dedicated to Haydee Santamaría or that include her presence.
Friday December 30 || Broadcast on Cuban television: Screening of the documentary “Nuestra Haydee”, a production of the Casa de las Américas, directed by Esther Barroso.

In 2023:
Sunday January 15 || 5:00 pm. || Avellaneda Hall of the National Theater of Cuba: Special function of the National Ballet of Cuba dedicated to the centenary of Haydee Santamaría.
Friday January 20 || 7:00 p.m. || Che Guevara Hall: Concert by José María Vitier dedicated to Haydee Santamaría.
Thursday, January 26 || 7:00 p.m. || Che Guevara Hall: Concert by Amaury Pérez dedicated to Haydee Santamaría, as part of the activities of the 2023 Casa de las Américas Literary Prize.
From February 20 to 24 || Manuel Galich Room: Dedicated to honoring the memory of Haydee Santamaría, the International Colloquium “Politics and Politics in the History and Culture of Latin American and Caribbean Women” will be held as part of the Casa de las Américas Women’s Studies Program.
Wednesday, March 8 || 3:00 pm. || Manuel Galich Room: Women and women’s struggles from the Casa de las Américas. A panel in homage to Haydee Santamaría.
Friday April 28 || Che Guevara Room: Celebration of the 64th anniversary of the Casa de las Américas.

The Organizing Committee of the Festival, which is chaired by the prima ballerina Viengsay Valdés, general director of the National Ballet of Cuba, has announced that a series of performances of the great romantic ballet Giselle will be presented, with the performance of guest stars in the leading roles, as well as galas with premieres of works created especially for this occasion. The main venue will be the National Theater, in Havana, and presentations are planned at the Sauto, in Matanzas, the Terry, in Cienfuegos, and the Milanés, in Pinar del Río.

The Alicia Alonso International Ballet Festival of Havana, with more than 60 years of history, is one of the most traditional and prestigious events in the world of dance.

(With information from the organizing committee of the event)

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)

According to the BNC, this edition deserved the praise of the Codalario magazine , one of the most prestigious in the field of Spanish music criticism, initialed by the specialist Albert Ferrer, who valued the relevance of the work.

Apart from biographical and personal experiences, in the book Alicia Alonso is firm in the defense of the value of culture as a bulwark for the artist, the knowledge of tradition, the ethical and aesthetic commitment to ballet, Ferrer stressed.

In Dialogue with Dance, the founder of BNC presents ballet as a national expression of peoples in their idiosyncrasy, as a manifestation of universal character due to physical potential, and expression of art linked to the subject, the BNC press release refers.

With its publication, the author denounced discriminatory attitudes and racial and cultural prejudices that marked her time before which she did not bow, while pointing out the difference between school and ballet style.

The book of the most universal dancer in Cuba, which is on sale in the main bookstores in Spain, is an editorial event and has aroused the interest of professionals in the performing arts.

(With information from Prensa Latina)

Both dates celebrate landmarks in the history of Cuban ballet. The first, October 28, harks back to 1948, when the country’s first professional company took the stage at the Auditorium Theater. Founded by Alicia, Fernando, and Alberto Alonso, the company included 30 dancers, of which only 11 were Cuban.

It would be the spark that, within a few decades, would become the National Ballet of Cuba (BNC), one of the world’s best, establishing the Cuban school of ballet with its base at the Alicia Alonso Academy created in 1950, to urgently train Cuban dancers.

The seeds sowed have prospered, and on this occasion I was able to enjoy and applaud the gala opening parade, with children from the Academy, the National School, and the entire company taking the stage at Havana’s Alicia Alonso Grand Theater, under the direction of choreographer Alberto Méndez.

This, the Festival’s first performance, offered a glimpse of the reasons behind the BNC’s eminent place among companies worldwide: the special care afforded the classics – on this occasion, Sleeping Beauty, with Anette Delgado and Dani Hernández, as lead dancers – and the versatility to approach contemporary pieces.

An example of this adaptability was the world premier of Oscuro, with the trademark darkness and strangeness conceived by the Festival’s guest choreographer Belgian-Colombian Annabelle López-Ochoa, a true study in black and white, playing with shadows and silhouettes, featuring first ballerina Viengsay Valdés and her unquestionable virtuosity, with the music as its only shortcoming.

López –Ochoa said in a previous interview with GI that she wanted to emphasize “people are divided in two, and there is fear of confronting the dark side of a person, but we are the two sides, positive and negative. It is a dialogue within us all.”

The other significant date for the BNC is November 2, the day on which, in 1943, the young Alicia Alonso, just recovering from eye surgery, accepted the challenge as a member of the Theater Ballet of filling in for first ballerina Alicia Markova in the role of Giselle. Although Alicia has always refused to admit any special preference for a ballet, it is undeniable that Giselle took her to the top of the art form.

The world premier of Oscuro, by guest choreographer Annabelle López-Ochoa, was featured during the Festival’s gala inauguration, with Viengsay Valdés and Ariel Martínez in the lead roles. Photo: Nancy Reyes
This year, being celebrated are the 175th anniversary of the premier of Giselle in Paris, and the 205th anniversary of the birth of Theóphile Gautier (1811–1872), who along with Jules-Henri wrote the libretto, based on a popular German legend collected by Heinrich Heine.

Dancing the role in this Festival is first ballerina Anette Delgado, a romantic par excellence, whose elegance and fragility allow for the illusion of a double performance as the country girl becoming awilli.

With its five decades of history, the world of dance looks upon the Festival with special interest given the important companies and soloist from a variety of countries participating.

In this first segment of events, to be noted is the November 2 return to Havana of the Martha Graham Company, 75 years after its debut here, an event which the pioneer of contemporary dances recalled in her memoir, Bloody memories.

The U.S. company has put together a varied program including classic pieces by Graham herself, such as Dark Meddow Suite, Diversion of Angels, and Errand into the maze, a duet which was one of her most significant roles, and new choreographies such as Lamentation Variations, based on Lamentation by Graham, and Woodland.

The company’s re-encounter with Cuban audiences in Vedado’s Mella Theater was an absolute success. Male and female dancers giving their all, both technically and artistically, with each piece culminating in grateful ovations offered by amazed spectators.

Janet Eilber, artistic director of the Martha Graham commented to this reporter, after the press conference, that thanks to the two master classes they offered in Danza Contemporánea’s facilities, they were able to appreciate “magnificent” Cuban dancers, who have “a deep understanding of Graham’s style.”

Also returning was Puerto Rican first ballerina Laura Valentín, who was invited in 2014 by Alicia Alonso herself. She performed a pas de deux in the National Theater’s Covarrubias Hall entitled Piazzola en concierto, along with BNC dancer Patricio Revé, who alone presented Lo que no fue, also with music by Piazzola.

Valentín took a few minutes from her rehearsal to speak to our publication, saying, “I have participated in many festivals around the world, but is very special to be in Havana, because Cuba and Puerto Rico are so similar that I feel at home, and our school is based on the Cuban technique, too. There is a unity in our way of working and dancing. It is also marvelous to see so many theaters filled at one time, the passion of Cuban audiences for ballet. there is an educated people that values the art of dance, but something else, the love, the passion, and the dancers who come together here every two years. There is a special magic here.”

In another rehearsal room, Brooklyn Mack from the U.S. takes his daily class, prior to his solo and re-encounter with Cuban star Viengsay Valdés for the pas de deux from The Corsair (In 2014, they shared another pas de deux from the classic Don Quixote.) Mack again captured the public with his valiant attack, clean technique, and charisma.

Through November 6, Havana is pure movement. The Festival which now bears Alicia Alonso’s name is an exceptional opportunity for dance lovers, and dancers as well, who are touching the hand of a legend, the great teacher who tells them, “Technique is a language; it is acquiring the facility to then express yourself artistically.”

A Festival that projects Alicia Alonso’s magnificent legacy toward the future.

(Granma)

Is there a marked path to ascend to principal dancer? Do all dancers follow it? What is the impact of individual talent? Are the school, the barre, the rehearsal room, and taking on paradigmatic works all part of this path?

To decipher the steps that lead to a promotion, which are not as simple, or always as rigorous, as may be believed, and in some cases are controversial, this publication visited the office of Miguel Cabrera, historian of the National Ballet of Cuba (BNC) since the 1970s, in the Havana neighbor-hood of Vedado.

He explains that in almost every major ballet company, the ranks are principal dancer, demi-character principal dancer, soloist, demi-soloist, coryphée and corps de ballet.

There are rare occasions on which this path is not quite as linear. The BNC historian has collected first hand experiences of this, thanks to his long-standing closeness to the three creators of the company and the Cuban school of ballet itself: Alicia, Fernando and Alberto Alonso.

Cabrera was lucky enough to have Alicia herself explain, with the programs of the time in hand, that at first different categories of dancers were differentiated only by the font, the size of the letters on the program.

“You can see how in 1948, when the company was founded, the names of Alicia, Fernando and Alberto are in large letters, the only Cubans then, and those of Igor Youskevich and other U.S. figures.”

Beginning with the tour of 1949, Cabrera indicates, that they began to separate ranks and this was done according to the performance of the dancers, their technical and artistic qualities and stylistic flexibility.

The historian points out that with the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, the company was re-organized, but ranks remained unspecified. “Later in the 1960s they began to be established as the National School of Ballet was created (heir to the Alicia Alonso Academy of Ballet, which this year celebrates its 65th

anniversary). The first time was in 1962 and you will find in the programs as principal dancers Mirta Plá, Josefina Méndez and Margarita de Saa and in 1967, Loipa Araujo and Aurora Bosch.”

Emergencies forced promotions in those years.

“That’s how it was. We had no quality male dancers. Youskevich no longer came after 1959, in general due to the blockade foreigners no longer came. There was the Russian Azari Plisetski but it was known that he was not going to be permanently in Cuba and they needed to ensure partenaires (dance partners) for Alicia, for the Cuatro Joyas.”

Cabrera recalls the first graduation of the school in 1969. “From there emerged Jorge Esquivel, who Alicia and Fernando sculpted like a precious metal and by 1972 was already a principal dancer, Ofelia González, Amparo Brito and Rosario Suárez, who given other shortages rapidly performed important roles, although their promotion process was unduly delayed and only many years later did they rise to principal dancers, which was very controversial.”

Having established the school – today the national elementary and middle level ballet school with an impressive headquarters on Havana’s Prado and provincial schools in Santiago de Cuba, Camagüey, Santa Clara, Matanzas, Artemisa and Pinar del Río – the ranking system gradually took shape to become what we have today, the BNC historian explained.

“Once the youngsters enter the company, the responsibility lies with the régisseurs (stage director) and maîtres (ballet master). They follow the classes and note the progress, and according to what they see in each dancer, they prepare the cast.”

As Cabrera explains, performing center stage is not the same as being on the barre. “Sometimes they have a very good figure but not strong enough ankles, solid pointes, and many of the roles demand a strong technique. But the dancer is not all physical, he or she needs art, and it can be that someone with technique is not agile enough for certain styles, to open out, to captivate. The level of technical demand today is very high and we must add the essential element, something that can’t be obtained at school: the talent.”

Talent allows some dancers to immediately emerge from the corps de ballet, which is the essence of a great company, emphasizes Cabrera. “The corps de ballet must be uniform, all must appear equal, dance in a similar way. If the choreography has two pirouettes, a dancer does two, even if they can do five, but what happens in daily classes, is the maestro sees that a dancer can do five. And that’s the first step toward certain roles and thus, based on performance, a logical, organic development continues and as the result of cultivated talent, they can become a principal dancer.”

Is there an ideal for a classical ballet dancer? Are there any limitations due to race?

“The ideal is based on proportions, figure and the technical ability on the basis of this physique. A size is sought. It’s not that they should be taller or shorter, it is the proportion, I’m mean from the ankle to the waist, waist to shoulders, the neck. As for race, there are endless white dancers, marmoreal, who do not get to play Giselle, be it for technique, art, or physique. To dance Giselle is not for everyone, nor can everyone be a prince. I recall some princes of our company, Andrés Williams, a Black man who was a principal dancer; Carlos Acosta, a mulatto of height and proportion, a global star. I reject racial discrimination, it’s not about color, it’s about proportions, the technique and art and that they meet the requirements of the repertoire.”

To become leading figures, dancers have always been expected to dance certain pieces, correct?

“This is very much respected. For example, when men are performing Swan Lake, from the corps de ballet they pass to a pas de six, then a de trois and if they have poise and technique, Sigfrido is just behind the door.”

Is it not a ritual that ballerinas first face La Fille mal gardée, Copellia and Swan Lake before performing Giselle?

“It almost always progresses that way and today we have two young women who excel as principal dancers, Gretel Morejón and Estheysis Menéndez.”

While the established stages of development should not be violated, there is currently another emergency, if one considers that in Cuba great dancers are trained and they can now be hired by other companies. How do you view this?

“This is true, but it is not a phenomenon unique to Cuba. The modern world has a word, mobility. Here they call it political disagreement and it is not always so. In recent years, this emigration has been very strong in all fields. They go where they pay best.”

The exodus of young people who decide to try out different places, for different reasons, leaves a vacuum and logically the processes have been accelerated, the BNC historian continues, adding that the dancers reaching the higher ranks today have talent, even if this needs polishing and further artistic mastery. “Alicia has always said that when a dancer arrives from the school, they must be able to do the 32 fouetté turns from the Black Swan, Ah! That they don’t know how to place the arm properly or don’t have the perfect style is another matter.”

This is not to say that just any-one has been chosen. Already this year new dancers have debuted in important roles, who have been with the company for some time and left the school with various awards, explains Cabrera.

The historian refers to the first seasons of the BNC at the Lorca Hall of the Alicia Alonso Grand Theater of Havana, which has seen productions of La magia de la danza (including fragments from Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote and Sinfonia de Gottschalk) and the following other three works from their exten-sive repertoire: Les Sylphides, Celeste and Carmen.

These functions were a good opportunity to appreciate many of the novice dancers. Critics have noted that the young Grettel Morejón performed the second act of Giselle combining style and technique, while Adrián Masvidal, who accompanied her onstage as Albrecht, has an excellent figure but is in need of hours of rehearsal to improve his technique. The role of Myrtha, queen of the Willis, was performed by Cinthia González, who demon-strated that this other character-legend of the company is still very much alive (the late Mirta Plá is always well remembered as impeccable in this role).

Another dancer who is rapidly reaching the heights is Estheysis Menéndez. She debuted as Kitri, in Don Quixote, supported by the most recent graduate, with honors, Patricio Revé, as Basilio, who has excellent technique.

The BNC continues polishing and promoting dancers. It seems to have an inexhaustible source, but how do these rapid and sudden promotions affect the company?

“I am a concerned, trained and optimistic man. While our education system, just as it is now, continues and the maestros maintain the level of demand and curriculum requirements are met, I have no doubt, no fear about the future of ballet in Cuba. If the school is neglected then the ballet is finished.”

The organic journey from corps de ballet to principal dancer, as explained by the historian of the National Ballet of Cuba, Miguel Cabrera, exists, but there are also exceptional ballet dancers who start out with technique, physique, art, in short, a talent that catapults them to the top, and the Cuban company has had, and has, magnificent examples of this reality during its 68 years of existence. Recent names? José Manuel Carreño, Carlos Acosta, Viengsay Valdés and Anette Delgado, all jewels of the Cuban ballet school.

(Granma)

A group of students from the National Ballet School of Cuba Fernando Alonso and two members of the Endedans Contemporary Ballet will perform the piece “The light in Cuban eyes”, named after a book by the US art scholar Madeleine Plonsker.

The ballet will also be presented at the Marti Theater in Havana. The renowned concert pianist will open the gala by playing the two most famous compositions of the Hail Mary, the version by Charles Gounod and Johann Sebastian Bach, and the one by Franz Schubert, pieces which are usually included in his concerts.

“The light in Cuban eyes” portrays real pictures and interweaves the plasticity of dance with the loose Afro-Cuban rhythms.

Ruiz concatenated complex steps and shifts to an unusual speed in classical ballet performances, but that are very common in the Cuban ballet repertoire.

The dynamic piece requires a different way of breathing and usage of the classic technique on a very Cuban music, said the choreographer to Prensa Latina and thus exposed the major novelty of the show divided into three movements.

Summer Place, Lasting Embrace and Three States of the Soul that appeal to different emotions depending on the expressiveness raised by Fernandez with his music.

The choreographer connects the arts through movement and, therefore; compares his work with the birth of a flower.

(Prensa Latina)

The company directed by prima ballerina assoluta and “seconded by the children of the Canadian Ballet Youth

Ensemble, will perform at Hamilton Place Theater where they will dance the choreography, with a libretto by Marius Petipa, based on the free version of Alexander Dumas inspired in the tale The Nutcracker and the King Mouse, by Hoffman.

BNC’s leading figures as Anette Delgado, Viengsay Valdés and Dani Hernandez, will take the lead roles, supported by principal dancers Osiel Gounod, Jessie Dominguez Cuevas Amaya and Veronica Rodriguez, among others.

Besides The Nutcracker, the program will cover a repertoire consisting of the pas de deux from Act II of Swank Lake, the suites of Don Quixote and Coppelia, the choreography Dialogo a 4 and El Umbral, by Alonso, and Acentos, by Eduardo Blanco.

(Prensa Latina)

This demanding work has never been presented by the prestigious company from Camaguey, whose historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The first performance will be in the City of Light today, and tomorrow the company presents the work at the Palais des Congres in Porte de Maillot.

Flammes de Paris (Flames of Paris) is a Russian ballet in four acts with music by Boris Assafiev and it was conceived in 1932. However, it has evolved considerably, the last adaptation being the modern version created in 2008 by the Bolshoi of Moscow.

Still, it is a little-known ballet that pays homage to the French Revolution of 1789, and is performed by the Cuban ballet company with a version of the choreographer Lila de la Torre. The challenge seems huge as they perform to the 3,700 patrons in the Congress Palace.

Carmen Mayans, the producer in France of the Camaguey group presentations, told Prensa Latina that it is a colossal effort to promote a work performed by talents of Cuban and Russian dance.

After two presentations in Paris, the Ballet of Camaguey will perform in the Zenith of Toulouse, Opera de Massy, Le Dome de Marseille, Zenith de Saint Etienne, and stages of Lyon, Niza, Bordeaux and Annecy, among other cities.

Another notable Cuban cultural event in France will take place before the end of the year with the return of the company of Santiago Alfonso and Varietés Havana Tropical, which enjoyed great success in Europe last year.

(Prensa Latina)