In Cuba, Dancing With a Full Heart

[Judi Lynn]

NOVEMBER 4, 2010.
In Cuba, Dancing With a Full Heart

By PIA CATTON
HAVANA—American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Xiomara Reyes opened her wheeled luggage and lifted out bag after bag of ballet shoes and clothing. The supplies were for students at Pro Danza, a school and company with which Ms. Reyes danced as a teenager growing up in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana.

When Ms. Reyes attended Pro Danza, which is located in the Havana neighborhood of Marianao, it was a something of a second-company within the National Ballet of Cuba, and served as a fast-track to stage time. It is now an independent operation with more than 40 company dancers, 200 students and 10 teachers. Its general director, Laura Alonso, is the daughter of Alicia and Fernando Alonso, who were instrumental in establishing a Cuban style of ballet and in founding the National Ballet of Cuba. American Ballet Theatre is in Cuba this week for the first time in 50 years, in part to pay homage to Ms. Alonso, 90, who danced with ABT in New York in the 1940s and '50s before returning to her homeland.

Pro Danza allowed Ms. Reyes, who left Cuba for Europe at age 19 before joining American Ballet Theatre in 2001, to explore leading roles well before she could have with the main company. "When you were in the company, you had to go through all the stages very slowly—corps de ballet, soloist, principal," she said on Wednesday just before visiting the Pro Danza facility. "At that time, it would take a very long time to do a principal role."

Ms. Reyes joined the National Ballet's school when she was 9 years old and joined the company at 17. Meanwhile, she participated with Pro Danza starting at age 14, and enjoyed leading roles in "Don Quixote," "Coppelia" and "Three Musketeers." She also danced several classical pas de deux, including "Diana and Acteon," which she will dance again here in Cuba.

More:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703506904575592641769893782.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. American Ballet Theatre performs in Cuba

4 November 2010 Last updated at 08:29 ET
American Ballet Theatre performs in Cuba

The American Ballet Theatre has staged its first performance in Cuba for 50 years, in a mark of cultural diplomacy between the two countries.

The dancers staged a tribute to 89-year-old Cuban ballet star Alicia Alonso, the company's lead dancer in the 1940s and 50s.

They stopped visiting Cuba when relations soured between the two countries after the 1959 revolution.

The communist country has welcomed a number of US cultural visits recently.

President Obama granted the ballet company permission to make the trip to Cuba.

Two of the ballet theatre's lead dancers, Jose Manuel Carreno and Xiomara Reyes, are originally from Cuba and performed in Wednesday night's gala at Havana's Karl Marx Theatre.

More:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11694134

[flamingdem]

2. This is a fabulous story

just a note, the unrec crew is at it again, I did rec this.

[Peace Patriot]

3. Yeah, they unrec'ed a thread about Paraguay protecting an uncontacted Indigenous tribe.

Now they're against ballet?

I figured maybe it was because Paraguay has a leftist government? Or, hatred of the Indigenous? What? It's just so...

STUPID!

:wow:

[voteearlyvoteoften]

4. knr