National Ballet of Cuba will perform The Nutcracker

The National Ballet of Cuba (BNC), directed by Viengsay Valdés, returns today to the Avellaneda hall of the National Theater in Havana with the performance of the classic ballet The Nutcracker.

This season will last until December 30, and in the new year the performances will continue on January 1, 5, 6 and 7.

As is traditional, the January 1 performance will be dedicated to celebrating the anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution, as highlighted by the company’s director.

Valdés announced that in the new season of The Nutcracker, the dance group will be accompanied by the Solfa singing group, directed by teacher Mailán Ávila and made up of more than 40 children.

In this way, the company continues its commitment to bring renowned works to the stage accompanied by live music, now also together with the Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso, under the direction of maestro Yhovani Duarte.

The main roles of these functions will be assumed by Viengsay Valdés, Anette Delgado, Sadaise Arencibia, Grettel Morejón, Dani Hernández and Yankiel Vázquez.

Ernesto Díaz, Chavela Riera, María Luisa Márquez, Ányelo Montero, Estefanía Hernández, Jorge Guerra, Luis Fernández and Víctor Álvarez will also participate, supported by the company's corps de ballet.

The Nutcracker returns to stage this December in a version by prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso, a staging that is celebrating 25 years of its premiere, which took place during the 16th Havana International Ballet Festival in November 1998.

Alonso's choreography is based on the original by Lev Ivanov, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. To create it, she started from the choreographic elements that are preserved from the original and, above all, from the peculiar style conceived for this ballet by the Russian choreographer and dancer Lev Ivanov.

According to Miguel Cabrera, historian of the BNC, the prima ballerina assoluta gave The Nutcracker a Creole touch, appropriate to the characteristics of the Cuban school of ballet.