The halls of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg welcome the National Ballet of Cuba starting today, which will present Giselle on September 24, in Alicia Alonso's choreographic version.

The Caribbean company's performance on Russian soil, under the direction of Viengsay Valdés, is part of the twelfth edition of the St. Petersburg United Cultures International Forum.

Principal dancers Anette Delgado and Ányelo Montero will portray the roles of Giselle and Albrecht, respectively, in this first performance, which will mark the beginning of a tour through several Russian cities with performances at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow; the Alexander Pushkin Theatre in the city of Nizhny Novgorod; and the Dimitri Shostakovich Theatre in Samara.

As part of the cast that will bring its art to the cultural capital of the Eurasian giant, dancer Gabriela Druyet will interpret the role of the Queen of the Wilis and Ernesto Díaz that of Hilarion.

Meanwhile, Clotilde Peón, a long-standing artist with the National Ballet of Cuba, will be in charge of the character of Berthe, Giselle's mother. And Cuban maestro Idalgel Marquetti will lead the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra.

In exclusive statements to Prensa Latina, principal dancer Anette Delgado revealed that being chosen to open this tour, and on a stage as important for world culture as the Mariinsky Theatre, represents a source of pride for her and her colleagues in their artistic careers.

"Interpreting Giselle in St. Petersburg is going to be truly a challenge for me, because it is not only my name that is on the stage, but the prestige of the National Ballet of Cuba. I hope they truly enjoy it and value the work we have done to present ourselves here," Delgado commented.

Cuba's Giselle is a choreographic version by the Caribbean nation's prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Alonso, based on the original by French choreographers Jules Perrot and Jean Coralli. It is inspired by a Germanic folk legend collected by German poet and essayist Heinrich Heine.