The National Ballet of Cuba’s adventure in eastern Cuba

It had been years since the National Ballet of Cuba (NBC) performed in eastern Cuba, years of failed meeting with an enthusiastic public. The debt has been paid off.

The company directed by Viengsay Valdés is performing in the best theaters of the region and takes the opportunity to introduce an almost entirely renewed cast. With the exception of first dancers Anette Delgado and Dani Hernández, all the protagonists of the pieces that make up the ballet programs are very young, many of them in their rookie performance. And they are willing to dance, boasting an extraordinary energy.

The NBC has performed at its best in Santiago de Cuba and Bayamo (and will do so in Manzanillo and Holguín). And it is a definitive sample of the ongoing training as these are years of permanent exodus of dancers. The casts are very unstable and it is difficult to maintain a level of quality.

The effort made by the teachers is proven on stage when boys and girls who recently graduated from the classrooms of the Fernando Alonso National Ballet School can take on roles of relative complexity. And the desire to dance is perceptible. In difficult times, art can be a breath of optimism. And the welcoming the company has enjoyed in the theaters of Santiago and Granma proves me right.

This tour evokes the performances of the company in the first years of the Revolution. Alicia and Fernando Alonso took ballet to unexpected places. And incidentally, they broke the prejudice that academic dance was a "product" for elites.

Everyone can enjoy ballet. It just takes a sensitivity.

Viengsay Valdés has championed the idea of ​​performing at various stages of the country every year. It is a responsibility of the National Ballet of Cuba, which must continue to be a benchmark for dance in the nation. The tour to the eastern side of the island is a step in that direction. And it is an adventure for both the dancers and the audience. A festival of the arts.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff