Happy about Seville and London Tributes

The director of the National Ballet of Cuba, Alicia Alonso returned to Cuba with the lingering taste of tributes she received in Spain and the United Kingdom for her 90th birthday.

In a brief conference after arriving at Jose Marti International Airport, she gratefully recalled the tributes paid to her in the Maestranza in Seville and in London's Covent Garden, where the Royal Ballet offered a gala to celebrate her birthday, history and contributions to dance.

From the royal box of the theater, she presided over the function and heard the praises of the company's director Monica Mason, crowned by a standing ovation in her honour, repeated at the end when she came out to greet the stage.

Ready for the international ballet festival to be held in Havana from October 28 to November 7, she spoke with enthusiasm about the 12 choreographies that will premiere, particularly three of her own: Impromptu, devoted to Ernesto Lecuona, Narciso's Death, a tribute to José Lezama Lima on his centenary, and The Night of the Eclipse.

National Ballet to Dedicate Performance to Cuba-China Relations

The National Ballet of Cuba will dedicate a special performance to the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and China on September 10 at the Great Theater of Havana.

The program incorporates both classical and contemporary choreographies, among them Danzantes, a work by prima ballerina Alicia Alonso inspired by the music of figures of the Chinese culture Reng Guang and Huan Yijun.

The presentation also includes Las silfides (The Sylphs), Alonso’s version of Mijail Fokin’s ballet with designs by Salvador Fernandez on those by Alexander Benois, who is one of the artists behind the theatrical and scenographic conceptions Diaghilev’s Russian ballets.

The show will close with another work by Alonso, Dido abandonada (Abandoned Dido), based on the homonymous piece by Gaspero Angiolini, who is also the author of the music and libretto.