The American Ballet Theater (ABT) and the New York City Ballet were presented with the 2011 Villanueva Award for best foreign performances in Cuba in 2010.
The official historian of the National Ballet of Cuba, Miguel Cabrera, received the award yesterday on behalf of the two U.S. dance companies companies, and described as a friendly bridge their attendance and performances at the recent Havana Ballet Festival.
In addition to the New York City Ballet and ABT, with which prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso started her international career in the 1940s and 50s, other Latin American works and theatre groups were awarded as well.
The Villanueva prizes are granted each year by the Association of Performing Artists, which is affiliated with the National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists.
Some World-famous ballet dancers and companies from 18 countries are expected at the 22nd Havana Ballet Festival, which will celebrate the 90th birthday of Prima Ballerina Assoluta Alicia Alonso.
From October 28 to November 7, our capital will host a fiesta of ballet, with visitors like the American Ballet Theater, which is returning to Cuba after 40 years, and figures such as Russians Vladimir Vasiliev and Vladimir Malakhov from the Berlin Opera, and Spaniard Tamara Rojo.
This is a great festival, unlike any other in the world and which has been growing; it is almost a record, Alonso said.
The 2010 festival will be marked by something very special: The Year of Alicia Alonso, which the Culture Ministry is to declare as a tribute for her 90th birthday.
About 30 performances are scheduled, 12 of them world premiers, such as El Amor Brujo by Spaniard dancer Antonio Rios (El Pipa); Le papillon, by Canadian Peter Quanzm, and El perfume, by Belgian Luc Bouy.
Invitees include the New York City Ballet, the Royal Ballet of London, the English National Ballet, the Ballet of the Opera of Berlín, the Colon Ballet Theater of Argentina, and the Opera of Dresden, Germany.
For its return to Cuba, the American Ballet Theater will dedicate two shows to Alonso, who was a first figure with that company.
Soloists such as José Manuel Carreño, Herman Cornejo and Paloma Herrera will also honor her with their performances.
This festival is not only one of the oldest in the world but an important event in Cuban culture.
Since its foundation, Cuba has been visited by 53 companies and personalities from 61 countries, with 880 performances and 219 world premieres.
The USA's leading dance company, the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), will participate in the 20th International Ballet Festival of Havana scheduled to begin on October 28 in the Cuban capital.
The company offered a gala last month to honor Alicia Alonso.
The American Ballet Theatre was founded in 1937 as the Mordkin Ballet, and then reorganized in 1940 with a new name as the Ballet Theatre. For 40 years Lucia Chase directed it, working with many choreographers and ballet masters. In 1956, it was renamed the American Ballet Theatre, and has kept that name ever since. American Ballet Theatre performs at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York.
Its last performed in Cuba was in 1960 and last month it organized the gala to pay tribute to the director of the Cuban National Ballet, prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso, on the occasion of her 90th birthday.
Alicia Alonso was a member herself of the ABT between 1941 and 1948. In her debut with the ABT she played the main role in the classic "Giselle".
Figures from the New York City Ballet, the Royal Ballet of London, the English National Ballet, the Scala di Milano and the Ballet of Columbus Theatre are also expected to participate in the 20th International Ballet Festival of Havana.
The event will include galas dedicated to the centennial of Russian ballerina Galina Ulanova and Cuban writer Jose Lezama Lima. Tribute will also be paid to former director of the Bolshoi Theatre Vladimir Vasiliev.
The American Ballet Theater (ABT) and the New York City Ballet were presented with the 2011 Villanueva Award for best foreign performances in Cuba in 2010.
