''(Ballet Nacional de Cuba)'', is managed by
Cuba n
Prima Ballerina Assoluta Alicia Alonso and is one of the top ballet companies in the world. The artistic standards and technical severity of the dancers and the wide diversity in the aesthetic conception of the
Choreographer s in combining joyful Cuban sensuality with superb classical
Russia n,
French and
English Ballets , have granted this ensemble a secure place among international dance institutions. Today occupies a prominent place in the contemporary
Hispanic-American culture. The company was founded in 1948, with Alicia Alonso as the main founder and first figure. In 1950 the ''National School of Ballet Alicia Alonso'' was founded, annexed to the professional company.
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The company was founded by Alicia Alonso,her husband Fernando and Fernando's brother Alberto on
October 28 , 1948 as Alicia Alonso Ballet Company. Two years later, a
school was established to create a strong artistic vision and promote the talents of young Cuban dancers. Alicia Alonso set a
tradition of
Romantic and
Classical excellence while encouraging the development of new choreography.
Although the school was thriving artistically, it struggled financially. When
Fidel Castro took control of Cuba in 1959, he had a commitment to level the social structure and to make the arts available to everyone. “''The old government was out and the new hope was coming for the arts and the ballet in Cuba,''” recalled Margarita Saá, former BNC ballerina. The coming of the
Revolution , marked the beginning of a new stage for the Cuban ballet, Castro gave $200,000 to Alonso, a supporter of the revolution. With state funding, suddenly the ballet became important to the country and its identity. That year, as a part of a new cultural program, the company was reorganized and it took the name of ''National Ballet of Cuba'' that has had a vertiginous development from that moment on, enriching its repertory and promoting the development of new dancers, choreographers, professors and creators. Combined with other spheres related to dance, such as set design,costumes, lighting and sound. Significant improvements in traditional repertory, unique and diverse choreographic advances, have established works that are recognized routinely as visionary achievements in the contemporary choreography. Following the romantic and classical tradition, The BNC has a rich history of stimulating the creative talent of it's choreographers who under Ms.Alonso's guidence have improved both contemporary and classical ballet. The BNC has choreographed and preformed completely new versions of classics such as
Giselle , The
Swan Lake or
Coppélia .These masterpieces are sometimes accompanied with works coming from the renovating movement of
Sergei Diaghilev Russian Ballet s
Petrushka , or
Afternoon Of A Faun ; and
Ballets created by Cuba's national choreographers.
Government funding for the Ballet Nacional continues to this day. These funds allow the Ballet to scour the country and hand pick gifted students. Cuba funds a country-wide teaching organization called the
National School Of Ballet , directed by Ramona Saá. There is no shortage of eager young hopefuls on this island.Placement in the ballet program can lead to respectable salaries, government subsidies, the opportunity to travel internationally and recognition as a Cuban cultural asset.
The Ballet Nacional de Cuba hosts the bi-annual
International Ballet Festival Of Havana , which for the past 41 years has featured dance companies from around the world. Besides its intense activity in Cuba, the National Ballet of Cuba develops a program of international tours. These tours take the BNC to stages of different countries within Europe, Asia and
America annually. Important awards,such as the ''Grand Prix of the Ville of Paris'' and the Order ''Félix Varela'', of the Republic of Cuba, joined with frequent acclamation of specialized critics. Outstanding members of the company have consistantly received distinctions and awards in competitions and international festivals. The success is know as the reflection of it's founder Alicia Alonso
C The Company Has Created More Than 600 Works And Performed In More Than 60 Countries Worldwide. On The Occasion Of Its 50th Anniversary [[Fidel Castro awarded the ballet and Alicia Alonso it's highest civil decoration, the ''Lazaro Pena Order''.
The opportunity to join foreign ballet companies is a big incentive for numbers of the National Ballet of Cuba, where a top dancer's pay is about $50 a month. Today several
American and
British companies have former dancers from the National Ballet dance school among their principal dancers as ''Lorna Feijoo'' and her husband ''Nelson Madrigal'' who perform with the
Boston Ballet , Lorna's sister is with the
San Francisco Ballet , in the San Francisco Ballet where Cuban Jorge Esquivel is one of the ballet masters. In 2004 ''Jose Manuel Carreno'' was the first Cuban to win the
Dance Magazine award for contributions to ballet since the prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso did in 1958.
Following the classical
Soviet system, the National Ballet School turns out 40 professionals a year. Through the Ballet Nacional and its network of schools, Alicia and Fernando Alonso have created a uniquely Cuban style of dance. Earning worldwide acclaim, the Ballet has performed in 58 countries and received hundreds of international awards. Additionally, Cuban-trained dancers are now marquee names in top ballet companies throughout the world.
At age 84 and nearly blind, Alicia Alonso is still at the helm of the Ballet Nacional. And despite her age, she doesn’t show signs of leaving.
Besides Cuba's National Ballet's intensive work, it develops important educational activity, targeting it's dancers' artistic-technical training or improvement. The International Dance Program was created in March of 1999. Directed by ,
En Pointe , Variations, Classic Duet,
Modern Dance , Outlook of the
History Of The Dance ,
Music Appreciation ,
Physical Preparation and
Make-up .
The National Ballet provides ballet courses to international students, it rewards graduates with a valuable certificate awarded by the National Ballet of Cuba. The International Dance Program of the National Ballet of Cuba is directed by the
Prima Ballerina Assoluta Alicia Alonso.The program summons professionals and students of advanced levels of both sexes, to it's unique courses of on technique, style and the interpretative concepts of the Cuban School of Ballet. The duration of the courses can vary and may begin at any time of the year. Programs are structured by means of theoretical-practical classes in a basic module integrated by classes of
Ballet ,
En Pointe and
Physical Preparation . Individual programs may be structured to qualified professionals and students at Ms. Alonso's discretion. Further information can be obtained by contacting The National Ballet of Cuba in Havana.
- Magazine Cuba in the Ballet. Founded in 1970. ISSN 0864-1307.
- Cuba Magazine in the Ballet ISSN 0864-1307. Cultural Publication specialized in the world of the Cuban ballet, includes critical, chronicle, and comments..., as well as a news section.
- National Ballet of Cuba: half a century of glory. Book that colects the fifty years of the company. Written by Miguel Cabrera (Punta Brava, Havana, 1941), Historian of the BNC, summarizes the most outstanding aspects in five decades where generations of dancers, choreographers and specialized personnel have given the best. The book provides good information of the NBC, including tours, ballets through out its history. Published by Ediciones Cuba in the Ballet. Format: 20 x 21 cms. 285 pages.
- University for All (Tabloid). History and Appreciation of the Ballet. Format: 38 x 29 cm. 32 pages. Cultural publication with texts that support the telelectures delivered by specialists of the National Ballet of Cuba and other guest personalities.
- DIALOGUES WITH THE DANCE, by Alicia Alonso. It is the fourth edition of this title, in which the reader will be able to find memories of the initial moments of her career, brief impressions on some works of her repertoire, testimonies about famous personalities she worked with, as well as points of view sometimes referred to polemic questions concerning the dancer's profession and the art of the dance in general. Política Publisher. Format: 15 x 22 cms. 378 pages.
