"Giselle," the Romantic ballet whose title role Alonso is best known for and performed through her 70s, will cap a special gala on Oct. 28, the anniversary date, at the National Theater of Cuba.
"Ballet was never (for the) elite in Cuba," said Leonardo Vinageras, a Havana resident and ballet aficionado who attended a recent anniversary event.
A ballet dancer warms up backstage before performing "Giselle" during the 27th Alicia Alonso International Ballet Festival of Havana, at the National Theatre, in Havana, Cuba, October 30, 2022.
Alonso founded her namesake National Ballet Academy in Cuba in 1948 soon after becoming a star in the New York company that would become the American Ballet Theatre.
Inspired by Fidel Castro, Alonso identified herself with his 1959 revolution and moved permanently to Cuba, becoming allies in popularizing ballet with strong government support for the renamed National Ballet of Cuba.
Persons:
Alicia Alonso, Giselle, Alonso, Leonardo Vinageras, Alexandre Meneghini, King Louis XIV, Viengsay Valdés, Carlos Acosta, José Manuel Carreño, Fidel Castro, Grettel Morejon, Anett Rios, Alien Fernandez, Richard Chang, David Sherwood, David Gregorio Our
Organizations:
Ballet, Communist, National Theater of Cuba, Company, of, National Theatre, REUTERS, Bolshoi, Mariinsky, National Ballet of, National Ballet Academy, New York, American Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Thomson
Locations:
HAVANA, Cuba, Havana, of Havana, National Ballet of Cuba