Cuba Shines on the World's Dance Stage: The 25th Havana Ballet Festival Struts Its Stuff

Cuba is shaking up the global dance scene with the 25th International Ballet Festival of Havana, a 10-day arts event involving dance companies from all over the world.

Uniting ballet dancers from 16 different countries, the festival is hosting numerous United States-based troupes (such as the award-winning Martha Graham Dance Company) in addition to multiple international companies and various ballet soloists from across the globe. The dance festival is the creation of Cuban National Ballet founder and former prima ballerina, Alicia Alonso.

The wide-ranging dance festivities began on Friday, Oct. 28, and will run until Sunday, Nov. 6. According to a website for the National Ballet of Cuba, dance soloists for the festival include Rafael Quenedit, Cynthia González, Aymara Vasallo, Ginett Moncho, Ivis Díaz, Adrián Masvidal, Analucía Prado, Ariel Martínez, Maureen Gil, Yiliam Pacheco, Chanell Cabrera, Yanlis Abreu, Glenda García, Francois Llorente and Yankiel Vázquez.

In a report by EuroNews, dancer Javier Torres, a Cuban and a premier dancer with Britain's Northern Ballet, spoke of the festival's significance to the international classical arts world:

"This festival represents a lot for so many people around the world, to the people who like ballet, who like dance. But, if you are Cuban, it represents much more, and for me, I'm just at home."

As detailed in a recent Reuters report, the Martha Graham Dance Company's Errand into the Maze ballet delighted the Cuban audience. The work elicited a standing ovation from the crowd, and one viewer told Reuters of the performance's artistic weight in the context of the international show:

"'The standing ovation said it all,' said a beaming Cuban spectator, 64-year-old Maria Antonia Armas. 'It was fabulous. I just hope this exchange will continue to flow.'"

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Tags25th International Ballet Festival of Havana, Martha Graham Dance Company, Cuban National Ballet, Alicia Alonso, Rafael Quenedit, Cynthia González, Aymara Vasallo, Ginett Moncho, Ivis Díaz, Adrián Masvidal, Analucía Prado, Ariel Martínez, Maureen Gil, Yiliam Pacheco, Chanell Cabrera, Yanlis Abreu, Glenda García, Francois Llorente, Yankiel Vázquez, Javier Torres, Northern Ballet, Errand into the Maze, Maria Antonia Armas, Cuban Dance