Cuban Ballet Dancers Perform in Prague

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 14 (ACN) Viengsay Valdés and Romel Frómeta, prima ballerina and leading dancer of Cuba’s National Ballet Company, respectively, closed the program of the Prague 2009 Ballet Gala, with a memorable performance of the pas de deux from Diana and Acteon.

Impressed by the technical and interpretative mastery displayed by the young dancers, the public at the jam-packed Prague Opera Theater accompanied most of their performance with long and enthusiastic applause.

It was, undoubtedly, the perfect end of a program in which dancers from the Royal Ballet from Flanders, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Bolshoi, and the Béjart Ballet Company from Lausanne also excelled, points out a note by Cuba’s National Ballet Company.

During the first part of the Gala, Valdés and Frómeta made a polished interpretation of the pas de deux from La fille mal gardée, with choreography by prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso, in which the expressiveness accompanying each movement was appreciated by the members of the audience, whose applause made them return to stage several times.

In January 2007, and after a long absence of Cuban dancers from Czech stages, Valdés and Frómeta danced in Prague for a single presentation, which is indelibly etched on the public.

Tuesday night’s presentation validates once again the acknowledgement received by the talented dancers, who are fine representatives of the renowned Cuban School of Ballet.

This is the fourth edition of the Prague Ballet Gala, sponsored by the Czech International Ballet Company, in which soloists and pairs participate with classical and modern pieces.

On Thursday, a special edition of the essay Alicia en el país de la danza (Alicia in Dance Land) will be presented at Havana’s National Dance Museum, located on Línea and G Streets, in downtown Vedado neighborhood. The text, by Fina García Marruz, constitutes a valuable literary approach to the founder and director of Cuba’s National Ballet Company.

The work was included in the collection entitled Venablos by Vigía Publishing House, from central Matanzas province. The book’s design and illustrations were created by Rolando Estévez, and it will be launched by its editor, Agustina Ponce, who is also Vigía’s director. The works from this publishing house are famous for their handcrafting and high artistic creativity.

For the occasion, the National Dance Museum will open an exhibition on the bonds existing between the members of Orígenes magazine and dance.