Travel to Cuba!

Cuba’s National Ballet Company and the great Alicia Alonso, the 83 year-old General Director, are touring Europe.  This company is world-famous for its dancers and performances, and Ms. Alonso was once the hottest ticket on the circuit, in the 1940s.  The Company will be performing these ballets, in a tour that ends in Italy on November 15:

• Don Quixote

• Swan Lake

• Giselle

• The Magic of Dance

Featured dancers are:Viengsay Valdés, Anette Delgado, Sadaise Arencibia, Yolanda Correa, Yanela Piñera, Joel Carreño, Javier Torres, Elier Bourzac, Ernesto Álvarez and Alejandro Virreyes.  In 2004, Cuba’s National Ballet Company toured the United States and five dancers defected.  It was a painful time for Alicia Alonso, who had trained them for nine years.  They ended up with the Cincinnati Ballet, two of them becoming soloists.

Up and coming ballet dancers in Cuba are hand-picked while very young and given free training.  Top dancers earn about $50 per month.  Stars in the US can earn up to $10,000 for just one gala performance!  However, in the US, classic training is extremely expensive, while it’s free in Cuba.