• Submitted by: admin
• Arts and Culture
• Dance
• International
• South America
• 12 / 16 / 2006

The Cuban National Ballet Company is back in Cuba after a successful South American tour. The ballet company danced in Chile and while there, President Michelle Bachelet received company director and Prima Ballerina Assoluta Alicia Alonso at La Moneda Palace, the headquarters of national government.

The renowned Cuban ensemble mainly performed in Santiago, the country's capital, and Valparaiso, the second most important city. The Cuban company is staging the Cuban version of Don Quijote, the internationally known classic choreographed by Alicia Alonso, Marta García and María Elena Llorente, after Marius Petipa, with music by Ludwig Minkus and costume designs by Salvador Fernández.

The troupe wound up presentations in Argentina, where the Cuban ensemble received standing ovations with the famous classic. The performances took place at El Circulo Theater in the city of Rosario on December 2nd and 3rd and in Buenos Aires, the Argentinean capital, on December 5th and 6th.

While in the South American nation, Cuban company director Alicia Alonso was received by Argentinean Arts and Entertainment government official Oscar Viano. The former ballet dancer and legend attended a ceremony in which she was honored at the headquarters of the South American country's Senate and was paid tribute by the country's Communist Party.

The Argentinean media has described the company founded by Alicia Alonso in 1948 as legendary and the Prima Ballerina Assoluta as one of the glories in the history of ballet. The Cuban ballet company also toured various Brazilian cities.

Source: Cubarte