As every two years, the classic dance will return to Cuban scenes, between October 28 and November 7, when the National Ballet of Cuba and other dance companies in the world dance “for Shakespeare and dance” in the twenty-fourth International Ballet Festival of Havana.
The event will celebrate the 450th birth anniversary of the English writer, with the staging of some of his plays made into ballet, as the work Shakespeare and his masks, choreographed by Alicia Alonso and music by Charles Gounod, inspired by Romeo and Juliet, which will be presented at the opening ceremony on October 28 at the Karl Marx Theater.
As usual, the public can also enjoy the classics: Giselle, Coppelia, The Sleeping Beauty and The Swan Lake, performed by the National Ballet of Cuba, in addition to shows like The magic of dance that presents the fragments of these pieces and others like Don Quixote, Nutcracker and Gottschalk Symphony.
A special moment of the Festival will be dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, with the presentation of the ballet Tula inspired by the life and work of Camagüey writer, choreographed by the Prima Ballerina Assoluta and music by Juan Piñera, Monday November 3 in the National Theatre.
Among the guest artists are prestigious dance institutions such as the Ballet Hispanico of New York, the American Ballet Theatre, the Royal Ballet of Flanders, Hong Kong Ballet, the Ballet of the Opera of Nice, the National Ballet of Uruguay and other dancers and choreographers from Chile, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Norway, Germany, Denmark, Italy, South Africa and Britain.
In addition to the shows that will take place in the usual scenarios of Karl Marx, the Mella Theater and the National Theater during those days will be developing a number of side events, including the exhibitions Jirones de danza, by students and teachers of the San Alejandro Academy and Tribute to Alice in Seville, with pictures of Joseph Guindo.
The presentation of the work for children Alicia looking for the white rabbit, by the Matanzas Teatro de las Estaciones trope at the Order III Theater of Old havana, are also part of these activities.
The 24th International Ballet Festival of Havana comes, as usual, to lengthen the queues at the ticket offices of the capital’s theaters, and also showcase the best of Cuban ballet, along with the unique opportunity to applaud, in national stages, some of the most important figures of dance in the world.
