With the world premiere of the ballet Lucile and the replacement of Sky bluethe National Ballet of Cuba (BNC) is celebrating these days 20 years of collaboration with the charity organization The British Friends of the BNC.
The prima ballerina and director of the BNC, Viengsay Valdés, recalled that this cooperation “began when the prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso (1920-2019) proposed (to her British friends) to restore the hall named after the English dancer and choreographer Anton Dolin.”
That event happened in 2004.
Sky bluepremiered in Cuba in 2014, was the first ballet produced by the British group, according to a report by Efe.
The work Lucilemeanwhile, was the first of the pieces conceived especially for the BNC by the Danish choreographer and dancer Johan Kobborg.
Kobborg, who was present at the rehearsals at the BNC headquarters in Havana’s Vedado, has been a leading figure of the Royal Danish Ballet and the Royal Ballet of the United Kingdom.
Valdés commented to the press this Thursday that “the preparation has been very arduous on the part of the dancers,” and said that they are pieces that “provide technicality to the company” that he has directed since 2020.
Other works bearing the joint imprint of British Friends and the BNC are Dark, Prosperous and The ninth hourreleased by Cubans between 2016 and 2022.
The season that celebrates this working relationship, with six performances, begins on July 6 and runs until July 14 at the usual headquarters of the National Theater of Cuba.
In 2022, the BNC honored the British group with the “Alicia Alonso Centenary” Medal for the value of their contributions in contributing to the expansion of the company’s repertoire and the improvement of the facilities.
Cuban National Ballet celebrates collaboration with British Friends
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David Bain, representing the group, then recalled when Alicia Alonso proposed restoring the hall named after Anton Dolin.
Since then and thanks to this joint work, according to the Company itself, several funds have been raised to rebuild sets and costumes.
