Cuban Ballet Dancers in the World

kurinuku · **Posted:** Wed Aug 18, 2004 4:21 am

Quote:

Cuban dancers making moves on the world

By ANTHONY BOADLEIN HAVANA
The Scotsman
August 17, 2004

Trained by former prima ballerina Alicia Alonso, 83, at the National Ballet of Cuba, the dancers are prized for blending Cuban sensuality with a classical training combining Russian, French and English techniques.

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Azlan · **Posted:** Thu Aug 19, 2004 12:12 pm

Quote:

Cuba’s ballerinas wow dance world

Pakistan Daily Times

From a dilapidated Havana mansion run by a nearly blind legendary ballerina, Cuba is turning out some of the world’s finest ballet dancers who are hotly sought by leading international companies. <a href=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_17-8-2004_pg9_2 target=_blank>more</a>

kurinuku · **Posted:** Sat Sep 04, 2004 2:15 am

Quote:

Cuba's Brilliant Ballerinas Wow Dance World

by ANTHONY BOADLE
Reuters via Yahoo
September 2, 2004

HAVANA - From a dilapidated Havana mansion run by a nearly blind legendary ballerina, Cuba is turning out some of the world's finest ballet dancers who are hotly sought by leading international companies.

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kurinuku · **Posted:** Fri Nov 12, 2004 2:00 pm

Quote:

How Cuba became a hothouse of ballet

by ISMENE BROWN
the Daily Telegraph

Hollywood meets the Third World, Spanish flair meets Soviet brute functionalism, European cultivation meets African drums. And from this contradictory place are emerging some of the greatest classical ballet-dancers of the world today.

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ILOVENBOC · **Posted:** Sun Nov 14, 2004 4:50 pm

I have recently had the great honour of meeting Fernando Alonso, Alicia's recent ex-husband and colleage. He is amazing! He recently turned 90 years old and is still both extremely intellectual (when answering questions) and a world-class teacher. Alicia is probably an amazing dancer and now teacher but Fernando should get just as much credit even though he has less fame. He also had a large part in bringing ballet to Cuba! :eek:

mehunt · **Posted:** Sun Nov 14, 2004 6:17 pm

Thanks for posting about Alonso. I'd love to see him teach sometime!

As a side note, a friend sent me this link to an article in the LA Times on the Cuban Festival:

Quote:

Ten days in Cuba show how dancing that's passionate can fuel a people's spirit.
By Lewis Segal, Times Staff Writer

It's easy to think of Cuban dancers and audiences as hopelessly obsessed with athleticism — forever fixated on pirouettes and fouettés. But in moments like these, or when the crowd screamed wildly for a dancer who had taken a bad fall, gotten up and gone for broke, you glimpsed the deep compassion and respect for risk in their h! earts and souls.

Cubans have been living on the edge for a long time now. And dancing on the edge — of technique, expression, conceptual innovation — is what they want from every artist, domestic or foreign, who steps onto their stages.

The rest of the article requires a subscription to the Times, but perhaps someone can post the link to the article anyway.

Xanga · **Joined:** Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:01 pm **Posts:** 9

Ismene Brown wrote:

Saturday October 30: Of the two world-class young male stars now, Rolando Sarabia, 22, is luckier than Yoel Carreño, because US immigration passed his lucrative contract with Boston Ballet while Carreño's move to New York City Ballet was felled.
---------------
Will Rolando Sarabia finally be joining the Boston Ballet then, from the 2005-2006 season?

ksneds · **Posted:** Mon Nov 15, 2004 7:14 am

Greetings
It would be wonderful to have Sarabia in Boston!

While I don't know the details of Carreno's case, my impression is that could just as easily have been a problem within Cuba as with U.S. Immigrations. Considering that Carreno has several close relatives who work in the US, I would have though that getting a visa would not have been so much of a problem. Of course the application could have gotten delayed to the extent that he would not have arrived in time, especially since there have more restrictions and red tape in recent years with regards to visas.

Also, based on what Jose Perez (who recently danced with the Scottish Ballet)mentioned in a newspaper article, it sounds as if Alicia Alonso has a lot of say in whether a dancer can leave the country. The implication was that if she does not give her blessing, any departure from Cuba may be permanent.

Kate

Xanga · **Joined:** Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:01 pm **Posts:** 9

Yes, the reason why I had to point this out was b/c ROLANDO SARABIA, IMO will surpass Jose M. Carreno and Carlos Acosta. He's a child prodigy (VARNA and PARIS IBC Grand Prix winner), and I'm surprised that ABT didn't take him before Boston did. Well done, Mr. Nissinen!

ksneds · **Posted:** Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:13 am

I'm combining topics to avoid future confusion - here are some posts from another topic:

Quote:

The Imperious Vision of Cuba's Other Ruler-for-Life

by ERIKA KINETZ
Feb 6, 2005
the New York Times

But despite Ms. Alonso's efforts to keep up appearances, her empire shows signs of crumbling beneath her. The company's repertory is so static - a lovely but unchanging iteration of "Giselle," "Swan Lake," "Don Quixote" and "Coppélia" - that one of her top dancers says he has resorted to making up steps to keep himself entertained. The Cuban choreographers who once worked with the company have, for the most part, left or retired, and the company says it can't afford the work of innovative international choreographers like Jiri Kylian and William Forsythe. Ms. Alonso's own choreography, in its worst moments, is a bit of a bad joke.

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Quote:

We owe it all to Castro
by JUDITH MACKRELL for the Guardian
published: August 3, 2005

This national enthusiasm partly explains why Cuba is so rich in male talent. In other countries ballet is still regarded as an eccentric vocation for boys, but in Cuba, Alonso says: "If a father sees that his son has talent he feels no conflicts. He is glad, his son will have a career and a future, just as if he was a doctor or a lawyer."

Click here for more.

It has been reported that Cuban dancer Rolando Sarabia has requested political asylum in the US.

Quote:

Cuban ballet dancer to seek asylum in U.S.

Miami, Aug 10 (EFE).- Rolando Sarabia, the star of Cuba's Ballet Nacional, is in the United States and plans to request political asylum, people close to the dancer said Wednesday.

More here

Another link (in Spanish): http://iblnews.com/story.php?id=2260

ksneds · **Posted:** Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:23 am

The NY Times reports on the defection of Rolando Sarabia, noting that the Boston Ballet is indeed interested in hiring him, and that Alihaydee Carreno has also departed Cuba:

Quote:

The 'Cuban Nijinsky' Seeks Asylum and Stardom

By ERIKA KINETZ
Published: August 31, 2005

In early July, Rolando Sarabia, 23, one of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba's leading dancers, sneaked across the border into the United States in the way, he said, that so many Cubans do: "Walking, walking, walking." His is the latest in a wave of defections that have hit the brilliant but beleaguered Cuban national ballet company since 2002.

Click here for more.

ncgnet · **Joined:** Sun Oct 27, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 1845

From T. J. Medrek in the Boston Herald:

Quote:

Cuban dance star defects to Boston Ballet corps
.... Boston Ballet General Manager David Tompkins confirmed yesterday that the company is actively recruiting Cuban dancer Rolando Sarabia. ....
Daniel Sarabia defected last year and has joined Boston Ballet’s corps de ballet. Recently, Tompkins said, “Daniel came into class and said, ‘Hey, my brother just defected. Can he come take class?’ "
Nissinen was delighted, but Tompkins said the company cannot comment officially on any upcoming plans for Rolando Sarabia until his immigration and work status is confirmed.

More...

kurinuku · **Posted:** Tue Oct 11, 2005 12:39 am

Quote:

On Separate Coasts, a Sisterly Pas de Deux
by SUKI JOHN for the New York Times

Lorna, 31, a principal with the Boston Ballet, will dance the title role in the United States premiere of James Kudelka's "Cinderella" in Boston on Thursday. Her sister, Lorena, 34, a San Francisco Ballet principal just returning from a summer stint with the company in Paris, has made her acting debut in Andy Garcia's new film, "The Lost City," which played at the Telluride Film Festival last month.

published: October 9, 2005

more...

ksneds · **Posted:** Tue Nov 15, 2005 10:40 am

More defections, this time principal dancer Octavio Martin and his wife Yahima Franco:

http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/3259.html


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