Once again, Cuban culture will serve as a sword and shield to defend the homeland in the face of adverse and challenging circumstances facing the island, through the hopeful power of art. From October 28 to November 10, the 28th edition of the Alicia Alonso Havana International Ballet Festival will be held in the capital.
This year will be characterized by the multiplicity of styles, choreographies and participating companies, both national and foreign. Dancers from more than 15 nations, from all continents, will attend the event. It will be an opportunity to exchange knowledge and strengthen bonds of love and solidarity through dance and art in general, according to a press conference.
The Avellaneda and Covarrubias halls of the National Theater and the Martí Theater will host the presentations. For this Festival, Swan Lake will be staged in a choreographic version by Alicia Alonso. In each of the six performances of this classic, the leading roles will be played by leading figures of the BNC and guest stars. The music will be played live by the Alicia Alonso Symphony Orchestra of the Grand Theater of Havana, under the baton of guest Russian conductor and cellist Nikolai Shugaev.
On Cuban stages will dance relevant figures such as Mexican Elisa Carrillo, Spaniards Joaquín de Luz and Patricia Donn, Brazilian Marcelo Gomes, French Mathilde Froustey, Portuguese Margarita Fernandes and António Casalinho, Canadian Matthew Golding and Russians Maria Iliushkina, Irina Perren, Marat Shemiunov, Daniil Simkin, Mikhail Kaniskin and Semyon Chudin. The artistic ensembles Anajnu Veatem, Jewish Dance Company in Mexico and the Colombian Incolballet will participate in the event.
From the national field, there will be a representation of Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba, OtroLado, Micompañía, Compañía de Danza Malpaso, Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba, Ballet de Camagüey, and Ballet Laura Alonso, among others.
For the first time, the event will count on the collaboration of the Habana Clásica Festival, through the performance of its director, eminent Cuban pianist Marcos Madrigal. Other virtuosos from our country, such as pianist Aldo López Gavilán and flutist Niurka González, as well as foreign musicians, will also attend the event.
During the days of the event, dance will be the epicenter around which other artistic manifestations will revolve in the capital as part of the Festival's collateral activities. Among these are: photographic and film poster exhibitions, book presentations and film screenings.
