{"id":2543,"date":"2011-06-27T15:14:14","date_gmt":"2011-06-27T19:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/?p=2543"},"modified":"2011-06-27T15:21:00","modified_gmt":"2011-06-27T19:21:00","slug":"ballet-nacional-de-cuba-at-bam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/ballet-nacional-de-cuba-at-bam.htm","title":{"rendered":"Ballet Nacional de Cuba at BAM"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ballet<\/a>
Anette Delgado as Giselle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

La Magia de la Danza<\/em>
\nBallet Nacional de Cuba<\/a>
\nBrooklyn Academy of Music – June 9, 2011<\/p>\n

Ballet Nacional de Cuba performed for four nights at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of the Si Cuba<\/a> Festival, which gave New Yorkers the opportunity to experience Cuban culture.\u00a0 The festival went a long way toward opening my eyes, ears and all my senses to the heritage of this nation which is such a close geographical neighbor, yet from whom we are so far removed.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d read about all the creature comforts that American dancers take for granted, that aren’t to be had for Cuban dancers, including simple things like air-conditioning, water\u00a0 bottles, bandages, Marley floors and pointe shoes that aren’t dead.\u00a0 But I\u2019d also heard from American dancers who had the opportunity to work in Cuba that its artists are so inspiring and that they can do so much with what little that they do have.\u00a0 From the moment that the Ballet Nacional\u2019s BAM program opened, and throughout the evening, again and again I kept having the sense of\u00a0 Now I know what they mean!<\/em><\/p>\n

Without the huge budgets enjoyed by American companies, their sets and costumes are a little less spectacular.\u00a0 Still, I saw things at La Magia de la Danza<\/em> that I\u2019d never before seen at the ballet.\u00a0 Much has to be said about the tricks that this company can perform.\u00a0 I\u2019m usually not one for tricks.\u00a0 But I saw so many in this performance that took such technique, strength, poise and precision timing that there were moments when I couldn\u2019t believe my eyes.\u00a0 Maybe just to assure the audience that they mustn’t doubt what they\u2019d just seen, the choreography would often repeat the trick.<\/p>\n

Still I felt that the tricks were just a stunning ornament on what was, down to its bare bones, a very stirring heartfelt performance.\u00a0 These dancers do not get bogged down in perfect technique.\u00a0 Instead they move with such stirring passion and sincerity.\u00a0 Even when presenting the most popular excerpts of the most popular ballets, there was never a moment where their dancing seemed anything less than beautiful, genuine and compelling.<\/p>\n

One thing that struck me about the company was that while the ballerinas looked like seasoned professionals at the top of their game, some of the men looked very young and relatively slim compared to the men I\u2019m used to seeing at the ballet.\u00a0 It also seemed to me that in many of the excerpts, almost all of the bravura came from the women.\u00a0 The men were excellent partners, but I\u2019d have liked to have seen them featured more than they were.\u00a0 I later learned, via Dance Magazine editor Wendy Perron\u2019s blog<\/a> and an informative article by Gia Kourlas in The New York Times<\/a>, that many of the boys who are trained in Cuba choose to defect when they come of age.\u00a0 Ballet Nacional’s repertoire is mostly limited to the classics.\u00a0 While many Cuban dancers long to expand their horizons in terms of choreography, some like Lorna Feijoo who dances with the Boston Ballet also lament that America\u2019s ballet is too \u201cHollywood\u201d, while Cuba\u2019s ballet is strictly ballet.<\/p>\n

One week earlier, I\u2019d seen Diana Vishneva playing an ethereal waif-like Giselle in Act II with American Ballet Theatre.\u00a0 In contrast, Ballet Nacional\u2019s\u00a0 Sadaise Arancibia\u2019s Giselle was so deeply somber, both in face and movement, giving a completely different take on the character, but one that was every bit as heartbreaking.<\/p>\n

\"Ballet<\/a>
Yanela Pinera as Princess Aurora -- Alfredo Ibanez as Prince Desire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ballet<\/a>
Yanela Pinera as Princess Aurora - Alfredo Ibanez as Prince Desire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Viengsay Valdes appeared as Princess Aurora in the pas de deux from Act III of Sleeping Beauty.\u00a0 Adorable and jubilant, she moved through one astonishing turn sequence to the next, one run finishing in a fish dive!\u00a0\u00a0 She also performed an impossibly long series of turns in attitude front.\u00a0 I especially liked her partner Alejandro Virelles.<\/p>\n

There was something amusing about seeing the Waltz of the Flowers and the Nutcracker\u2019s Grand Pas de Deux performed on what had been one of the hottest days in June.\u00a0 Ballet Nacional\u2019s Flowers were dressed in soft pastel colors and danced with garlands of green leaves.\u00a0 The dance featured two leads (not named as Dew Drops in the program) and a Sugar Plum Fairy dressed like a pink confection.\u00a0 Beautiful performances by Anette Delgado and Dani Hernandez.<\/p>\n

The company also danced scenes from Swan Lake, Coppelia, and Alicia Alonso\u2019s Gottschalk Symphony.\u00a0 For me, the highlight of the night was Don Quixote, with dazzling performances by the Yanela Pinera as Kitri, Jessie Cominguez as Mercedes, Jose Losado as Basil and, of course, the bull fighters.<\/p>\n

The audience was wildly enthusiastic.\u00a0 I\u2019d never heard cheering at the ballet like I heard that night in the balcony at BAM.\u00a0 It often reached rock concert levels.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s sad to see the company go.\u00a0 I\u2019d have loved to have seen more than one performance, but their run was so short.\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping that we Americans won’t have to wait too long to see them again.\u00a0 They are an exciting company who have a very passionate audience here in New York City.<\/p>\n

All photos by Jack Vartoogian<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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