The Magic of the Havana International Ballet Festival Casts its Spell

It has already been a week since the grand celebration of ballet in Havana began. The 28th Havana International Ballet Festival Alicia Alonso has been enchanting audiences with its new season of Swan Lake in the Avellaneda Room at Teatro Nacional with Nikolai Shugaev as guest conductor.

The inaugural gala night featured the march of young ballet dancers of the National Ballet School onto the stage, a wonderful and heartwarming speech by Azari Plisetsky, honorably accompanied by the elegant prima ballerina and artistic director, Viengsay Valdés, a historic film by Sebastián Miló, “El Milagro cubano,” of Cuba’s iconic symbol of dance, Alicia Alonso, and several modern works of exquisite perfection accompanied by pianists Daniela Rivero and Aldo López Gavilán.

This season’s Swan Lake, choreographed by Cuba’s prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Alonso (1920-2019), based on the original by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Swan Lake first premiered in Cuba in 1986.

Ms. Valdés took the lead role in Swan Lake on November 3. Ballet stars on successive nights include: Ányelo Montero, Ksenia Ovsyanick (Staatsballett Berlin, Germany), Dani Hernández, Margarita Fernandes, Antonio Casalinho (Bavaria State Ballet, Germany), Maria Iliushkina (Ballet Mariinsky), and Semyon Chudin (Ballet Bolshoi, Russia).

This year marks the beginning of an unprecedented collaboration with the Habana Clásica International Festival with pianist Marcos Madrigal (Artistic Director) and guest conductor (and also cellist) Nikolai Shugaev. Shugaev conducts the Grand Theater of Havana “Alicia Alonso” Symphony Orchestra in all performances of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

Madrigal will play on several nights. In addition, he will play music by Ernesto Lecuona, alongside Aldo López Gavilán, for the ballet Gitanerías at the closing gala. The ballet is a creation of Joaquín de Luz. Ms. Valdés and Joaquín de Luz from Spain, dance in this production.

Havana’s International Ballet Festival is a biennial event which gathers together Cuban and international dancers and choreographers.

Cubans, young and old, male and female, love their ballet. Ticket sales have boomed, with most nights sold out.