Cuban dance highlights at Colombian festival

Havana.-  Cuban dance reached higher levels during the 9th Cali International Ballet Festival, that concluded recently as affirmed Miguel Cabrera, Cuban National Ballet historian.

On arrival to Havana, the historian considered the event as a celebration of art and friendship and assured that Cuba had a bright representation with the performance of first dancers Viengsay Valdés and Víctor Estévez, young main dancers Dayesi Torriente and Luis Valle and Cuban Contemporary Dance Company (DCC, as per its initials in Spanish).

The festival had a very high professional level with delegations from 13 countries with strong dance tradition, but the Cuban presence eclipsed the rest because nobody had such a reception like the Cubans had, Cabrera commented for Prensa Latina.

According to the historian, Valdes was the most awaited artist for her great international recognition and with Estévez, they closed two of the galas with the pas de deux of the ballets The Black Swan and Don Quixote, which they repeated at the closing of the Festival before 15 thousand people.

They succeeded and the specialist considers they captivated the audiences not only for their technical virtuosity, the amount of twists and extended balances, but for the couple relationship and the performances of the innocent and in love Sigfried prince opposite to perverse and very seductive Odile, known as the Black Swan.

The Teatro Municipal of Cali has an inclination of more than five degrees that generally intimidates the artists, but the Cubans danced there with great composure and didn’t allow that obstacle to affect their performances, stated Cabrera.

Valdés and Estévez turned difficult into virtue, as affirmed Spanish critic Roger Salas in El País journal and also considered a contribution to the festival the world premiere of Dueto, new choreography of the Cuban National Ballet dancer Elis Regina Hernández.

Salas described the piece performed by Torriente and Valle as an intense dialogue, while Cabrera praised the beautiful line of the girl’s legs and said that from the inaugural gala both ratified the prestige definition of the Cuban National Ballet in the world. 

According to the historian, there was a rainfall little before the doors opened but the public covered with newspapers and umbrellas stayed and offered a great ovation to the experienced Valdés and Estévez for the excellent performance they made of fragments of the ballet Carmen by Alberto Alonso.

Gloria Castro, Festival’s director, told El País Colombian journal that performances such as those of Viengsay Váldes, Uruguayans and Germans dancers evidenced a relevant level.

The historian also said that DCC is a favorite company in Cali, a city they were visiting for the third time and the audience was amazed with the choreographies El cristal, by Cuban Julio Casar Iglesias; Carmen, in version of Finnish Kenneth Kuanstrom and Identidad a la menos uno, by Cuban Georges Céspedes.

During the Festival, Cabrera offered a master class, ten didactic shows and participated in a round table about the dance in Latin America.  

Source: PL