Special Remarks

The Cuban National Ballet is one of the most prestigious ballet companies worldwide and has an outstanding place in contemporary Spanish-American culture. The artistic-technical rigors of its dancers, scope and diverse aesthetic creations of Cuban choreographers, grant this ballet company an internationally relevant place among greatest institutions of this genre.

The Company was created in 1948 with Alicia Alonso as principal founder and most outstanding dancer. In 1950, the Alicia Alonso National School of Ballet was founded adjunct to the professional company. From its beginnings, artistic work started based on the respect for romantic and classical tradition - thus stimulating at the same time - the choreographers creative work in the search for new forms in national and contemporary art.

Already in this early stage, the making-up of complete classical versions like Giselle, Swan Lake or Coppelia were always accompanied by ballet pieces from the renovating movement of Diaghilev's Russian ballets as Petrouchka or L´Apres Midi d´un Faun and ballets created by Cuban choreographers as Fiesta Negra, Songoro Cosongo, Concerto and Shadows among many others.

The triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 marked the beginnings of new developmental stages for Cuban Ballet. That same year, as part of a new cultural program, the Cuban National Ballet was thus organized. Since then, it had a vertiginous success in enriching its repertory and developing new dancers, choreographers, professors and creators among other genres related to ballet - as to the work of painters, musicians and other artists linked to perfecting traditional repertories. This strong choreographic movement was encouraged with works placed within most significant achievements of contemporary choreographers.

Besides its intense activity, the Cuban Ballet Company has managed to socially project its art on a national level. It annually develops a program of international tours that takes it to theater of diverse countries in Europe, Asia and America. Important awards as the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris and the Felix Varela Order of the Republic of Cuba are added to the tribute by most outstanding
The National Cuban ballet representatives of specialized critique and to the prizes received by the company's dancers, in an individualized way at competitions and international festivals.

The Cuban National Ballet is the most important expression of the Cuban School of Ballet - that on the basis of its cultural heritage offered by many centuries of tradition in theatrical ballet, has accomplished its own form of dancing: a heritage blended with essential traits of our national culture.