Consequently, two pairs of guest stars will share this Saturday’s performance of the Swan Lake with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba (BNC) at the Teatro Nacional at 2:30 p.m. local time.

Russian artists Maria Iliushkina, from the Mariinsky Theatre company, and Semyon Chudin, from the Bolshoi, will star in the first and second acts, while Portuguese soloists Margarita Fernandes and Antonio Casalinho, from the German Bavarian State Ballet, will take on the main roles in the third act and the epilogue.

On the other hand, the Teatro Martí, at 19:00, will host a mixed gala in which the Compañía Colombiana Incolballet will present a fragment of Nuestros valses, by the top universal Venezuelan creator, Vicente Nebrada, on a score by Teresa Carreño, played live by the virtuous Cuban pianist Marcos Madrigal.

To make the performance even more special, the Festival’s own president, Viengsay Valdés, current director of the BNC, will join the Colombian cast as prima ballerina.

jrr/nmr/msm