This Christmas season of a classic choreography from the international repertoire will be staged on December 29 and 30, and on January 1, 5, 6 and 7.
As is traditional, the BNC performance on January 1 will be dedicated to celebrating another anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution, as highlighted at a press conference by BNC Director Viengsay Valdés.
The show will take place at 5:00 pm, local time, as well as on January 7, while the rest of the performances will take place at 8:30 p.m. local time, according to the schedule reported by Cubaescena.
Valdés said that in the new season of The Nutcracker, the company will be accompanied by the Solfa singing group, directed by teacher Mailán Avila, and made up of more than 40 children.
This way, the company continues to commit to bringing renowned choreographies to the stage accompanied by live music, provided by the Symphony Orchestra of the Alicia Alonso Grand Theater of Havana, under the direction of Maestro Yhovani Duarte.
The main roles will be assumed by Viengsay Valdés, Anette Delgado, Sadaise Arencibia, Grettel Morejón, Dani Hernández and Yankiel Vázquez.
Ernesto Díaz, Chavela Riera, María Luisa Márquez, Anyelo Montero, Estefanía Hernández, Jorge Guerra, Luis Fernández and Víctor Alvarez will also participate, supported by the company’s corps de ballet.
The magic of The Nutcracker returns in December in a version choreographed by prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso, to celebrate 25 years of its premiere, which took place during the 16th Havana International Ballet Festival in November 1998.
Alicia Alonso’s choreography is based on the original ballet by Lev Ivanov, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, inspired by the original libretto by Marius Petipa, based on Alexandre Dumas’ free version of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, by E.T.A. Hoffmann.
In order to create it, Alonso started from the choreographic elements that are preserved from the original and, above all, from the peculiar style conceived for this ballet by the Russian choreographer and dancer Lev Ivanov.
BNC Historian Miguel Cabrera told Prensa Latina that Alicia had the sagacity here to give it a Creole touch, appropriate to the characteristics of the Cuban school of ballet.
In this version of The Nutcracker, the sequence of the children, the gifts and the magician really shines, and also scenes of great imagination such as the snow, the candy, and the different dances that accompany the second act, the BNC General Director pointed out.
Valdés stated that this is one of the great ballet classics, ideal for raising the public’s enthusiasm, as it is full of joy and optimism, and children who see it for the first time never forget it. jg/kmg/dla
