Mexico, South Africa & Cuba Dancers Win Havana Ballet Contests

On Sunday, ballet students and dancers from Mexico, South Africa, and Cuba were awarded in the competitions of the 28th International Meeting of Academies for the Teaching of Ballet, which takes place in Havana.

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The winners stood out in their performance of ballets from the 19th century and contemporary repertoire. About 136 contestants competed on behalf of 34 ballet schools.

The Cuban National Ballet (BNC) Director Viengsay Valdes presided over the jury, which Cuban dancers Anette Delgado, Dani Hernandez, and Rosario Cardenas integrated.

Egle Lopez, the director of the Mexican ballet company Siglo XXI, and Dirk Badenhors, the president of the South African International Ballet Competition, also integrated the jury.

This international meeting, which the Cuban Center of Art Schools and the National Ballet School "Fernando Alonso" organized, seeks to promote the education of new generations of dance artists.

This year’s edition has comprised classes and workshops on makeup and modern dance techniques and will end on April 12 with an artistic gala in which participants will dance ballets learned in the workshops.

Founded by the Cuban prima ballerina Assoluta Alicia Alonso and dancers Fernando and Alberto Alonso, the Cuban ballet school is internationally recognized for its rigor and teaching style. Since 1994, this Company has hosted meetings with dance academies from other countries.

"Ballet is taught worldwide, but few dance academies have taken on a unique style. This is the main merit of the Cuban ballet school: having created its imprint," Cuban National Ballet Historian Miguel Cabrera stated.