National Ballet performances continue at the Avellaneda Hall

Havana, November 7 - The National Ballet of Cuba (BNC, for its acronym in Spanish), under the general direction of prima ballerina Viengsay Valdés, will continue its performances this month at the Avellaneda Hall of the National Theater, with shows taking place this Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th at 7:00 p.m., and on Sunday the 9th at 5:00 p.m.

Sources close to the BNC announced that the program will begin with “Love Fear Loss,” choreographed by Ricardo Amarante, who also designed the costumes and lighting, with music by Édith Piaf, Marguerite Monnot, Jacques Brel, and Charles Dumont, in a piano transcription by Natalia Chepurenko.

It will continue with the solo “Ballet 101,” with choreography, costumes, and lighting by Eric Gauthier; A sound collage by Gauthier and Jens-Peter Abele; and staging by Cesar “Sonny” Locsin; closing the program with "A fuego lento" (On low heat), also by Ricardo Amarante, with music by Lalo Schifrin, Astor Piazzolla, Carlos Gardel, and Sayo Kosugi.

Specialized journalist José Ramón Neyra explained that the most recent program presented by the BNC included one of those works created especially for the company by Australian choreographer David Jonathan, titled "Espejo del mundo" (Mirror of the World), a work of great beauty; and, given its impact on the public, it is hoped that it will return to the stage soon.

This acquisition of the repertoire adds to creations incorporated in recent years by Alexei Ratmansky (Russia), Ben Stevenson, Cathy Marston, and Gemma Bond (United Kingdom), Kyle Abraham (United States), Annabelle López-Ochoa (Colombia/Belgium), Pontus Lidberg (Sweden), Johan Kobborg (Denmark), Peter Quanz (Canada), Joaquín de Luz and María Rovira (Spain), Susana Pous (Spain), and the Cubans Alberto Méndez, Ely Regina Hernández, Pepe Hevia, Osnel Delgado, and Raúl Reynoso.

Neyra added that this relationship serves no other purpose than to demonstrate versatility, since each of these choreographers has validated their aesthetic creed and spirituality within the company, in works of very distinct artistic personality.

Tickets for the coming weekend can be purchased at the theatre box office until Saturday, from 1:00 p. m. to 6:00 p. m., and on show days from 6:00 pm on Saturday, and on Sunday from 1:00 p. m., in both cases until half an hour after the show has begun. (Text and photo: ACN)