Ballet legend, Alicia Alonso, and the Cuban National Ballet Company, are joining Santiago’s 500th anniversary celebrations with performances of the classic Giselle at the Heredia Theater on Saturday and Sunday.
Premier dancers, Anette Delgado and Sadaise Arencibia, will assume the role of Giselle, Dani Hernández and Alfredo Ibáñez will be Prince Albrecht; Estheysis Menéndez and Dayesi Torriente will be Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis; while Hilarion is set to be assumed by Ernesto Díaz, all of them supported by the company’s soloists and corps de ballet.
Alicia Alonso’s choreographic version and personal performance of the ballet Giselle received the Grand Prix de la Ville de París in 1966, while in 1972, the emblematic Paris Opera Ballet made it part of its repertoire. The ballet was premiered on June, 28th, 1841, at the Paris Opera with sets by Pierre Ciceri and costumes by Paul Lormier.
Other actions that the famed Cuban ballet company will take to the Heroic City will be the screening of the films: Alicia Alonso. Órbita de una leyenda (Alicia Alonso. Orbit of a legend) by José Ramón Neyra, and Tres mitos para una noche (Alicia Alonso, Rudolf Nureyev y Victoria de los Ángeles) (Three myths for an evening: Alicia Alonso, Rudolf Nureyev and Victoria de los Ángeles).
