Havana, January 2 (RHC)-- Cuban President Raul Castro attended the reopening of the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso, with a gala dedicated to the 57th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Cuba's Prima Ballerina Assoluta Alicia Alonso, who turned 95 in December, was also on hand. The emblematic institution recently completed three years of extensive restoration.

The gala consisted of three acts -- Giselle, Act I; Swan Lake, Act II; and Coppélia (Act III), with choreography by Alicia Alonso.

The theater had been under restoration since September 2015. It was named in honor of Alicia Alonso by a decision of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba, exceptionally and in recognition of the contributions of the prima ballerina assoluta and universal culture, love of her country and loyalty to the Cuban Revolution.

The Gran Teatro is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in Latin America. It was inaugurated on April 15, 1838 as Gran Teatro Tacon.