Havana, January 1 (RHC)— Cuban National Ballet swans spreaded their wings at Havana’s Grand Theater to celebrate the Cuban Revolution’s 60th anniversary with a world classic The Swan Lake.

The piece was the forte of the Gala at the Grand Theater Alicia Alonso on January 1st at 5 p.m., which featured premier dancers Grettel Morejón and Dani Hernández in the leading roles. Before the three acts and an epilogue, the grand theater’s annual award was announced, as well as mentions of pieces included in the prestigious institution’s book of honor for 2018.

A Cuban National Ballet company communiqué says that the ensemble will have a season of the world classic the four weekends of January and the first weekend of February. With a score by Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky, dancers Sadaise Arencibia and Raúl Abreu will assume the leading roles on Saturday, January 5, while the following day Cuban National Ballet and Australia’s Queensland Ballet premier dancer, Yanela Piñera and Cuba’s Dani Hernández will dance the white - black swan and Prince Siegfried respectively.

The first performance of the Swan Lake took place at the famous Bolshoi Theater in Moscow in 1977, receiving boos, due to the Julius Reisinger’s lousy choreography. The piece didn’t die thanks to Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, who recovered it in 1895. In the 1950’s, Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and Cuban National Ballet company director Alicia Alonso built her own version of the Swan Lake after Petipa and Ivanov, with higher technical demands in line with her own virtuosity.

The Cuban National Ballet celebrated its 70th anniversary on October 28th, 2018, reason for which the Cuban government decided to declare the company a National Cultural Heritage asset.