Washington, October 18 (RHC)--The dance community has lost a true icon, the U.S. publication Dance Magazine said after the death of the legendary Cuban dancer Alicia Alonso, whose legacy also highlighted other U.S. media and institutions.
Alicia Alonso passed away Thursday at 98. Our hearts go out to her friends and family. The dance community has lost a true icon, the magazine said on Twitter.
That magazine also published a work that initially appeared this Thursday in Pointe magazine with the title Remembering Alicia Alonso, Cuba's Prima Ballerina Assoluta.
Alonso received recognition throughout the world for her flawless technique and her ability to become one with the characters she danced, even after she became nearly blind, said Toba Singer, a connoisseur of the island 's dance and author of the book Fernando Alonso, the father of ballet in Cuba.
After a career in New York, Alicia Alonso, and her then husband Fernando Alonso established the National Ballet of Cuba (BNC) and the National Ballet School of Cuba, both of which grew into major international dance powerhouses and beloved institutions in their home country, Singer said.
For its part, the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington DC indicated on Twitter that it joined in mourning the death of the ballet legend, and recalled that the dancer was present in 2018 at that important cultural institution during the Artes de Cuba Festival.
The center recalled that Alonso received a standing ovation in May last year during the BNC presentations, which then commemorated the 40th anniversary of its historic debut on that stage.
Similarly, the American Ballet Theatre, one of the most recognized classical dance companies of the 20th century, honored Alonso's imprint on that group, of which she was the founder.
Alicia Alonso was a driving force in classical ballet in Cuba and around the world. She respected the traditions of ballet and dedicated her life to maintaining them through the training of several generations, said the artistic director of that ensemble, Kevin McKenzie.
The Washington Post, in turn, called the Caribbean island artist an 'indomitable ballet star,' highlighted her impeccable technique and stage presence, and celebrated her famed performance in Giselle's title role.
' More than 60 years after she first performed it, Ms. Alonso’s interpretation is still widely considered the definitive version of one of ballet’s most difficult and demanding parts,' noted the Washington Post.
