Havana, December 22 (RHC)-- For the second consecutive year, the Ibero-American Dance Day was dedicated to prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso, on the 101st anniversary of her birth this December 21st.
To celebrate the life and the indelible legacy of Alicia, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, in coordination with the National Dance Museum, the Casa de la Obra Pía and the National Fine Arts Museum, have prepared a series of activities, the first of which was the inauguration in Havana of a large, traveling exhibition in public spaces across the capital, which compiles the winning works of the 1st Alicia Alonso International Dance Photography Competition.
Alicia was a dancer, choreographer, dance professor and the founding director of the flagship classical dance company of Cuba.
Other highlights include yet another photography exhibition by Argentinian artist Óscar Pipkin. It compiles photos of two 20th century dance legends: Alicia Alonso and Rudolf Nureyev taken during a memorable performance in Palma de Mallorca, Spain in 1990. It marked the first and only time that Alicia and Rudolf danced together. They danced the ballet ‘Poema del amor y el mar’, with choreography by Alberto Méndez and music by French Ernest Chausson.
The exhibition was inaugurated Tuesday at Casa de la Obra Pía Museum in Old Havana.
Also, the book ‘El arte fotográfico de Alicia Alonso’ will have a special presentation at Havana’s National Fine Arts Museum. Written by Pedro Simón Martínez, it was published recently by the Spanish publishing house Cumbres de Madrid.
Cuban experts Pedro de la Hoz and Yuris Nórido spoke extensively about Alicia’s vast work as a choreographer, developing her own style and thus, contributing decisively to a Cuban ballet school.
In Alicia’s honor, the foreign ministers of the Ibero-American countries declared December 21 as Ibero-American Dance Day.
Alicia Alonso died on October 17, 2019. She was 98.
