Cuban National Ballet

The Cuban National Ballet (Spanish: Ballet Nacional de Cuba) is a classical ballet company based at Great Theatre of Havana in Havana, Cuba, founded by the Cuban prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Alonso in 1948. The official school of the company is the Cuban National Ballet School.

The company was founded by Alicia Alonso, her husband Fernando, and Fernando's brother Alberto on October 28, 1948 as Ballet Alicia Alonso. Two years later in 1950, the Alicia Alonso Academy of Ballet school was established to promote the talents of young Cuban dancers. Both of these schools were annexed to the professional ballet company by 1956.

Prior to the Cuban Revolution the Cuban ballet thrived artistically however struggled financially. The Cuban government declined to fund it. When Fidel Castro took control of Cuba in 1959, he committed to leveling the social structure and to make the arts available to everyone. “The old government was out and the new hope was coming for the arts and the ballet in Cuba,” recalled Margarita de Saá, former BNC ballerina. The coming of the Cuban Revolution, marked the beginning of a new stage for the Cuban ballet. With state funding from Fidel Castro suddenly ballet became important to the country and its identity. That year, as a part of a new cultural program, the company was reorganized and it took the name of National Ballet of Cuba. With free funding by Fidel Castro, Cuba’s ballet program grew to unimaginable levels of practice that rivaled and in some cases surpassed several of the National Ballet programs in Europe. Significant improvements in traditional repertory, unique and diverse choreographic advances, established works that were recognized routinely as visionary achievements in Cuban contemporary choreography.

Significant improvements in traditional repertory, unique and diverse choreographic advances, have established works that are recognized routinely as visionary achievements in the contemporary choreography. The BNC has choreographed and performed completely new versions of classics such as Giselle, The Swan Lake or Coppélia. These masterpieces are sometimes accompanied with works coming from the renovating movement of Sergei Diaghilev Russian Ballets Petrushka, or Afternoon of a Faun; and ballets created by Cuba's national choreographers.

With the revolution in 1959 and its policy to make art available to everyone, the Alonsos grasped the opportunity to set up the school by receiving funding from the government. Government funding for the Ballet Nacional continues to this day. These funds allow the Ballet to scour the country and hand pick gifted students. They set off to search all over the country to find children with aptitude whom they might teach. They travel to over 14 provinces, with the criteria that prospective students should have musicality, good body proportions, and the ability to follow simple steps. Cuba funds a country-wide teaching organization called the National School of Ballet, directed by Ramona de Saá. According to alum Lorena Feijoo, "Our training was very, very intense. We would dance from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and we would have to do character dances and French language and piano. We learned how to read music, folklore, African dances, historical dances, and salon dances. It was a very complete dance education."

The system remains the same today. Boys have been encouraged to audition as much as girls, and over the years this has become an easier task now that parents realize the financially rewarding future that awaits good dancers. During their eight-year period of training, all students receive support from the government, everything is free. After completing the training, a dancer earns approximately $30 a month, which compares to the salaries of doctors and skilled workers.

Following the classical Soviet system, the National Ballet School turns out 40 professionals a year.

The choreographic versions of the classics are known internationally, because of the many performances at major theatres. This includes theatres such as The Ballet of the Paris Opera, where Giselle was performed, and the Grand Pas de Quarte, where The Sleeping Beauty was performed. In addition, the school has performed Giselle at other major theatres including the Vienna State Opera and the San Carlos of Naples. Furthermore, performances such as La Fille Mall Gardee occurred at the Opera Prague and The Sleeping Beauty at the Teatro alla Scala of Milan.