DIARY OF THE BALLET FESTIVAL: A Great Dancer Called Azari Plisetsky

In many of Alicia Alonso's historical films, the great Cuban dancer is accompanied by a Russian artist who marked the future of the Cuban National Ballet for several years: Azari Plisetsky.

He came to participate in a collaborative program of the former Soviet Union for the training of dancers, in the early 60’s... and he stayed in Cuba longer than he had thought.

He was the star dancer of the company founded by Alicia, Alberto and Fernando Alonso... in fact, he starred alongside Alicia in the great classics of tradition, (Giselle and Swan Lake, for example) and new works conceived in those years, such as the famous Carmen, by Alberto Alonso.

Plisetsky was a great reference for male performers who trained in the National Ballet of Cuba and in the artistic education system.

At the opening gala of the Alicia Alonso International Ballet Festival of Havana, this Monday, Azari Plisetsky gave the opening remarks. He improvised an emotional speech, in which he expressed his deep love for Cuba and recalled the years of his fruitful career working in the country, for the country.

And there, on the stage of the Avellaneda Ward of the National Theater, the beloved artist expressed his confidence in the continuity of the Cuban ballet tradition and in the talent of the new generations, reaffirming his faith that the dream of dance on the island will endure.

The audience rewarded him with a warm ovation.

Thanks to the cinema, there are many testimonies of the creation of Azari Plisetsky. His rigorous and demanding style, together with a deep understanding of classical ballet, impacted the technique and expressive force of Cuban dancers. From their first collaborations, he contributed a renewed vision that combined discipline and artistic sensitivity.

Plisetsky remains an inspiring figure, and his presence at the opening gala reaffirms his link with Cuban ballet and its history. Cuba remains, in memory and affection, his home.

A premiere by Pontus Lidberg

The premiere of the opening gala was The Weight of the Moment, a creation by the Swedish choreographer Pontus Lidberg (one of the most recognized figures of the current European dance scene) for the National Ballet of Cuba, on music by Aldo López Gavilán, which was performed by the composer live.

Lidberg, known to Cuban fans for his work here with Acosta Danza, subtly and elegantly handles the cast. The collective dynamics anticipated (or even configured) the performances of the main dancers, with a playful cadence.

In this alternation, the group not only accompanies, but is also an organic reflection of the soloists, as if each movement were a response or an extension of those that precede it. Individual nuances then merge, transcending the simple (and traditional) relationship between the main performers and the corps de ballet.

A fine sense of humor goes hand in hand with the lyrical vocation... without stridency, without outbursts. It’s the (another) concretization of a poetics that habitually explores the emotional foundations of the collective, the diversity of personal impulses and intentions that make up the common effort of a group. A powerful metaphor when it comes to ballet.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff