Havana, Dec 21 (Prensa Latina) The most renowned Cuban artist worldwide, Alicia Alonso, turns 96 today with the strong will to give her country a lastign legacy through the National Ballet of Cuba (BNC).

Alonso devoted her life to dance, first to form herself as a respectable ballerina, then to the creation of her own personal style, and then to perpetuate the ballet deeply within the Cuban culture.

Together with brothers Fernando and Alberto Alonso she founded the first professional ballet company in Cuba, 60 years ago, when that art was scarcely understood in Latin societies.

Despite the social, political and health situations that she suffered, the decision and courage of this woman made her persist in raising her status as a dancer.

Alonso supported the social revolution that began in Cuba in 1959, and raised above prejudices and ideologies to take her art to the people, factories, fields, forests,and any street.

Famous for her unique technique, some people still speak of the Alonso fifth, referring to a specific position of the feet, while the old lovers of ballet especially cherish the times they saw her transform into Giselle and Carmen, among other classic ballet characters.

Being 96 years old, the artist is still active as a teacher, choreographer, director of the BNC and of the Havana's International Ballet Festival, in which the most renowned dancers of the planet participate.