The director of the National Ballet of Cuba (BNC), Viengsay Valdés, is in Argentina to perform in the Special Gala marking the 100th Anniversary of the Ballet Estable of the Teatro Colón, joining 15 other guests of honor for the tribute.

In a brief conversation with Prensa Latina while walking from her hotel to the theater yesterday evening for the final rehearsal, Valdés noted that she will perform a pas de deux from the choreographic work Carmen by Roland Petipa, partnered by Argentine dancer Emmanuel Vázquez, Principal Dancer of the Ballet de Santiago de Chile.

She was invited by renowned Argentine dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher Julio Bocca, now director of the Ballet Estable, along with 15 other distinguished figures in the art form, she added.

This marks the fourth time the Prima Ballerina, a title she has held since 2013, has performed in Argentina. Her debut came in 1998 at the Teatro Colón, followed by a 2008 return to participate in the International Dance Stars Gala held in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, and Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, she recalled.

Regarding her 1998 performance, dance critic Silvia Gsell wrote in La Nación: "Viengsay Valdés brought light to her interpretation (pas de deux from Sylvia) with that inherent quality of this Company (the BNC) of showing neither strain nor theatrical gimmickry. Her arabesque balances, delicate port de bras, and the assuredness of her training were dazzling."

In Rosario and Santiago del Estero, she performed Muñecos, choreographed by Alberto Méndez, alongside Romel Frómeta, as well as a pas de deux from Don Quixote.

Her third visit to Argentina came in 2013, when she took part in the International Stars Gala at the Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires, shining in pas de deux from Don Quixote and The Talisman, partnered by Víctor Estévez, then a leading figure of the BNC.

Twelve years later, she returns to Buenos Aires, now as director of the prestigious Cuban company and with the same enthusiasm as in previous visits. "I feel happy and honored that Julio Bocca considered me for this special occasion," she said, celebrating the Centenary of the Ballet Estable.

According to the program accessed by Prensa Latina, the Gala will feature 17 choreographic works, including Paquita, Gopak, La Sylphide, Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Carmen, Jewels: Diamonds, The Sleeping Beauty, Carmina Burana, Romance del Diablo, and Chacona, concluding with excerpts from Don Quixote.

The event will include live music performed by the Orquesta Estable, recorded music as required by the choreography, and an appearance by the Coro Estable, with its hundred singers also taking the stage.

Since its inauguration in 1908, the new Teatro Colón building served solely as a venue for the world’s most prestigious international companies until 1925, when the Ballet Estable debuted alongside the Chorus and the Orchestra.