Cuba ballet festival reflects diplomatic pas de deux with U.S.
Cuba ballet festival reflects diplomatic pas de deux with U.S.
Mon Oct 31, 2016 | 6:11am EDT
By Sarah Marsh | HAVANA
A woman in a floaty dress wrestles a minotaur who reflects her inner demons in "Errand into the Maze", one of the Martha Graham Dance Company works that made its Cuban premiere this weekend to thunderous applause at the Havana ballet festival.
The troupe was performing in the Communist-run island for the first time since 1941 and is one of seven American companies participating in the 10-day event, underscoring greater U.S.-Cuban cultural exchange in the wake of the countries' detente.
"The standing ovation said it all," said a beaming Cuban spectator, 64-year-old Maria Antonia Armas. "It was fabulous. I just hope this exchange will continue to flow."
The Cuban and American ballet worlds have a deeply entwined history and the founding father of Cuban dance, Ramiro Guerra, studied under Graham in New York in the 1940s.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-ballet-idUSKBN12V0WU?rpc=401
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Martha Graham - Errand into the maze
Ballet Nacional de Cuba
Danza Contemporánea de Cuba dance La Ecuación in Cubanía
Giselle - Ballet Nacional de Cuba
