translated from Spanish: National Ballet of China honors Cuban dancer Alicia Alonso

Beijing.- Distinguished members of the National Ballet of China (BNC) paid tribute to the Cuban dancer Alicia Alonso, who is nearing the age of 100 and is considered a living legend of Ibero-American dance.” We admire Alicia very much,” Feng Ying, director of the BNC, said on Wednesday. “In the 1970s, when I was studying at school, I saw a recording of Giselle. Her lightness, fluidity, innocent, cheerful, kind image of a country girl left a deep mark on my mind.”

Since then, Alicia is a role model for Feng. “He is the legend of Cuba and a legend of the world ballet”. HELP US Click the Google News star and follow usThe next December 21st Alonso will be 99 years of age, just one step away from completing the century of existence. The BNC did not want to pass up the occasion to take her in and reaffirm the affection that exists for her in China. Through the Embassy of Cuba in Beijing and the figure of his ambassador, MiguelAngel Ramirez, he was given a series of gifts, including a set of tea and a special calligraphy dedicated by the well-known Chinese dancer Bai Shuxiang.Also the Chinese counterpart he donated to the National Ballet of Cuba 100 special slippers for the practice of classical dance.

Chinese ballet started relatively late. In 1954 a training class was established with the help of Soviet artists and in 1959 the BNC was established. Alonso visited China several times since 1961 and taught at academies in the Asian country.” Alicia Alonso has helped to continuously improve Chinese ballet in terms of innovation and style establishment,” said Feng.La director of the BNC highlighted the collaboration between her institution and the National Ballet of Cuba to conduct a presentation in 2014 Havana, attended by the presidents of both countries. During the rehearsal, Alonso visited them, at 93 years old and without the sense of vision. “With only his ears, he could tell if someone was holding an incorrect posture or missing a breath. While Alice was sitting there, her soul controlled the whole aura, and that magic can only be felt in person, we were completely impressed and excited,” Feng recalled.

In this special presentation, with the help of the then director of the Confucius Institute of the University of Havana, Li Ai, Alonso created a work called “Bailarín”, which pays homage to Chinese culture through two pieces of national music of the Asian country.” The technical level of Cuban ballet is very high,” said Feng, who said that Chinese dance in the new era seeks to absorb the best artistic expressions in the world to become more inclusive. At the same time, the BNC wants to introduce Chinese features to the art of dance to add colors to the world stage.” This year is the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the BNC. We hope that in the future, Chinese ballet will also reach as much influence in the world as Cuban ballet,” Feng concluded. 



Original source in Spanish