Royal Ballet of London to Dance in Havana

During a press conference held in this capital on Wednesday, the President of the National Council of the Performing Arts, Julián González, thanked the British company for the gesture and described its upcoming presentation in Havana as a most significant cultural event.
González, who is also heading the organizing committee for the visit, added that the announcement of the performances in Havana—scheduled for July 14 to 16 at the Gran Teatro and from July 17 to 18 at the Karl Marx- - is already generating interest among classic dance lovers, who will have an opportunity to enjoy a super production of the Royal Ballet.
With 96 dancers from 19 nationalities and a large technical and artistic team, the British troupe will offer a concert program with pas de deux performances from the international repertoire.
It will devote one evening to the director of Cuba’s National Ballet Company at the García Lorca Hall of the Gran Teatro. The performance will be reproduced live on a giant screen, to be placed at the nearby Capitol building.
Kevin O’Hare, administrative director with the Royal Ballet, told the press that this is a longed-for dream of company director Monica Mason and the rest of its members, who will this way end its summer tour.
He noted that although the Royal Ballet has performed in numerous stages around the world, it was a true privilege dancing in Cuba, with a public that is a connoisseur of the good art of dancing, as he was able to witness, he said, during the most recent edition of the Havana International Ballet Festival.
Among its great attractions, he also mentioned the presence of Spanish prima ballerina Tamara Rojo and principal dancer Carlos Acosta, of Cuba, and the choreography of Manon, by Kenneth Macmillan, which will be premiered on the island.
He said that presentations at the Gran Teatro and the Kart Marx will be accompanied live, respectively, by the Orchestra of the Gran Teatro, under the direction of maestro Giovanni Duarte and by the Symphony Orchestra conducted by British Daniel Capps Martin.
He announced that the performances in Cuba will be part of a film already being shot.