Alicia Alonso Gala

Remembering Alicia

Hieratic and perfect, Alicia Alonso sketched a line in the water, a before and after in the history of Latin American classical ballet. Contributing to her legend –heightened by the courage to triumph as a dancer for she was partially blind as of age 19- and fame was as an extraordinary instructor of the fabulous dancers of the National Ballet of Cuba (Ballet Nacional de Cuba), which she founded in 1948 and directed until her death in 2019, at the age of 98.

The last generation of brilliant heirs of Alicia Alonso lead this gala as a tribute and with gratitude towards the absolute maestra. These exceptional dancers have come together to interpret capsules of the repertory -such as Giselle or Carmen two works that are forever associated with Alicia Alonso- to link together a fantastic pearl necklace of eternal classical dance. The Teatro de la Maestranza had originally scheduled this Gala for the 2019/20 season so as to coincide with the centenary of Alonso Alicia’s birth. The pandemic made that impossible but at last the generation which has preserved her style, legacy and signature will dance in her memory.

With the idea and direction of Mayda Bustamante, director of Crea Dance Foundation and Vice President of the Fundación Alicia Alonso in Spain along with the Artistic direction of Orlando Salgado, principal dancer and partenaire of Alicia Alonso for more than 20 years and a troupe of 10 international figures, we will enjoy an approach to dancing which is at once extremely beautiful, precise and elegant.