CBYE Media Releases

(December 6, 2008)
The Cuban Connection

Ballet may be a dance of the well-heeled and refined in Canada, but down in Cuba it's as hot as Havana nights. For the second consecutive year, that fiery brand of ballet will come to Hamilton as the Cuban National Ballet presents its only North American performance of The Nutcracker

Gary Smith
The Hamilton Spectator
HAVANA, Cuba (Dec 6, 2008)

The salsa boys preen in the street -- slicked-back hair, tight trousers and bright-coloured shirts suggest hot Havana nights.

It's part of the machismo, something that drives Cuban dance.

These same boys turn up an hour or so later inside the faded grandeur of the nearly 100-year-old Grand Teatro de la Habana, home to the Cuban National Ballet. Here, wild with anticipation, they transfer the steam of Havana heat to romantic era ballet. Hollering themselves hoarse at Giselle, the quintessential romantic ballet, they easily transfer the passion of salsa to Giselle's star-crossed story.

In a theatre audience at least 50 per cent male, these guys epitomize the Cuban force of ballet.These are men who like dance.

When was the last time you saw a fist fight break out at Swan Lake? In the Plaza de Cathedral -- an outdoor space in front of Havana's oldest, most historic church -- a rough platform has been set up. Here, thousands watch classical dance for what amounts to pennies.

In the middle of the performance, all hell breaks loose when two burly ballet fans go at it hammer and tongs. Knocking over plastic chairs, throwing punches, they send people scurrying for safety.

Why? One was snapping pictures during the White Swan pas de deux, causing the bloke behind to miss important stage action. Tempers flared, then just as suddenly cooled down. Ballet was better than battle. Swan Lake continued, its romantic spell almost intact.

Male response to dance burns passionately in this Latin country. Like sports, Cuban men see dance as a physical celebration of masculinity. Testosterone levels are high -- on-stage and off.

"Ballet and baseball -- those are our great passions," says 22-year-old Daniele Alejandrosene. "We aren't afraid to show how much we love these things. People today want to take everything apart, to deconstruct, to make new discoveries in dance. We take tradition as it is."

That tradition arrives in Hamilton next week when these same Cuban dancers join our own Canadian Ballet youth ensemble to present a very Latin-flavoured Nutcracker.

This is the second consecutive year this Christmas ballet has been performed in Hamilton by the Cuban company. Its performances here are a coup for the city and the envy of New York, Toronto and Los Angeles. Hamilton is, after all, the only North American stop for this company that regularly tours Europe and Russia.

Local ballet impressario Belma Diamante convinced Alicia Alonso to bring her company to Hamilton because the Cuban dance director believes in outreach. She believes in extending ballet to places it has not been successful before.

Last season's Nutcracker, along with an October engagement of Giselle, was enthusiastically received by Hamilton audiences. But enthusiasm is relative when you're talking about Havana versus Hamilton.

At Hamilton Place, ballet goers -- the majority female -- rose from their seats politely as the performance ended, a far cry from the hysteria that greets these same dancers in Cuba.

Yet there's something bigger at play here than just the difference between Havana heat and December chill in Hamilton. It has to do with what ballet has become in Cuba, what it means to the people, and to the country at large.

There's little doubt Alonso has deliberately used the magnet of dance to create a cultural bond for the people of her country.

"What else do we have to take us out of our lives?" says Fernando Alejandro, 27. "We know it's tough here. We think beyond that. Watching something like ballet connects us with something spiritual and beautiful."

"And it's not elitist, not for us," adds Alejandrosene. "People don't go to the theatre to be seen. For a few pesos, they can celebrate this very physical art and live vicariously through its beauty."

Where did this love come from? How did ballet enchant average Joes who work hard for every peso? How did something many cultures think elitist become the dance of the people?

A country that celebrates music and folk dance, Cuba was never home to ballet. Not until Alicia Alonso.

When she turned her back on a huge and profitable career in ballet in the United States, to return to her homeland and form a ballet troupe, she won the hearts of her people.

When she started her company, during the reign of Fulgencio Batista, she refused to be a political pawn for his hated terrorism.

When Fidel Castro took over the country after the revolution in 1958, one of the first people he contacted was the diminutive Cuban dancer.

Castro saw the worth of her struggle to create a classical ballet company in Cuba -- and he supported it financially. It was something good for Cuba's image abroad.

Alonso took ballet to the streets. She made it something for everyone. She set up rickety stages in fields and squares. She started a school for dance. And, amazingly, she found young men, boys really, who were willing to escape poverty through dance.

"Dance opens the heart and the spirit," Alonso says. "It's the fire in the soul, something that burns in the belly. I love it. And my love for it transfers to other people."

Go to a Ballet Nacional dance class and you'll know what she means.

Discipline is everywhere. But it's combined with affectionate attention. Watch hopeful eyes searching for the slightest flicker of imperfection. Watch these young people work to turn technical wizardry into art.

"Of course, we had problems at first, getting male dancers. Just like anyplace else," says Miriam Vila, director of education for Ballet Nacional de Cuba. "Let's be honest about that.

"Gradually though, Alicia made boys see there was no problem being male and a dancer.

"There's a place called Pina del Rio where the best male dancers are born. They say it's something in the water," Vila grins. "Who knows?

"Those who dance in the company may not have a better life than the average Cuban but they do get to travel. And they find the love of the people."

Vila says Cuban men aren't afraid to show passion on stage.

"They have a physical relationship with their ballerinas. It's a kind of chemistry, something that translates into audience adulation. It's to do with the eyes, the way a Cuban couple looks at each other," she says.

"Is it sexy? I guess so. But it's also artistic."

Over the past few years, Cuban males have dominated world stages. Cuban ballet stars Carlos Acosta and Jose Manuel Carreno regularly sell out performances in New York and London. Their well-chiselled bodies, handsome faces and blazing technique are recognized beyond ballet borders.

But they aren't alone. Alonso has young gods following in their footsteps. Jole Carreno, Javier Torres and Romel Frometa are airborne stallions of dance. Hopefully, these young stars will dance in Hamilton in next week.

Where do such boys come from? "Everywhere in Cuba," Vila explains. "We have a national program for the arts. And all education here is free.

"That's why our dance studios are full. I always take boys -- tall, short, no matter what. If they don't make it into the company they become knowledgeable members of the audience.

"And in every 400 or so," Vila says, "There are five or six who are really gifted."

There is certainly no sign enthusiasm for ballet in Cuba is waning. There are plenty more salsa boys begging for seats to Sleeping Beauty or Giselle. And they're accompanied by fiery Latino beauties in shoulder-strap dresses and gaily printed shawls.

Certainly, the 60th anniversary of the recent Havana Ballet Festival in the Grand Teatro was a rafter-raising affair.

Curtain calls lasted 15 minutes. Crowds stormed the stage. And when Alonso herself took a bow to cap the evening, the roof almost lifted off.

Another Castro, Raoul, knelt at the feet of what must be recognized as one of the great divas of dance. When he saluted Alonso's genius, a wave of love swept through the theatre.

Later in the street in front of the Grand Teatro, crowds chanted, "Alicia, Alicia," wild with excitement.

What makes them care so much? What makes this company so extraordinary?

Passion, of course.

Ballet Nacional de Cuba returns to Hamilton Place from Dec. 12 to 14 dancing with the Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble in performances of The Nutcracker. For tickets, call 905-527-7666.

Gary Smith has written on theatre and dance for The Hamilton Spectator for more than 25 years.