Cuban School of Ballet - About BNC
About BNC
Ballet Nacional de Cuba (BNC)
The Cuban National Ballet constitutes one of the top five most prestigious dance companies of the world and prominently ranks in contemporary Hispano American Culture. Founded by Ms. Alicia Alonso, the Cuban National Ballet is the highest expression of the Cuban style of ballet. Ms. Alonso’s passion, tenacity, and her extraordinary discipline combined with her creative mind transformed traditional ballet from a rigid dance into a delightful discipline infused with sensuous movements. Since the founding of the BNC, the company’s performances have simply exploded in the world’s theatres in over 58 countries.
 Cuban Style of Ballet
The Cuban style of ballet follows the classical Soviet system with a unique expressive flare that stems from Ibero-America,Caribbean cultural roots. “The Cuban style comes from deep within the Cuban spirit, from our joys and from our sadness,’‘ Alonso says. “Some people are turned inward. The Cubans are always out, sensual. The Cuban ballet style comes from me, from my way of projecting my whole being.”
BNC Today
Since its foundation 60 years ago, Madame Alonso’s goal of popularizing ballet has become a tremendously successful story. In today’s Cuba ballet is as popular as baseball, the national pastime. By 2002, under the direction of Ramona de Sáa, the Cuban National Ballet School in Havana with an enrolment of 4,350 students became the largest ballet school in the world. When expansion of the school started in 2002 out of 52,000 students interested to join the school, 4,050 were selected. The Cuban National Ballet School turns out 40 professionals a year many of which are now marquee names in top ballet companies throughout the world. Today several American and British companies have former dancers from the Cuban National Ballet School among their principal dancers.
The Cuban Phenomena is taking the world!
The BNC has choreographed and performed completely new versions of classics such as Giselle, Swan Lake and Coppélia. Following the romantic and classical tradition, the BNC has a rich history of stimulating the creative talent of its choreographers who under Ms. Alonso's guidance have improved both contemporary and classical ballet. At age 84 and nearly blind, Alicia Alonso is still at the helm of the BNC. Despite her age, she doesn’t show signs of leaving.
International Workshops
 The International Dance Program was created in March 1999. Directed by Alicia Alonso, its main objective is to teach students and visiting professors the methodology of the renowned Cuban form of ballet. Through the International Dance Program, knowledge is manifested through special Cuban techniques, idiosyncrasies, aesthetics and characteristics of Latin American culture.
Participants are instructed by prestigious professors and maîtres of the National Ballet of Cuba. Programs are structured by means of theoretical-practical classes spanning a variety of disciplines: Ballet, En pointe , Variations, Classic Duet, Modern Dance, history of dance, music appreciation, physical preparation and Make-up. Individual programs may be designed for qualified professionals and students at Ms. Alonso's discretion. Graduates of the program receive a certificate awarded by the National Ballet of Cuba. The duration of the courses can vary and may begin at any time of the year.
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