Thursday, February 4, 1999
Cuban ballet company celebrates culture in performance
STAGE: Director speaks about upcoming ‘Giselle,’ overcoming
obstacles to pursue passion for dancing
By Terry Tang
Daily Bruin Contributor
Nobody can deny that Alicia Alonso has paid her dues. Although
the 78-year-old director of Ballet Nacional de Cuba no longer
graces the stage herself, she has overcome harsh obstacles such as
severe blindness to manage her internationally-renowned company her
way.
"I do exercises but I mostly direct and choreograph. I just did
‘The Nutcracker’ and another ballet," explains Alonso, who can now
only see shadows from a distance. "I do it with my brain. I see it
and I perform to other people with my arms and head. They tape
videos of my talking and express that to music. Then they give it
to the dancers and teach it to them."
The fruits of Alonso’s labor take center stage on Friday in the
form of "Giselle." A story of ill-fated love between a peasant girl
and a nobleman, the ballet classic will be performed for the first
time in more than a decade by the company of Cuban dancers at the
Wiltern Theatre.
Since its inception in 1841, "Giselle" still remains to be one
of the most challenging ballets for a company to pull off. However,
Alonso could not resist the tale’s romance of tortured lovers.
"Giselle has been deceived by this man, who was not a peasant
but a nobleman. From the shock of her love, she dies of a heart
attack," Alonso says. "In the depths of the forest, he comes to beg
her pardon at her grave. At that time, there was a very old
European legend that at midnight, the Willies come out. (The
phrase) ‘It gives me the willies’ comes from these Willies, who are
the dead females that have been deceived by the persons they love.
Some of them become elves of the water. When it’s 12 o’clock, they
become alive. They pursue every man that comes out after that who
crosses their forest."
Listening to the director speak of her solo passion, it’s hard
to believe that the Cuban dance icon’s dream of ballet almost died
before it even started. At 15, Alonso disobeyed her father, who
strongly attested the idea of his daughter prancing in public.
"He was in the military and a Cuban. And in Cuba, at that time,
it was incredible that decent family members should be onstage
showing their legs," the director recalls. "I was seen as a ‘woman
of the night life.’"
In spite of the conservative view surrounding dance, a teenage
Alonso moved to New York with Fernando Alonso, her fellow dancer
and future husband, and their daughter to train at the American
Ballet Theatre (ABT). Her dancing then led to a breakout role as
the lead in "Giselle."
"I saw her in the old Metropolitan Opera House when I was a
child," reminisces Jane Hermann, vice president of ICM Artists
Agency, the agency representing Ballet Nacional during their U.S.
tour. "I saw her dance ‘Giselle’ with her own company many times. I
got to know her well when, as director of the Metropolitan Opera,
we brought the Cuban Ballet in 1984 at the Met (Metropolitan
Opera)."
While studying at ABT, the star ballerina also broadened her
stylistic range by dancing alongside prominent choreographers such
as Agnes de Mille and Jerome Robbins, whom she worked with in
musical comedies.
"(Robbins) was one of the first persons I met from the dancing
world in the U.S. We were friends from the beginning of his career
and my career. I admire him and love him tremendously," Alonso
recalls fondly.
Despite returning to Cuba with little money, Alonso worked
diligently to build her own dance company in 1948. Two years later,
she opened a school in order to train dancers with her own
technique. Today, both Ballet Nacional de Cuba and the school must
rely on TV and radio publicity in order to keep up with Cuban
teachers’ annual inquiries as to when Alonso and her staff hold
auditions. As a result, Alonso has earned a reputation as a pioneer
in her native land.
"The population of Cuba is only 11 million people. It’s amazing
that they can deliver the number of good dancers they do from a
country with such a tiny population," Hermann points out. "You
would expect a great company to be formed out of a nation like
Russia where there were 800 million people for them to choose from.
But, for a country of only 11 million people to produce this many
good dancers, I would say, is entirely due to her."
Alonso’s delight in the arts is also an interest shared by both
the U.S. and Cuban governments. Under Fidel Castro’s reign, the
Ballet Nacional’s expenses and salaries became fully subsidized by
the government. But when the Soviet Union fell, Cuba also paid a
price. The company lost the relative security that it used to have
with subsidies from Russia.
"The company now tours extensively with the exception of the
U.S. This is a gift by Alicia to the U.S. because in every other
country in the world, they receive high fees," Hermann explains.
"That helps very much to support their budget now. In the U.S.,
we’re not allowed to pay them fees because of the embargo."
Politics aside, Alonso enjoys bringing a part of her culture to
any audience. The veteran ballerina credits past physical hardships
for strengthening her mental determination.
"You cannot stop the mind. If you stop the mind, you’re dead,"
Alonso asserts.
DANCE: "Giselle" runs Feb. 5 through Feb. 7 at the Wiltern
Theatre. Tickets are $25, $35 and $45. For tickets, call (213)
365-3500. For more information, call (213) 380-5005.
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]