The National Ballet of Cuba to Perform in Spain and Portugal

With two performances at the Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo, on Friday, April 5, and Saturday, April 6, at 8:00 p.m. (local time), the National Ballet of Cuba will take part in the 2024 Dance Festival organized by the Municipal Culture Foundation of Oviedo.

In the first performance, under the direction of Prima Ballerina Viengsay Valdés, the company will present the full version of «Don Quixote,» a ballet in a prologue and three acts choreographed by Marta García and María Elena Llorente, based on the original by Marius Petipa and the later version by Alexander Gorsky (artistic and choreographic direction by Alicia Alonso); music by Ludwig Minkus, with set design and costumes by Salvador Fernández.

The lead roles will be performed by Viengsay Valdés (Kitri), Ányelo Monero (Basilio), Gabriela Druyet (Mercedes), Luis Fernández (the bullfighter Espada), Estefanía Hernández (Queen of the Dryads), Alianed Moreno (Amor), Ernesto Díaz (Lorenzo, Kitri’s father), and Carlos Lino (Camacho). The roles of Dulcinea, the «Knight of the Sorrowful Figure,» and his faithful squire will be played by Sadaise Arencibia, Dani Hernández, and Roberto González, respectively, all accompanied by soloists and the corps de ballet and the Oviedo Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Idalgel Marquetti.

On Saturday, April 6, as a clear example of its wide stylistic and performing range, the Cuban company will offer a concert program consisting of the ballets «Didenoi,» by Maruxa Salas; «Double Bounce,» by Peter Quanz; «Rítmicas,» by Iván Tenorio; «La muerte de un cisne,» by Michel Descombey; «Majísimo,» by Jorge García, and «Séptima sinfonía,» by Uwe Scholz.

The Oviedo Dance Festival began on March 13 and includes several Spanish and foreign companies, representing a diversity of schools, choreographic perspectives, and approaches to dance, including the Käfig Company from France; Pilobolus Dancer Theater from the United States, and the Antonio Najarro Company from Spain.

With these two performances in Asturias, the National Ballet of Cuba begins an extensive tour through European cities in Spain and Portugal, culminating in Zaragoza on Sunday, June 2.

Source: Press Department of the National Ballet of Cuba.

Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez