Cuban ballet defectors expected to dance at Miami gala

Posted on Monday, 06.09.14

Cuban ballet defectors expected to dance at Miami gala
BY NORA GAMEZ TORRES
NGAMEZTORRES@ALNUEVOHERALD.COM

At least six dancers from the National Ballet of Cuba who abandoned the
company during their recent performance in Puerto Rico plan to dance in
a Miami gala later this month.

Mónica Gómez, Ignacio Galíndez and Raisel Cruz arrived in Miami
Saturday, and Jorge Oscar Sánchez, Ariel Soto and Liset Santander were
expected to arrive late Monday night. It's possible two other dancers
also stayed in Puerto Rico and did not return to Cuba with the company,
but their names haven't been confirmed.

Pedro Pablo Peña, director of the Cuban Classic Ballet in Miami,
announced that the newcomers will be presented next Sunday at Miami-Dade
Auditorium as part of a gala dedicated to Russian ballet. The gala
features Lorena Feijoó, who is also Cuban and a principal dancer with
the San Francisco Ballet.

At both the Cuban Classic Ballet and at the Hispanic Ballet of Miami,
where he was formerly, Peña has devoted his time to help and promote
Cuban dancers who defect.

On the National Ballet of Cuba website, Cruz and Gómez are listed as
members of the corps de ballet and Galíndez appears as a "coryphée."

Cuba's immigration laws consider those who abandon delegations or
official work contracts as "defectors" who can be banned from returning
to the country for eight years.

However, some dancers have been able to leave and settle in other
countries. But many are not allowed to dance again on Cuban stages for
many years. In the past, other principal dancers, such as Viengsay
Valdés, have been authorized to dance at galas and festivals with
foreign companies without losing their status as members of the National
Ballet of Cuba, which was founded by Alicia Alonso in 1948.

Magaly Suaréz, who was a professor at the company and also teaches in
the United States, said she can't understand "why some dancers can do
that while others can't."

The exodus of dancers from the National Ballet of Cuba is nothing new.
Ever since the first tours of the ballet corps after the Cuban
Revolution, there have been defectors who have stayed in various
countries. Still, the increased frequency of dancers' arrivals in the
United States and other countries points up current shortcomings in
Cuba's ability to develop young dancers.

Peña said most of the young dancers are leaving for professional
reasons, rather than political motivations. "All that the young people
do is dance, and they are not too involved in political activities," he
said. "What they want is to develop their careers. Also, in the case of
dancers and athletes, their careers are very short, especially among men."

Cuban dancers also complain of the rigidity and the lack of
experimentation in stage presentations by the Cuban company, which they
say is reluctant to incorporate trends or works by more contemporary
choreographers.

When she arrived in Miami on Saturday, Raisel Cruz, 25, referred to the
situation of young dancers at the national company as "precarious and
frustrating." She said that it is difficult to become a principal dancer
without "a very direct friendship with certain professors."

The ballet company's financial situation is also difficult. In 2009, the
Royal Ballet performed for the first time in Havana and paid tribute to
Alonso. But its dancers complained to the British newspaper The Guardian
about the heat, the bugs and the poor conditions at Havana's Grand Theater.

The success achieved abroad by dancers trained at Cuba's national ballet
company also is a strong incentive for young dancers to look abroad.
Among the many who have achieved stardom are Carlos Acosta, José
Carreño, Rolando Sarabia and the Feijoó sisters, Lorna and Lorena. .

Last year, seven young dancers arrived in Miami, and all of them found
work in less than six months. Randy Crespo and Arianni Martín joined the
Arizona Ballet, Edward González was quickly hired by the Sarasota
Ballet, Annie Ruiz Díaz and Luis Víctor Santana are with the San Juan
Ballet, Alejandro Méndez is working in Phoenix, and Josué Justiz is in
the Washington Ballet's training pool.

"It's not too difficult because they have the quality level," Peña said.
"Their résumés are sent to company directors and, because many arrive
without videos or any other means to show their work, the fact that they
are able to dance in Miami when they arrive gives them credibility."

Source: Cuban ballet defectors expected to dance at Miami gala -
Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/09/4168441/cuban-ballet-defectors-expected.html