Choreographer
Alicia Alonso
Performers
Joel Carreno
Annette Delgado
Romel Frometa
Victor Gili
Hayna Gutierrez
Octavio Martin
Viengsay Valdes
Sadaise Arencibia
Miguelangel Blanco
Yolanda Correa
Felix Rodriguez
Javier Torres
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Ballet Nacional
de Cuba
Sadler's Wells
16 - 21 August 2005
Cuba punches far above its weight in international ballet, and that is mainly thanks to the Ballet Nacional and its formidable founder, inspirer and iron mistress, Alicia Alonso. Great Cuban exports such as Carlos Acosta, whom London is privileged to have at the Royal Ballet, have helped make Cuban dance synonymous with panache, precision and poetry.
Such high expectations perhaps contributed to a sense of disappointment about the first half of this mixed bill of 19th century classics at Sadler's Wells. Despite a flawless Corps de Ballet, the excerpts from Giselle, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker were stiff and graceless. In the pas de deux from Act II of Giselle, Hayna Gutierrez and Victor Gili went competently through the motions, but conveyed little of the sense of tragedy and regret of that incomparable scene. In the extracts from Nutcracker, Romel Frometa danced with wonderful clarity, but the whole was unconvincing.
And then, in the second half of the evening, everything changed. We got panache, precision and poetry in spades. The Grand pas the deux from Act III of Don Quixote was one of the most exhilarating performances of ballet I have ever seen, a rival even to the Kirov's greatest performances. Viengsay Valdes (Kitri) and her partner Joel Carreno (Basil) are great dancers. They have everything: technical bravura, power, narrative talent, lyricism, subtlety. Valdes's ability to balance on pointe was breathtaking; it seemed that she could have stayed there for ever.
It was hard for Sadaise Arencibia and Miguelangel Blanco to follow with the haunting scene of doomed love from Act II of Swan Lake; but they did it superbly. The excerpts from Coppelia (with Yolanda Correa and Octavio MartC-n) and Sinfonia de Gottschalk were also peformed with artistry and virtuosity.
A series of snatches from the classics is always a little frustrating; but the elegant, clean phrasing and astounding technical perfection of the Cubans turned this into a deeply fulfilling evening.
Simon May
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