Pas de Deux in Havana
Cuban culture embraces a great richness of dance forms, from the indigenous areito to the danzon, mambo and cha cha cha that gave birth to salsa and the religious and secular dances the west Africans brought to these shores. But Cuba also excels at the very European tradition of ballet: there are schools all over the country and the Cuban National Ballet School is the largest ballet school in the world. Founded by the nonagenarian Alicia Alonso in 1948, the Cuban National Ballet in Havana is one of most prestigious in the world, and its home is the Gran Teatro de la Habana, an Art Nouveau building built by the Galician community in Havana as a social centre, which is the most gorgeous building in Havana. We can arrange for you to go backstage at the Ballet Nacional de Cuba and watch the prima ballerina and her leading man give a private performance for your eyes only. We can do the same with Cuba’s leading female flamenco star or a contemporary dance troupe such as that of the British-Cuban dance star Carlos Acosta.