The Cuban school

Ballet in Cuba:

Cuba has its very own, distinctive, Cuban style of ballet: the Cuban school. It combines elements from the French, Russian, British and American schools with Cuba’s multicultural roots. Founded by Alicia Alonso, the grande dame of Cuban dance, it is highly respected all over the world and forms the basis for the education at Havana’s world-class state ballet school.

Modern dance in Cuba:

Modern dance reached Cuba relatively late, in the 1950s. A grounded counterpoint to the airiness of classical ballet, modern dance experienced its first heyday in Europe and the US in the 1920s and 1930s. But the Cuban response to these new influences remains unique and affords them a privileged position in the international dance scene to this day.

Similarly to Alicia Alonso in classical ballet, the protagonists of Cuban modern dance combined European and American modern dance with Cuban dance traditions. Ramiro Guerra Suárez spearheaded this development, out of which a unique style of movement was born.