The Cuban National Ballet School ''(Escuela Nacional Cubana de Ballet)'' in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, with approximately 3,000 students is the biggest ballet school in the world and the most prestigious

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

school in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. It is directed by Ramona de Sáa.

History

The school dates back to the Ballet School of the Sociedad Pro-Arte Musical de La Habana, founded in 1931, where the

prima ballerina assoluta ''Prima ballerina assoluta'' is a title awarded to the most notable of female ballet dancers. To be recognised as a ''prima ballerina assoluta'' is a rare honour, traditionally reserved only for the most exceptional dancers of their generatio ...

Alicia Alonso Alicia Alonso (born Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez del Hoyo; 21 December 1920 – 17 October 2019) was a Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer whose company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955. She is best ...

her former husband Fernando Alonso and his brother

Alberto Alberto is the Romance languages, Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic languages, Germanic ''Albert (given name), Albert''. It is used in Italian language, Italian, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, ...

received their earliest ballet classes. In 1961, state-sponsored education began with the creation of the Alejo Carpentier Provincial School of Ballet (''Escuela Nacional de Ballet Alejo Carpentier''). The following year, the National School of Ballet was created as part of the National School of Art. The fundamental characteristic of this teaching institution is in its formation, sustained in the methodology of the Cuban school of ballet. Like all the Cuban educational systems, the education of the ballet in the country is free.

Expansion

The school was able to accommodate 900 students until the president Fidel Castro, who, in a visit to the school, suggested the idea of new studio space. After some proposals, he decided to raise the number of students from 900 to more than 4,000 children and adolescents. Director of the school, Ramona de Sáa recalls: "quickly we started doing the study: how many students per classroom, how many professors... and in a few days we were delivering the project to the president for the new social order of the school." In 2002 the expansion allowed the program to begin the work to select 4,050 students out of the 52,000 that were interested.Escuela Nacional de Ballet
- entre 52 mil alumnos interesados, los cuatro mil 50 que integrarían los talleres. Professionals from the

Cuban National Ballet The Cuban National Ballet ( es, Ballet Nacional de Cuba) is a classical ballet company based at Great Theatre of Havana in Havana, Cuba, founded by the Cuban prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Alonso in 1948. The official school of the company ...

, the Superior Institute of Art and the Elementary School of Ballet divided into 35 teams to select the students that would attend the school.

Graduates

Many of the school's alumni are eminent professionals, recognized in Cuba and internationally. Most of them form part of the Cuban National Ballet, one of the most important companies of the world. Some are given permission to join, or defect to, foreign ballet companies, primarily American.

Location

Paseo del Prado e/ Trocadero y Morro

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

References

External links

Escuela Nacional de Cuba page on Cubarte

State-Sponsored Culture within Modern Day Cuba
- video report by ''

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