General Secretary attends performance of National Ballet of Cuba

On the evening of November 28, General Secretary To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly attended a performance by the Cuban National Ballet at the Ho Guom Theater (Hanoi).

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Trinh Thi Thuy and Ambassador-designate of the Republic of Cuba to Vietnam Rogelio Polanco Fuentes presented flowers to the National Ballet of Cuba.

On the evening of November 28, at Ho Guom Theater, the National Ballet of Cuba performed a performance to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the troupe's first performance in Vietnam in December 1964.

This is also the opening event of a series of events towards the 65th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Cuba diplomatic relations (December 2, 1960 - December 2, 2025).

General Secretary To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly attended. Also present were Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Trinh Thi Thuy and Ambassador-designate of the Republic of Cuba to Vietnam Rogelio Polanco Fuentes.

In 1964, the National Ballet of Cuba visited the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, becoming the first foreign art troupe to visit Vietnam. The troupe's visit took place when Vietnam was still at war, marking a milestone in the history of solidarity between the Cuban and Vietnamese people.

Ambassador-designate of the Republic of Cuba to Vietnam Rogelio Polanco Fuentes speaks.

Speaking at the opening of the performance, Ambassador-designate of the Republic of Cuba to Vietnam Rogelio Polanco Fuentes welcomed General Secretary To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly, and representatives of Vietnamese ministries, departments and agencies to the performance. This is a great source of encouragement and demonstrates the deep concern and high priority of the Party and State of Vietnam for cultural development, an indispensable part of the prosperity and spiritual life of the people. This also demonstrates the depth and diversity of the special relationship between Vietnam and Cuba.

Introducing the National Ballet of Cuba, Ambassador Rogelio Polanco Fuentes said that the Theater is a national cultural heritage of Cuba, founded 76 years ago.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro Ruz affirmed that the Theater “is a wonderful testament to the talent and will of its founders: Alicia Alonso, Fernando Alonso and Alberto Alonso, who created an authentic dance movement in Cuba, inspired by the masses and with global influence.”

And 60 years ago, in December 1964, members of the Cuban National Ballet, led by Alicia Alonso, Director of the Theatre and founder of the Cuban Ballet School, were received by President Ho Chi Minh, who expressed his firm belief that one day they would perform in an independent and unified Vietnam. This eventually became a reality in the troupe’s subsequent performances in 1978 and 2016.

According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Trinh Thi Thuy, the special art performance by the Cuban National Ballet Theater continues to affirm that cultural cooperation is one of the important pillars of friendship, overcoming the geographical distance between Vietnam and Cuba; at the same time, it demonstrates the spirit of solidarity of the two nations - where the language of art is a cultural bridge connecting the hearts of the Vietnamese and Cuban people closer and more firmly.

Performances to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first performance of the National Ballet of Cuba in Vietnam.

At the performance, artists from the National Ballet of Cuba performed and exchanged performances with Vietnamese ballet artists from the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet Theater, including excerpts from classic ballets of Cuban and world ballet art such as "Sylphides" - a famous neo-romantic ballet, combining novel elements of lines and composition into dance, thanks to which its author innovated ballet art in the early 20th century; or "Carmen" - this ballet had its world premiere at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow in 1967, and on August 1 of the same year, this ballet was performed at the Grand Theater in the capital La Habana, Cuba with a special performance by talented artist Alicia Alonso./.

According to VNA

Source: https://baobinhduong.vn/tong-bi-thu-du-chuong-trinh-bieu-dien-cua-doan-nha-hat-ballet-quoc-gia-cuba-a336522.html