The Teatro Melico Salazar was a quick ride from the museum, and we planned our schedule so we would get there in time to have a late afternoon lunch before the Ballet Nacional de Cuba performance started at 5. The theatre has a wonderful café called Café Raventos (https://www.facebook.com/raventoscr). They have a delightful lite menu, and the description on their Facebook page – that they are a place “filled with history and art” – fits perfectly. We were all very happy with our selections, both in food and special coffees – or in my case, hot chocolate. Since I will occasionally have fish when I am out, I had a wonderful trout salad. (If you are a regular reader to this blog, you may remember that my diet is plant based except for occasional fish when I am out.)
By the time we finished our meal, the café had gotten quite full and noisy, so we were glad we had gotten there at 3 and enjoyed a leisurely meal. The café literally leads right into the lobby, and we found our way to orchestra seats. When I saw the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in April of 2023, I had seats in the mezzanine. I don’t recommend that, as there are poles spaced regularly and so it’s hard to tell which seats have obstructed views. In the orchestra, there is no problem, so that is where I plan to sit from now on.
The performance opened with Dionaea, the most abstract piece of the program. In googling the word “Dionaea,” I discovered it refers to the Venus flytrap plant. It’s a carnivorous plant with tiny “trigger hairs” lining its edge at the end of the plant leaves. It snaps shut when an unsuspecting bug or spider trips one of the hairs. A large chorus of female dancers in red unitards portrayed the plant, with their arms creating patterns to represent the triggering hair. I was impressed by the very tight ensemble quality of the large group of dancers. Program notes indicate that a female soloist “represents a living petal” who separates herself from the other female dancers and dances the power of attraction to three male soloists. The tall female dancer, Sadaise Arencibia, was elegant and enticing. The piece was choreographed by Gustavo Herrera with music by Villa-Lubos and premiered in 1984. The costumes and set complemented the movement.
The next piece, Muto, was a short solo for a male dancer. It was a haunting and technically challenging contemporary-style piece spectacularly performed by Roque Salvador. The choreographer Alberto Mendez is well known and respected, having created many pieces for Ballet Nacional de Cuba. The music was by Edward Grieg.
A classical duet from El Corsario (Le Corsaire) concluded the first half of the program. It was choreographed by the company’s famous prima ballerina Alicia Alonso (1920-2019), based on the original choreography by Marius Petipa created in 1899. It was brilliantly performed by Grettel Morejon and Yankiel Vazquez, with both duets and solo sections.
The second half of the program was the ballet Carmen. The piece was created in 1967, and Alicia Alonso was well known for the role of Carmen. Detailed program notes reminded us of the story and how the company interprets it:
The staging of the National Ballet of Cuba concentrates its intention on revealing the essential contradictions between Carmen’s rebellious personality and the forces of her time, represented by the characters that surround her. Carmen faces a society that, according to its canons, denies and judges her. The dilemma that is presented to her is to adapt or perish; and she, free, willful, individual, prefers to die.
The plot is summarized as follows: the gypsy Carmen, a beautiful and sensual woman, is terrible in her passions. She works as a cigarette maker in the factory where she has quarreled with one of her colleagues, for which she is arrested by Captain Zúñiga. Carmen seduces Sergeant José so that he forgets his duty and helps her escape, turning him into a smuggler and thief. Later, the gypsy falls in love with the young bullfighter Escamillo. José, seeing himself betrayed by Carmen, stabs her to death.
Carmen plays with the feelings of three men: Don José, the bullfighter Escamillo and Zúñiga. The famous protagonists of Merimée’s novel are located in a bullring, which symbolizes life. The fighting bull and Carmen’s destiny come together in a sinister character.
What an amazing event. The Ballet Nacional de Cuba has an outstanding reputation, and it didn’t disappoint at all. I felt the company was even stronger than when I saw it in April 2023. In particular, the ensemble work was much tighter and the soloists both technically and emotionally outstanding.
There are so many plusses to living in Atenas, Costa Rica. I love that it is a small town. That I live on a beautiful, spacious property filled with fruit trees and tropical flowers, overlooking mountains and farming land. I do miss going regularly to the ballet, modern dance concerts and musical theatre. What a wonderful treat it is when a company like Ballet Nacional de Cuba comes to Costa Rica and I am able to attend.
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