CubaPLUS Magazine

Viengsay Valdes, deputy artistic director of the Cuban National Ballet (BNC), on Monday recognized the contribution of film to dance as an essential art expression to record essential historical information.

There are dancers who find it difficult to convey in words what they feel when dancing and a simple verbal explanation fails to express what motivates them; however, an image can help us immediately capture what we want to say through a gesture or a sequence within a story, the prima ballerina said. Valdes is currently supervising the snow scene rehearsals of the classic 'Nutcracker,' which the BNC will perform during the opening gala of the 41st International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, on December 5, at Karl Marx Theater in Havana. As she told Prensa Latina, that special moment of the piece, over music by Piotr Ilich Chaikovski, will be intertwined with an audiovisual material honoring Alicia Alonso. Thus, film and dance will offer a tribute to the recently deceased Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and the most universal artist of the island, whose excellence was immortalized by several films produced in conjunction with the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC). In Valdes' opinion, the film 'Giselle,' directed by Enrique Pineda Barnet in 1963, is a jewel and similar projects should be undertaken with other works to portray a choreographic and artistic legacy, as there are performances by experienced dancers that deserve to be preserved. On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the founding of Havana this year, the BNC worked with director Jonal Cosculluela in the production of a video clip with multi-award-winning composer and pianist Chucho Valdes to honor the capital, where music, dance and film are passionately promoted.