CUBAN TRANSITIONS

The National Cuban ballet, located in central Havana, is host to some of the most skilled classical dancers in Cuba and also the world. It was founded by the famous ballet dancer Alicia Alfonso and her husband in 1948 with the hopes of  spreading classical training in dance to young aspiring artists. The company has succeeded in its original endeavors in creating an international name that is recognized and applauded by dancers everywhere, but an important question that needs to be investigated is whether or not the company has succeeded in carrying out the goals of the revolution.

The goals of the revolution, or rather the ideologies are that of complete gender, class, and racial equality. These are the ideals that have been promoted by the Cuban state under socialism and the ideals that I feel have been neglected in the National Cuban ballet as well as other classical art forms in Cuba. I had the pleasure of seeing a live performance by the National Ballet during my stay in Cuba where I was able to base the majority of my conclusions surrounding this subject. I immediately noticed that all of the dancers were fair skinned cubans except for the lead male ballerina in the performance who was an Afro-Cuban. I soon found out that this was a huge rarity in Cuba from a kind Afro-Cuban woman who literally explained most of the social injustices and struggles that people of color go through on the island in our short time together.

According to the woman, the young Afro-Cuban male is originally from a poorer part of Cuba and had to work three times as hard as white Cubans to gain the respect and opportunities that he has received through the National Ballet. I asked her about the involvement of other Afro-Cubans in the Ballet, and she merely shook her head incredulously at my question. This account as well as how the company looked visually on stage with hardly no to zero darker skinned Cubans represented in an art form that is so prided by the government, tells me that Cuba has a long way to go in terms of accomplishing the goals set out by the revolution.

It is clear to see how the National Cuban Ballet presents many contradictions to the revolution. In “Music and Ideology”, Peter Manuel raised the questions, “Does classical music constitute a Trojan horse continuing elitist bourgeois values? Is the Cuban state merely vying for international prestige..?”I can only say yes, that this is exactly what the Cuban state is doing until we see more diversity in representation within the classical arts. In the present moment it seems as though it is reserved for only the social elite.