{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-c03aa079.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-517835be.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Ballet remains a firm favourite for Cuban dance fans' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c2ead8eafeecae15d50c' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c2ead8eafeecae15d50c' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nBallet remains a firm favourite for Cuban dance fans\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eCubavision Historical File 1. Ballerina Alicia Alonso on stage 03 April 2002 2. Alicia Alonso arriving Cuba's National  School of Ballet 3. Close up Alonso and Svetlana Ballester 05 February 20034. Wide shot Ballester giving ballet class...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eCubavision Historical File \u003cbr/\u003e1. Ballerina Alicia Alonso on stage \u003cbr/\u003e03 April 2002 \u003cbr/\u003e2. Alicia Alonso arriving Cuba's National  School of Ballet \u003cbr/\u003e3. Close up Alonso and Svetlana Ballester \u003cbr/\u003e05 February 2003\u003cbr/\u003e4. Wide shot Ballester giving ballet class \u003cbr/\u003e5. Close up her giving class \u003cbr/\u003e6. Medium shot pianist and students \u003cbr/\u003e7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Svetlana Ballester, Dance Instructor National  Ballet of Cuba:  \"I think almost all little girls always wanted to be ballerinas and make  it to the National Ballet and be involved in this world.\" \u003cbr/\u003e8. Medium shot male student dancing \u003cbr/\u003e9. Medium shot Ballester teaching dance \u003cbr/\u003e10. Close up ballerinas dancing feet  \u003cbr/\u003e11. Medium close 3 to 5-year-old students with teacher \u003cbr/\u003e12. Medium same \u003cbr/\u003e13. Medium pianist and small children \u003cbr/\u003e14. Children performing exercises \u003cbr/\u003eFile - October 2002 Ballet Festival\u003cbr/\u003e15 Pan up Carlos Acosta and Viengsay  Valdes dancing. \u003cbr/\u003e16. Close up same \u003cbr/\u003e17. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Viengsay Valdes, Prima Ballerina Ballet de Cuba:  \"I dreamed since I was a little girl that I wanted to be the Prima  Ballerina. I would watch the masters of the Cuban National Ballet and  that was my motivation to reach my goal.\" \u003cbr/\u003e15 Feb 2003\u003cbr/\u003e18. Wide shot Carlos Acosta on stage \u003cbr/\u003eOct 2002\u003cbr/\u003e19.  Medium shot Fidel Castro on stage with dancers \u003cbr/\u003e20. Pan right Garcia Lorca Theater audience clapping \u003cbr/\u003eIt's hot and muggy in the dance studio at Cuba's National Ballet, but  the aspiring ballerinas don't seem to notice as they execute  their moves to the piano music with scrupulous precision. \u003cbr/\u003eOnly a few of these dancers will be chosen to be the next Sleeping  Beauty or Cinderella at Havana's elegant Gran Teatro. \u003cbr/\u003eBut all remain  hopeful... keeping up their daily ballet classes and rehearsals. \u003cbr/\u003e\"My childhood dream was to be a ballerina, like any Cuban girl,\"  says 26-year-old Viengsay Valdes, her hands on the barre. \u003cbr/\u003eAfter slipping into her first ballet slippers at age 9, Valdes went  on to become one of the few top ballet dancers in a country where the  masses, not just the elite, are the true classical dance aficionados and the  ballet company is among the best in the world. \u003cbr/\u003eAs a top dancer, Valdes receives a government salary similar to  that of an important scientist or doctor: about $25 a month, as well as  food, housing and other government subsidies.  \u003cbr/\u003eShe has toured with the Cuban ballet and as a guest with foreign  companies, giving part of her foreign earnings to the government. \u003cbr/\u003eAs Valdes leaves the studio, dozens of girls between 3 and 5 years  old file into the room in their colorful leotards, forming lines to  await their first ballet steps - and their first taste of the discipline  that classical dance requires. \u003cbr/\u003eFunded by the island's communist-run government, Cuba's classical  dance programme is world-class, training dancers for a company that has performed in 58 countries and received about 300 international awards. \u003cbr/\u003eFounded by Cuban's living ballet legend, Alicia Alonso, in 1948,  the National Ballet of Cuba has managed to forge its own style out of  old Russian and Western techniques. \u003cbr/\u003eAlonso, an 82-year-old former prima ballerina who was a principal  dancer with American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet,  retains a strong grip over the company, even though she now has trouble  moving and can barely see. \u003cbr/\u003eA familiar figure with her proud, turban-wrapped head and wide  mouth, Alonso erected Cuba's classical dance program from the ground,  training several generations of dancers highly sought by some of the  world's best ballet companies. \u003cbr/\u003eAfter having been the company's director, choreographer and teacher,  Alonso still decides what the dancers will wear, who will go abroad,  with whom they will dance, what they will dance. \u003cbr/\u003eAnd she has counted on the support of President Fidel Castro and  his revolutionary government since the early years. \u003cbr/\u003eAlonso, who had worked with such great choreographers as Georges  Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Agnes de Mille and Jerome Robbins, started  the Ballet Alicia Alonso in 1948 in Havana. \u003cbr/\u003eThe company was renamed the National Ballet of Cuba in 1959 when it  received support from the government \u003cbr/\u003eThe company is regarded as one of the top troupes in the world and  Cuban dancers consistently win at international competitions. \u003cbr/\u003eFormer stars include Jose Manuel Carreno who became a principal with the British Royal Ballet  and the American Ballet Theatre .\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='action-container flex justify-between'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' aria-label='Read more description' class='rp-full-description' type='button'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cspan id='read_more'\u003eRead More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-report'\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='resource-details-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' id='resource-details-heading'\u003eResource 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