EFE (via 14ymedio), Madrid, July 7, 2023 — The classic Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa, performed by the Cuban ballet from the city of Camagüey, faces its first weekend of presentation to the public at the EDP Gran Vía de Madrid theater before its return to the Island.
The dance piece directed by Regina Balaguer tells the love story between Prince Siegfried, performed by the main dancer, Yanni Ulices García, and Princess Odette, performed by Rosa María Armengol, a young woman trapped by the curse of the sorcerer Voth Roberth, who turns her into a swan during the day and a human being at night.
The climax of this work, staged by dancers between the ages of 19 and 21, is to break Odette ’s spell, which will happen with the promise of true love.
In statements to EFE, the director of the ballet group for more than 25 years, Regina Balaguer, explains that Swan Lake has many versions, but assures that in this one “love triumphs.”
She also says that preparing the dance performance was very “intense” work, because for many dancers it was the first time they had contact with the famous choreography.
Similarly, Balaguer relates that the show requires a lot of effort from the dancers, “especially from the protagonist who plays two different roles, Odette and Odile (the black swan).”
It is the third time that this company has performed in Madrid; it had previously done so with the romantic ballet Giselle in 2009 and in 2018 with Carmen, the contemporary neoclassical work by choreographer Peter Breuer.
“Cuba and Spain have always had good relations, mainly in culture and dance (…) ballet has always had preferential taste in the Spanish country. Whenever we come, the public has welcomed us very well,” said Balaguer, who is also a deputy of the National Assembly of People’s Power on the Island.
For the former Cuban dancer, each of her performances are like a “child.”
“A child of mine and of everyone who collaborates (…) The effort is collective,” clarifies the director, who leads a team of more than 90 to stage the ballets.
The work, which has already been presented in the Spanish city of Barcelona with “very good reception,” will be performed in the Spanish capital until August 6.
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