Viengsay Valdes Represents Cuba at Tokyo Ballet Festival

This festival began on July 27 and brings together artists from the best companies of the world. The aim is to provide a general description of the ballet scene today.

The artistic level here is very high and my performances have been exciting, I danced Muñecos, a Cuban piece by choreographer Alberto Mendez, Valdes told Prensa Latina after one of the performances.

I did not do it a long time ago and returning to this piece gave me freshness, I also had the pleasure and honor to work the details with Mendez in Havana, and later transmit them here to my partner, Brazilian Daniel Camargo, principal dancer of the Danish National Ballet, she said.

According to Valdes, if the artists manage to characterize well the characters of the lead soldier and the typical Cuban doll that are found thanks to the magic of light of the moon, they reach the audiences’ hearts; and she believes she has achieved it in Tokyo, the same city where the piece was released 40 years ago.

Muñecos won in 1978 the Choreography Prize during the 2nd International Ballet Competition in Tokyo, and the relationship between the Cuban and universal dance, along with a dramatic end for the appearance of the sun and the return of the characters to their initial state, still attracts audiences from several countries.

After the closing gala on August 18, Valdes hopes to return to Cuba to prepare herself to perform during the 26th International Ballet Festival in Havana, to be held from October 28 to November 6.