Cuba Hosts Bolshoi Ballet at Karl Marx

By Circles Robinson

Decades ago the Bolshoi performed "Le Spectre de la Rose" in Cuba.

HAVANA TIMES, Feb. 10 — Two world famous ballet companies —the Bolshoi Ballet of Russia and the Cuban National Ballet— will share the stage before a packed house this Saturday night at Havana’s 5,000 seat Karl Marx Theater.

Bolshoi soloists arrive in Havana back in 1966.

For Havana dance lovers the return of the Bolshoi to the island after a 30-year absence is the second big treat in less than a year as the Royal Ballet of London performed last July, including Cuban sensation Carlos Acosta.

The Bolshoi’s performance in Havana comes as part of the cultural program for the Cuba International Book Fair (Feb. 11-21) to which Russia is this year’s guest of honor.

The prestigious dancers will stage pieces from the “The Nutcracker” and “Giselle” ballets.