Director of the National Ballet of Cuba Alicia Alonso will receive a tribute from the American Ballet Theater in New York next month in celebration of her 90th birthday. The Cuban dancer and choreographer began her professional career with the American Ballet Theater, where she danced the main role in Giselle in a critically-acclaimed performance in 1943. She will be honored on June 3 at the Metropolitan Opera House.

The prima ballerina assoluta has been an ambassador of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, which set off decades of tensions with the United States including trade sanctions that continue today. Alonso will travel to Spain on Friday, following a European tour, and already has a visa to travel to the U.S. at the end of this month.

The ballerina, who was born on December 21, 1920, has already received birthday tributes across the world, including in London and Enghien-les-Bains, France, last April. [Also see previous posts: Homage to Alicia Alonso in Cuba and A tribute to Alicia Alonso in Dance Biennale.]

For full article, see http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-23087–5-5–.html