Eduardo Blanco, choreographer for the National Ballet of Cuba [Ballet Nacional de Cuba or BNC], has turned “La leyenda del agua grande” [The Leyend of the Great Water], the Guaraní myth that explains the origin of the Iguazú Falls (located between Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil), into dance. It is a Brazilian-Cuban co-production that arose from a conversation with Tayna Cándido, a BNC student dancer who came from Brazil to Cuba, and who spoke to Blanco about Iguazú. Blanco states that the ballet “reflects how the falls, declared a World Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO, appeared.” This South American legend has never been represented in classical ballet.
The choreographer says, “I believe that it is a very beautiful plot because it tells the story of Naipí, a maiden of the Guaraní tribe, of Tarobá, a great warrior, and of Mbói Tui, a serpent with a the head of a parrot that causes, with his anger, the Falls to open and spout out. At the same time, he turns Naipí and Tarobá into a rock and palm tree. I believe that this is the first ballet that deals with that South American theme. The dancers are very happy and that is something very satisfying for me.”
With music by Miguel Núñez, the dance creation is being performed in Cuba and will have its premiere in Brazil in Juky and August; it will be performed in different cities, such as Sao Paulo, Río de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, and Brasilia.”
Blanco adds, “For being a premiere, everyone is very anxious and the public is waiting for what is going to happen, since for other performances such as ‘Swan Lake,’ ‘Giselle’ or others, they know the theme, the music and everything, but this I think is very different, so I want them to enjoy it.”
For full articles, see http://www.cubanow.net/pages/articulo.php?sec=22&t=2&item=8481 (in English), and (in Spanish) http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cultura/2010-05-26/este-sabado-la-leyenda-del-agua-grande-en-el-gran-teatro-de-la-habana-/ and http://www.cubarte.cult.cu/paginas/actualidad/noticia.php?id=145170
