Josefina Méndez
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Josefina Méndez
Josefina Méndez (nickname Yuyi; 8 March 1941 – 26 January 2007) was a Cuban ballet dancer and ballet mistress. Along with Loipa Araújo, Aurora Bosch, and Mirta Plá, she is regarded as one of the "Four jewels of Cuban ballet". Her style was noted for poetic play with subtlety and discipline. She was a principal artist with the Cuban National Ballet (''Ballet Nacional de Cuba''; BNC). She received the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France. Career Born in Havana in 1941, Méndez studied music at home while enrolled in the Alicia Alonso Ballet Academy. She joined the BNC in 1955, debuting on March 27 in ''Swan Lake'' in a man's role because the company was experiencing a shortage of men at that time. She left for the US within a couple of years and joined the troupe of the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California, before touring with Ballet Celeste, and returning to Cuba in 1959. By 1962, she was the BNC's principal dancer. In the same year, she received the titl ...
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Ballet Dancer
A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancers are at a high risk of injury due to the demanding technique of ballet. Training and technique Ballet dancers typically begin training at an early age as young as three or four if they desire to perform professionally and often take part in international competitions such as Youth America Grand Prix, YAGP and Prix de Lausanne. At these events, scholarships are being granted to the most talented dancers, enabling them to continue their training at renowned ballet schools around the world, such as the Stuttgart Ballet, John Kranko Schule in Germany and the Académie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace in Monaco. Pre-professional ballet dancers can audition to enroll at a vocational ballet school such as Royal Ballet School, The ...
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National Art Schools (Cuba)
The National Art Schools (Escuelas Nacionales de Arte) of Cuba is one of the most important educational institutions of the Cuban nation and has been declared as "National Monument". Cuba's National Art Schools (Escuelas Nacionales de Arte, now known as the Instituto Superior de Arte) are considered by historians to be among the most outstanding architectural achievements of the Cuban Revolution. These innovative, organic Catalan vault, Catalan-vaulted brick and terra-cotta structures were built on the site of a former country club in the far western Havana suburb of Cubanacán, which was once considered to be Havana's "Beverly Hills", The schools were conceived and founded by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in 1961, and they reflect the utopian optimism and revolutionary exuberance of the early years of the Cuban Revolution. Over their years of active use, the schools served as the primary incubator for Cuba's artists, musicians, actors and dancers. By 1965, however, the art schoo ...
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Ballet Mistresses
A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In modern times, ballet masters are generally charged with teaching the daily company ballet class and rehearsing the dancers for both new and established ballets in the company's repertoire. The artistic director of a ballet company, whether a male or female, may also be called its ballet master. Historic use of gender marking in job titles in ballet (and live theatre) is being supplanted by gender-neutral language job titles regardless of an employee's gender (e.g. ''ballet master'' in lieu of ''ballet mistress'', ''wig master'' as an alternative to ''wig mistress''). History of the position Especially during the early centuries of ballet troupes and ballet companies from the 18th century until the early 20th century, the position of ''fir ...
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Prima Ballerinas
A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancers are at a high risk of injury due to the demanding technique of ballet. Training and technique Ballet dancers typically begin training at an early age as young as three or four if they desire to perform professionally and often take part in international competitions such as Youth America Grand Prix, YAGP and Prix de Lausanne. At these events, scholarships are being granted to the most talented dancers, enabling them to continue their training at renowned ballet schools around the world, such as the Stuttgart Ballet, John Kranko Schule in Germany and the Académie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace in Monaco. Pre-professional ballet dancers can audition to enroll at a vocational ballet school such as Royal Ballet School, The ...
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Cuban Ballerinas
Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americans, citizens of the United States who are of Cuban descent * Cuban Spanish, the dialect of Cuba * Culture of Cuba * Cuban cigar * Cuban cuisine ** Cuban sandwich People with the surname * Brian Cuban (born 1961), American lawyer and activist * Mark Cuban (born 1958), American entrepreneur See also * * Kuban (other) * List of Cubans * Demographics of Cuba * Cuban Boys, a British music act * Cuban eight, a type of aerobatic maneuver * Cuban Missile Crisis * Cubane Cubane is a synthetic hydrocarbon compound with the Chemical formula, formula . It consists of eight carbon atoms arranged at the corners of a Cube (geometry), cube, with one hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom. A solid crystalline substanc ..., a synthetic hydr ...
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Dancers From Havana
Dance is an art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements or by its historical period or place of origin. Dance is typically performed with musical accompaniment, and sometimes with the dancer simultaneously using a musical instrument themselves. Two common types of group dance are theatrical and participatory dance. Both types of dance may have special functions, whether social, ceremonial, competitive, erotic, martial, sacred or liturgical. Dance is not solely restricted to performance, as dance is used as a form of exercise and occasionally training for other sports and activities. Dance performances and dancing competitions are found across the world exhibiting various different styles and standards. Dance may also be participated in alone as a form of exercise or self expression. Dancing is ...
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