Another 12 dancers from the Camagüey Ballet would have stayed in Spain

After the massive desertion suffered last September, another 12 dancers from the Camagüey Ballet (BC) would have stayed in Spain, according to reports on social networks.

“More than half of the dancers from the Camagüey Ballet stay in Spain! The young people of Cuba continue to choose to flee from the lack of hope," he indicated through Instagram the Cuban independent journalist Henry Constantin, director of Cuba Time.

The famous dance company returned to Cuba after two months of touring Spain, where they performed Nutcracker in Madrid and Zaragoza. However, 12 of his dancers decided not to return to the Island.

“This is news that hardly surprises, and that is repeated in all spaces,” Constantin said in a live broadcast in which he gave the exclusive scoop on the massive desertion. “Twelve stayed in Spain. Only eight returned, more than half decided not to dance in Cuba again,” the journalist stressed.

“They decided to look for a better future there. Even if they don't have to dance, even if they have to make their way in other jobs, in other jobs. They decided to give up their careers. Because this government does not give them a future. What a sad reality! When is it going to change? We do not know. But we Cubans have to do something,” he added.

Work par excellence in the Christmas festivities of the Western world, the Nutcracker which brought the Camagüey Ballet to Spain, was not very well received by critics. Under the direction of Regina Maria Balaguer, the choreography performed at the Teatro Principal in Zaragoza disappointed critics.

“In what should be the crowning moment of this ballet, a scene that is part of the anthology of our art, Camagüey loses the momentum of the choreography. It is a 'pas de deux' that should be deeply romantic, but here it cannot be conveyed. In short: the choreography and school of this company is not correct. The art of dance does not only consist of knowing how to turn, but quality must be present from the moment you step onto the stage," published the Herald of Aragon.

In mid-September, eight members of the Camagüey Ballet stayed in Spain during the company's tour. “Unfortunately, now eight dancers are left,” its director admitted to the official press.

When referring to how he maintains the solidity of the company he directs despite the abandonment of his dancers, Balaguer admitted that “it is a complex problem” and “at this moment much more intense, but the BC throughout its history has had exoduses. People here develop and then go to Havana, abroad or another job, due to a question of salaries and prices,” he alleged.

“We are not going to tie them down either, everyone is the owner of their life”, stated the dancer, teacher and Director Cuban. “But the most important thing is that they ended the commitment, except for two; They showed off their artistic technical development. We will look for alternatives,” he assured.

Likewise, she recalled that when she was a dancer and Fernando Alonso directed the BC, “on one occasion 13 solo dancers, first soloists, left, and the company continued. In '94, 12 returned from Monterrey, the company was left without men. "We went to Mexico in 2004 and six stayed, but in 2018 we were in Switzerland and Spain and no one stayed."