2016 visit to the Fernando Alonso Ballet School - Photos by our delegate Rosalie O'Connor

2016 Ballet Festival - Photos by our delegate Rosalie O'Connor

26th International Ballet Festival of Havana 
in collaboration with the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School

October 28-November 4, 2018
Registration Deadline - July 1, 2018
Limited to 15 participants




Through this exciting program, you will experience the vibrant richness of ballet and contemporary dance in Cuba, attending daily ballet performances with the participation of the Cuban National Ballet Company, international dance companies such as the Martha Graham, Buenos Aires and  San Francisco and dancers form South Corean, Dutch, Mongolia, Spain, Uruguay, Ireland and Puerto Rico. Our people-to-people exchanges will take place when we visit the Cuban National Ballet School, Cuban dance companies, cultural centers, museums and Las Terrazas.  The program includes daily tickets for evening ballet performances.


Program Package Fees









What is included?


PROGRAM PACKAGE


  • Orientation before the day of departure
  • Cuba Travel Guide for a safe and fun trip
  • Emailed information about sites to be visited
  • Ground transportation in luxury AC bus
  • Seven nights at Mercure Sevilla Hotel
  • 16 meals (7B, 7L, 2D)
  • Panoramic Tour of Havana
  • Conference - The Cuban Ballet Experience
  • Museums admission and docent fees
  • Tickets for six ballet performances (8 pm)
  • Visits to demonstrations by six dance companies and the Fernando Alonso Ballet School
  • Guided visits to Old HavanaandLas Terrazas
  • Bilingual Cuban Tour Guide and Program Leader traveling with the group
  • Educational / people-to people license to travel


What is not included?


  • $275 (estimate) round-trip airfare to Havana from Tampa on Southwest Airlines.

        Instructions to buy airline tickets will be provided after registration deadline. Tickets will

        be booked online with Southwest Airlines using miles or a credit card; health insurance while in

       Cuba is included in the airfare.

  • $50 Cuban tourist visa

        Instructions to buy the visa will be provided after registration deadline. You may purchase the

        visa online before departure or at the Southwest check-in counter  on the day of departure.

  • $240 for six (5pm) ballet performances (OPTIONAL)
  • Six dinners
  • Transportation after ballet performances
  • Airfare for a connecting flight to Tampa, if traveling to Florida from another state
  • Hotel accommodations (the night before departure), if traveling to Florida from another state
  • Trip interruption and cancellation insurance


For a Registration Packet

Please visit our Contact Us page and provide all required Information. As soon as we hear from you, we will email a registration packet with required forms and instructions. You can also call us at 978-998-0039.


Payment Options - Program Package

Cashier's Check or Credit Card
PLEASE VISIT OUR PAYMENT PAGE


Itinerary

DAY 1

Our flight from Tampa to Havana will take one hour. Once in Havana we will be on our way to a panoramic tour of Havana, lunch in Old Havana and accommodations at Sevilla Hotel. In the evening we will meet for a welcome dinner.

DAY 2

Our first day in Havana will start with breakfast (all breakfasts are included), followed by a conference about classic and contemporary dance in Cuba. After the conference we will visit the Fernando Alonso National Cuban Ballet School. Our visit to the School will consist of a presentation of the school by its Director and faculty, a tour of the facilities and a ballet demonstration by students. The school is the biggest school of ballet in the world. As all the Cuban educational system, it is free, after rigorous selection. After lunch (all lunches are included) we will visit the Rosario Cárdenas Dance Company for a presentation and conversation with dancers. The Rosario Cárdenas Dance Company has tested its theory of combinatorics dance system in the contemporary movement, with constant work that encompasses the study of the body as a somatic whole. In the evening we will attend a ballet performance.


DAY 3

During day 3 we will visit Old Havana. Founded in 1519, UNESCO declared Old Havana Universal Patrimony of Humanity. You will learn about Old Havana as a unique urban development project that integrates community and economic development with art. Through a walking tour guided by an architect-historian we will visit Cathedral and Arms Squares. In Cathedral Square we will visit the cathedral and the Experimental Graphic Workshop. After our tour of Plaza de Armas we will have lunch then visit San Francisco de Asis Plaza. In the evening we will attend a ballet performance.


DAY 4

After breakfast we will visit the National Museum of Dance, with an exhibition of Alicia Alonso´s personal collection. The museum is also a collector of the history of dance in Cuba. The museum has eight permanent exhibition rooms, a specialized library, an information center and a video room. The exhibition room dedicated to Alonso displays her costume for Giselle´s first act, as well as her costume for Carmen. After lunch we will visit the Cuban Folkloric Dance Company. In the evening we will have attend a ballet performance.

DAY 5

Our trip will continue outside of Havana visiting Las Terrazas, a rural community managing a sustainable development project in the heart of Sierra del Rosario, declared a Reserve of the Biosphere by UNESCO. At the Buenavista Coffee Plantation in Las Terrazas we’ll learn about slave coffee production established by the French two centuries ago. In the evening we will have attend a ballet performance.


DAY 6


This day will include a visit to two dance companies, the Carlos Acosta Dance Company and Contemporary Dance Company of Cuba. In 2016, Carlos Acosta established a company of young local dancers, ready to perform a repertoire of contemporary pieces for Cubans and visitors.
Carlos' latest project Acosta Danza, featuring some of Cuba's finest dancers, was recently featured in The Guardian as one of their "Must-See Dance Show of 2017". The Guardian's Judith Mackrell had this to say about the project: "Acosta Danza has an ambitious brief, combining classical and contemporary influences and showcasing Cuba’s fizzing dance culture within a wider international context." After lunch we will attend a presentation by the Contemporary Dance Company of Cuba.

Danza Contemporánea de Cuba (founded in 1959), has developed a particular style from the basics of Cuban folklore and universal modern dance. So the Company has created a new vision of both modern and national contemporary dance techniques. In the evening we will attend a ballet performance.


DAY 7

Our last day in Havana will continue with visits to visits to two contemporary dance companies in Old Havana, the Teatro Danza Retazos and Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba. Teatro Danza Retazos is the absolute vanguard in contemporary Cuban dance, projecting their choreography toward a singular scenic projection, representing a forceful chronicle of the Latin-American spirituality in an unpredictable reflexive dance. Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba is the precursor and maximum exponent of the "fusion" style in Cuban dance. Founded 25 years ago by its creator, director and choreographer, Lizt Alfonso, it has conquered audiences of all ages in the five continents, performing in hundreds of cities with the strength and rythm of the Cuba that vibrates today. In the evening we will hava farewell dinner followed by a ballet performance.

DAY 8 - Departure