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19. Camagüey: The Center of Gravity Shifts [Includes Image Plates]
- University Press of Florida
- Chapter
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100 19 Camagüey The Center of Gravity Shifts What were the factors that contributed to your divorce from Alicia Alonso? I discovered that while I continued to admire Alicia’s artistry above that of all others—as I do to this day—I found that I was no longer able to remain partner to a marriage that had become unsustainable in an amicable way. On the one hand, I was young, and in daily contact with accomplished young women yearning to dance roles for which they were suited. On the other, I could see that the strength of ego that helped to fuel Alicia’s success had also made her feel possessive about the roles she was dancing. This was logical, but she was slow or reticent to entrust them to interpretation by others. Imagine making so many gains while having to contend not only with aging but loss of eyesight! She was determined to let neither condition interfere with her career, and as it turned out she danced well into her late sixties. Still, a decision to use one dancer in a role is in itself a decision to not use and develop another, and those dancers who were placed in a second cast, or not cast at all because Alicia continued to dance into her sixties, were the very youngest dancers. Logically, they wished to begin dancing those roles before reaching their forties [by which time most dancers retire or have retired]. So, while I admired Alicia as the greatest dancer on the ballet stage, in my role as a ballet master teacher and general director of the company I felt strongly that the younger dancers had to acquire the experience of interpreting the roles Alicia was continuing to dance, just as we had done when we were young. We did not see eye to eye on this, and began having sharp disagreements, and in 1975, I could no longer live with the constant arguing, and I left what had been my lifelong home and the center of my family life, and we divorced. 101 Camagüey: The Center of Gravity Shifts Had you fallen in love with someone else? I had become involved in a romantic relationship with Aida Villoch. Did the divorce have repercussions for the company and the school? Because Alicia and I had been public figures, a number of people in our professional life began to take sides in the breakup, and the company camaraderie suffered as a result. So, a proposal was put forward that I go to Camagüey to direct the ballet company there, and I agreed to do that. Did your decision to leave Havana prompt concerns on your part about the future of the national company? Alicia seemed intent on ending my relationship with the company as general director or in any other capacity. I have always been concerned that pursuing such a course would result in her compromising herself, but also the company and school, resulting in liabilities for which I would ultimately be held responsible. If Alicia was determined to keep me away, I was just as determined to continue teaching. Options presented themselves, including an offer to teach at the Ballet de Nancy in France. I decided to accept the position as general director of the Ballet de Camagüey, which, though smaller than the BNC, has become Cuba’s second most successful ballet company. Aida Villoch accompanied me there as my wife and collaborator. What made you agree to take on what some would consider a lesser role inside Cuba, when you had an international reputation, and could have headed a school or directed a company abroad? I considered going to Camagüey to be in the best interests of my country and its commitment to dance. We worked very hard to bring ballet to Cuba, and by going to Camagüey I could continue our work. What happened in Camagüey? Soon after we began our work there, Ballet de Camagüey and its school became a conduit for talent that the BNC availed itself of. The national company began to take our best dancers. One year they took eight! Would it be fair to compare the national company and academy to children of divorce, in that they became the symptom bearers of the personal rupture between yourself and Alicia? Well, yes, in some ways they suffered; in others, they benefited. Overall, the divorce itself failed to slow the progress of ballet in...