the prima ballerina viengsay valdesdirector of National Ballet in Cuba (BNC), He is part of the jury for the 2023 edition of the Benois Dance Prize, one of the most important of this event in the world.
according to a report of the Prensa Latina (PL) agency, on this occasion the jury will be chaired by the Russian dancer Svetlana Zajárova, artistic director of the Prix Benois de la Danse and prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet.
The panel that will judge the contest also includes Leonid Sarafanof, director of the ballet of the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera, Russia, and Gulzhan Tutkibaeva, artistic director of the Ballet of the Kazakhstan National Opera and Ballet Theater, the publication adds.
The list is completed by Cecilia Kerche, prima ballerina of the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Fei Bo, choreographer of the National Ballet of China, and South Korean Jiyeong Ryu, of the Universal Ballet based in Seoul, South Korea.
The Benois Dance Prize, created by the International Dance Association in Moscow, has been awarded annually since 1991 during a gala held at the Bolshoi theater, remember PL.
The awards are given in various categories such as Best Dancer, Best Dancer, Best Choreographer, Best Composer and For the Work of a Lifetime.
Viengsay Valdés, between legacy and renovation of Ballet de Cuba
The media reports that this award is considered the Oscar of dance and that it owes its name to the famous Russian painter and designer Alexander Benois (1870-1960), one of the most faithful collaborators of Serguei de Diaghilev, creator of the Russian ballets.
Benois conceived the designs for Le Pavillon dArmide, The Sylphs, Giselle and petrushkaamong other titles.
Among the great ballet figures who have received the Benois de la Danza Award is the prima ballerina absolute Cuban Alice Alonsowho was in the year 2000 the first to receive the award dedicated to recognizing an entire artistic career.
Other Cubans deserving of the award were Fernando Alonso, in the same category (2008), as well as Carlos Acosta (2008) and Rolando Sarabia (2011), both in the Best Dancer section.
