The world’s prestigious International Ballet Festival of Havana was held in the capital city of Cuba from October 28 through November 6, 2016. This year’s festival was especially meaningful as it celebrated the achievements of Alicia Alonso, one of the world’s legendary ballerinas from Cuba.

Universal Ballet, one of the top Korean ballet companies participated in the festival with support from the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea Foundation. They presented the Moonlight pas de deux of a creative ballet work based on the eponymous traditional Korean literature. Universal Ballet’s principal dancers Hwang Hyemin and Lee Dongtak captivated the Cuban audience with their outstanding prowess. The audience responded to their performance with enthusiastic ovations and showed great interest especially in Korean-style dance moves and costume.

This year marked the 25th International Ballet Festival of Havana which has been held biennially since 1960. It is one of the most representative cultural festivals of Cuba organized by the Cuban Ministry of Culture and the National Ballet of Cuba led by Cuba’s legendary ballerina Alicia Alonso. The festival has played a role of linking Cuba and the world for a long time.

This year’s festival presented world-level performance every day by some 90 top dancers from leading ballet companies around the world including the National Ballet of Cuba; the Martha Graham Dance Company, the American Ballet Theater and New York City Ballet from the United States; the Munich Ballet Company from Germany; Northern Ballet from the United Kingdom; and the National Ballet of Uruguay.

On the occasion of the festival, Director-General for Cultural Affairs Choi Young-sam of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Korea Foundation Executive Vice President Yoon Keum-jin visited Cuba to encourage the Korean dancers and attend ballerina Alicia Alonso’s performance.