Alicia Alonso
| Alicia Alonso | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez del Hoyo December 21, 1921 Havana, Cuba |
| Nationality | Cuban |
| Known for | Ballet |
| Notable work | Giselle, Carmen |
| Spouse(s) | Fernando Alonso (1937-1975; divorced); 1 child |
Alicia Alonso (born Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad Martínez Hoya; 21 December 1921) is a Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer. Her company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955. She is most famous for her portrayals of Giselle and the ballet version of Carmen.
From the age of nineteen, Alonso was afflicted with an eye condition and became partially blind. Her partners always had to be in the exact place she expected them to be, and she used lights in different parts of the stage to guide herself.}
Alonso was born in Havana, one of two daughters of an army officer and his wife. The family was financially comfortable and lived in a fashionable section of the then-vibrant capital. Alonso revealed at a very early age an affinity for music and dance - her mother could occupy her happily for long periods with just a phonograph, a scarf, and some records. She started dancing at the age of seven or eight. In June 1931 she began studying ballet at Sociedad Pro-Arte Musical in Havana with Nikolai Yavorsky.
She performed publicly for the first time December 29, 1931, aged 11. Her first serious debut was in Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty at the Teatro Auditorium October 26, 1932. She originally danced in Cuba under the name of Alicia Martínez.
Rapid progress in her lessons came to an abrupt halt in 1937, when the teenager fell in love with a fellow ballet student, Fernando Alonso, whom she married at age 16. After her marriage, she changed her surname to Alonso. The new couple moved to New York City, hoping to begin their professional careers.
There they found a home with relatives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, near Riverside Drive. She gave birth to a daughter, Laura, in 1938, but managed to continue her training at the School of American Ballet and took private classes. She arranged to travel to London to study with Vera Volkova. Meanwhile, her husband had joined the newly-formed Mordkin Ballet Company in New York.
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Wikipedia