May 6, 2010
ALICIA ALONSO TO CELEBRATE
90TH BIRTHDAY WITH AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE,
THURSDAY, JUNE 3 AT METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE
Alicia Alonso, legendary ballerina and director of National Ballet of Cuba, will celebrate her 90th birthday with American Ballet Theatre on Thursday, June 3 at
7:30 P.M. at the Metropolitan Opera House, it was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. The birthday celebration, part of ABT’s 70th Anniversary season at the Met, will include a film retrospective of Alonso’s career and a special performance of Don Quixote featuring three Principal casts.
Famed Cuban dancer, Alicia Alonso joined American Ballet Theatre in 1941. After returning to Cuba for a time, Alonso rejoined ABT in 1943 and was promoted to Principal Dancer with the Company in 1946. Alonso’s career with ABT was acclaimed for her interpretation of Giselle. She also starred in the World Premieres of ABT’s most critically hailed works, including George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations (1947), Antony Tudor’s Undertow (1945) and as The Accused in Agnes de Mille’s Fall River Legend (1948).
Alonso founded her own company, the Alicia Alonso Ballet Company in 1948, which became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1959 with support of the Cuban government. In 1960, Alonso formed the Cuban National Ballet School. Both the company and the school continue to operate under her direction.
Alicia Alonso’s 90th birthday celebration is underwritten by Lloyd E. Rigler – Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation.
Tickets for Alicia Alonso’s 90th birthday celebration at the Metropolitan Opera House, priced $25-$111, are available online, at the Met box office or by phone at
212-362-6000. The Metropolitan Opera House is located on Broadway between 64th and 65th Streets in New York City. For more information, visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.