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Photo: Alberto Ferreras.
Caridad Martinez graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana, Cuba. She studied with, Fernando & Alicia Alonso, Joaquin Banegas, Azary Plisetski, Ramona de Saa, Karemia Moreno, and Jose Pares. As principal dancer of the National Ballet of Cuba she performed in the most important theaters in Europe, North and South Americas and Asia. Martinez teaches at Brooklyn Ballet School, J&L Dance Center, and has collaborated with Monarch Theater Co. She has also choreographed for the Hispanic Heritage Awards, and for the acclaimed Julian Schnabel film Before Night Falls. She coached La Joven Guardia group, integrated for the most talented Cuban youth dancers directed by Laura Alonso. Martinez was also Director of the Cuban Ballet School in Mexico and was distinguished with the honorary membership of the Dance Educators of Mexico and Dance Educators of America. Martinez led The Havana Ballet through a theater creative concept that transformed the performing arts in Cuba during the 80s. She has received numerous awards for her dance and theater choreographies, including an award from The Association of Writers and Artists in Cuba for two consecutive years. She currently directs the Brooklyn Ballet Conservatory and teaches advanced ballet for teens and adults at the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center. She is also a guest teacher for the Alberta Ballet School in Canada.