Over 13 countries will participate in the International Ballet Festival as it returns for its eight year to Colombia’s dance-obsessed city of Cali.
The event, taking place in the city famous for its 24-hour salsa dance scene, will welcome 165 artists from 13 countries, including Spain, Canada, Chile, and the Czech Republic among others.
Gloria Castro, director of the Colombian Institute of Classical Ballet (Incolballet), said that the festival “is a global exchange of body language,” and aims to “bring this expression of a democratic and inclusive manner to the public of this city.”
Incolballet is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, making the festival an important occasion for performers, organisers and attendees alike.
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According to Cali’s local El Pais newspaper, The Cuban choreographer Alberto Mendez will be responsible for the festival’s opening ceremony.
Mendez divulged details of the opening ceremony, which is to be held in Cali’s Plaza de Toros and performed by a number of different ballet companies, including Incolballet.
“The montage is divided into three parts: the first is a parade of dancers comprising the school and company, the second is a polka dance, and the final part will be the most advanced group of dancers, including Oscar Chavez who left Incolballet and is now with Bejart Ballet Lausanne, the famed Swiss ballet company.”
Apart from multiple evening performances from various companies, the festival will also welcome a number of special guests, including Cuban designer Carlos Repilado and Italian-born dance historian and critic Elisa Guzzo Vaccarino.
The festival will begin on June 1 and culminate on June 8.
Sources
- Asi sera la gala inaugural del VIII Festival Internacional de Ballet (El Pais)
- VIII Festival Internacional de Ballet en Cali (Rutas Colombia)
- Programacion de Festival Internacional de Ballet (Festival Internacional de Ballet)
