Luis Victor Santana Gonzales, formerly of the National Ballet of Cuba, stars in Yellowstone Ballet Company’s 31st annual production of Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic, The Nutcracker. The performance is set for 2pm on Sunday, December 18th at the Willson Auditorium in Bozeman. He will perform the roles of the Nutcracker Prince and the Cavalier.
Gonzales joined the Ballet Nacional de Cuba after completed his ballet training at the National Ballet School in Havana. He rose to the level of soloist before a fateful tour to Mexico where he and six other company dancers defected.
According to a New York Times article, “To reach the United States, where as Cubans they could gain privileged entry, the group rode buses from the Yucatán to Nuevo Laredo, on the Texas border, 1,600 miles in all. In transit and while crossing the bridge over the Rio Grande, they tried not to talk, fearing that their accents might encourage thieves to steal their passports.”
Gonzales remembers spending up to 16 hours on a bus, worrying about getting caught. “We had to ride the buses in silence, without talking to not call attention to ourselves. We’d heard rumors that there were people in Mexico, along the border, who wanted to steal Cubans’ papers.”
Gonzales ended up in Miami with no jobs, no money and little knowledge of American life or command of colloquial English. He knew he was leaving everything behind but his desire for artistic freedom was greater than his fears.
Touring internationally is a double-edged sword for Ballet Nacional de Cuba – they lose dancers almost every time. Touring allows the world to see Cuba’s renowned ballet company but it also allows the company’s dancers to see the world, and for some dancers like Gonzales, a brief look isn’t enough.
For a country with barely 11 million people, Cuba has an unusually prominent profile in the international ballet world. The country is known for producing some of the world’s best.
Joining Gonzales as Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy is Nicole Assaad of Tampa City Ballet. Assaad captured gold and silver medals from the American Dance Competition and a bronze medal from the World Ballet at age 15, before moving to New York to finish her training under Gelsey Kirkland. She joined the Hong Kong Ballet at age 19 and currently performs with the Tampa City Ballet.
Raising the barre for the production are professional dancers from Bozeman’s artistically passionate Raison D’être Dance Project under the direction of Erin Levi and Genevieve Trygstad-Burke with their well-honed performances of the “Waltz of the Flowers,” “Snow Scene” and the “Chinese Dance.” Rancher/ballerina Annie Valle of Martinsdale Ballet performs as the Snow Queen, and Aerial Arts of Bozeman join in with a heavenly dance up on the silks for the angel’s opening sequence in Act 2. You won’t want to miss the spectacular flying angels!
Fifty dancers and actors from Yellowstone Ballet Academy and Gallatin, Park and Meagher counties compliment the professional cast.
Encouraging families to attend, every adult ticket purchase qualifies for a free child’s ticket. Children can also attend as a Nutcracker character and compete for one of three gift certificates from the Rocky Mountain Toy Company. The costume contest will occur during intermission and every participant will receive a small gift.
YBC is under the artistic direction of founder Kathleen Rakela, a recipient of the Montana Arts Council Fellowship for the Performing Arts. The company has been featuring local, national and international dance talent in the Park, Sweet Grass and Gallatin counties since 1990. Rakela also runs the Yellowstone Ballet Academy. Her students have received scholarships to world-class ballet training centers and have danced professionally around the world.
Reserved tickets for YBC’s The Nutcracker are available at www.yellowstoneballet.info or with cash or check at the door. Those interested are advised to get their tickets early as last year’s show nearly sold out. •
