Storied Cuban ballet tradition perseveres through mounting national crises

According to Repeating Islands, Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this fascinating article to our attention. Also see the added link to “Photos of Cuba’s ballet dancers persevering through blackouts and shortages,” by Ramón Espinosa at AP News . Andrea Rodríguez ( AP News ) reports on how Cuba’s celebrated ballet tradition has been persevering through all types of mounting crises. For months, two-thirds of Cuba had no electricity at night . Some neighborhoods in the capital of Havana have been without running water for more than two weeks. Transportation is scarce and eggs, bread and cooking oil are hard to find. Yet every morning, about 178 young students gather for classes at the National Ballet School in the capital. Housed in an imposing Art Nouveau building in the heart of Old Havana , the school combines rigorous dance training with academic classes in math, Spanish, history and science. Training to becom