{"id":3921,"date":"2010-06-14T23:21:25","date_gmt":"2010-06-14T19:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dominicana-online.org\/?p=3921"},"modified":"2018-08-01T04:04:11","modified_gmt":"2018-08-01T04:04:11","slug":"danza","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/cultura\/danza\/","title":{"rendered":"Dance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Human history\u00a0bears witness\u00a0to the fact\u00a0that dance,\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0way to\u00a0express\u00a0emotional states through body movement\u00a0and musical rhythms, has been a\u00a0form of\u00a0expression\u00a0common to all peoples.\u00a0Its\u00a0evolution, from ancient religious\u00a0ceremonies\u00a0to the festive\u00a0spectacles\u00a0of today, evidences a long creative process of cultural enrichment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Ta\u00ednos, primitive inhabitants of the\u00a0land\u00a0that\u00a0today\u00a0makes up\u00a0the Dominican Republic, had a complex commemorative expression that they called “are\u00edto,” a mixture of dance, music, songs and\u00a0theater performance, that\u00a0they\u00a0used\u00a0during\u00a0funeral and religious rites, weddings,\u00a0to celebrate war successes,\u00a0and\u00a0to\u00a0tell\u00a0or remember events from their historic\u00a0past.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As their language was devoid of writing,\u00a0what is known\u00a0today\u00a0from\u00a0the cultural significance and details of their\u00a0imitative\u00a0and theatrical dances\u00a0is what\u00a0appears in the stories of the colonial chroniclers who managed to communicate with them or\u00a0those\u00a0who observed them closely\u00a0while\u00a0they\u00a0practiced\u00a0their daily customs and traditions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The\u00a0are\u00edtos\u00a0being a\u00a0group\u00a0celebration, all\u00a0the\u00a0members of a tribe used to share them, either\u00a0by participating in a dance, music or singing, or by attending as spectators. They danced hand in\u00a0hand,\u00a0with motions that followed a rhythmic pattern of steps forward or backward. Songs were answered by a chorus and dances\u00a0had a\u00a0director, who told the story being commemorated and led the modulation of the voices or the movement of the dancers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Spanish\u00a0conquest prevented\u00a0the\u00a0transmission\u00a0of the\u00a0are\u00edto\u00a0as a cultural tradition to the next generations.\u00a0So,\u00a0the people\u00a0took\u00a0the Spanish heritage of the conquerors and\u00a0the African heritage of the slaves\u00a0that were\u00a0brought\u00a0to the Hispaniola\u00a0Island\u00a0to replace the\u00a0Ta\u00ednos.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shaping the national identity, music and dance have been “vital elements\u00a0of\u00a0the idiosyncrasies\u00a0and personality of the Dominican people. African and European roots,\u00a0blended\u00a0with\u00a0the\u00a0indigenous\u00a0flavor\u00a0unique to\u00a0Hispaniola,\u00a0have\u00a0resulted\u00a0in a strong presence of rhythms and movements in all aspects of\u00a0all things\u00a0Dominican,” as indicated in the book\u00a0“Lo\u00a0dominicano\u00a0\/ All Things Dominican,”\u00a0by\u00a0Fundaci\u00f3n Global\u00a0Democracia\u00a0y\u00a0Desarrollo\u00a0(Funglode).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the consolidation of the conquest, the prevalence of\u00a0folk and other\u00a0dances of Spanish origin, such as\u00a0the\u00a0malague\u00f1as, fandango,\u00a0zapateo, seguidillas,\u00a0tonadillas\u00a0and other European dances,\u00a0the same way that\u00a0the contradanza and the minuet, both of French origin,\u00a0began. At the same time, African slaves introduced the\u00a0calenda, also called calinda, and the\u00a0chica,\u00a0where partners\u00a0dance loosely with\u00a0swirling and sensual movements.\u00a0Both\u00a0were\u00a0traditional in their cultures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A particularly elegant dance\u00a0which gathers\u00a0“Lo\u00a0dominicano\/All things Dominican” is the\u00a0Carabin\u00e9,\u00a0in which\u00a0six couples\u00a0perform\u00a0“forward and backward movements, half\u00a0turns,\u00a0circles\u00a0and\u00a0large\u00a0circles.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An indigenous\u00a0contradanza\u00a0emerged from the European contradanza,\u00a0which later led to\u00a0the\u00a0La Tumba\u00a0dance. And\u00a0from\u00a0the changes that were introduced to the fandango, other dances\u00a0emerged,\u00a0such as\u00a0a\u00a0zapateo\u00a0with variants called\u00a0sarambo,\u00a0guarapo\u00a0and\u00a0callao.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

B<\/b>allet\u00a0<\/b>in the Dominican Republic<\/b><\/h2>\n

The\u00a0first\u00a0school of\u00a0classical dance in the country was\u00a0established\u00a0by teacher\u00a0Hertha Brauer,\u00a0a German citizen\u00a0who had emigrated in the early 1940s,\u00a0along\u00a0with her husband, fleeing the Nazi regime.\u00a0They arrived in the Dominican Republic from Italy, and lived for a year in the town of\u00a0Jarabacoa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From the information\u00a0that is\u00a0available, it has been\u00a0determined\u00a0that\u00a0the operation of a small dance school\u00a0must have started\u00a0sometime in 1942. Other data, which appear in\u00a0the\u00a0work by researcher Jorge Mendoza, point to the previous existence of another instructor\u00a0who had\u00a0students, Dominican Olga Margarita Lugo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite having had a good number of students, having had the opportunity to organize\u00a0numerous presentations\u00a0together\u00a0with her students, and being the first dance\u00a0instructor\u00a0to bring merengue to ballet, Mrs. Brauer left the country in 1948,\u00a0after\u00a0accepting a job offer from the University of Puerto Rico.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The school she\u00a0opened\u00a0was left in the hands of\u00a0Magda Corbett,\u00a0a\u00a0Hungarian\u00a0teacher, who had\u00a0arrived\u00a0in the country a year earlier. She said\u00a0that the school\u00a0had\u00a0dissolved, “and I had to\u00a0re-start it.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1953,\u00a0teacher\u00a0Corbett presented what is considered the first full ballet ever assembled in the country, called “An afternoon\u00a0at\u00a0a park in Vienna.”\u00a0The presentation took place\u00a0at the Instituto de\u00a0Se\u00f1oritas\u00a0Salom\u00e9\u00a0Ure\u00f1a\u00a0and it was\u00a0accompanied by an orchestra under the\u00a0baton\u00a0of Italian\u00a0maestro\u00a0Mario\u00a0Carta.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before\u00a0arriving\u00a0in the Dominican Republic,\u00a0she had already been a professional dancer and ballet teacher in Bombay, India. Her teaching\u00a0career\u00a0of 56 years was possibly the greatest\u00a0push\u00a0to classical dance in the country, given that\u00a0successive\u00a0generations of dancers and teachers\u00a0attended\u00a0her school. She taught in\u00a0Santo Domingo,\u00a0the Dominican capital, and then\u00a0in\u00a0the provinces of Santiago, La Romana and San Pedro de Macor\u00eds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of her students, Michelle Jim\u00e9nez, after\u00a0standing out\u00a0significantly\u00a0in the Dominican Republic, became a\u00a0soloist with\u00a0the Washington Ballet, position\u00a0that\u00a0she\u00a0withheld\u00a0for nine years, and then\u00a0she held the same position\u00a0at\u00a0the Netherlands\u2019\u00a0National Ballet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The next\u00a0push\u00a0to\u00a0the art of\u00a0ballet is\u00a0given\u00a0by\u00a0the presence of\u00a0Clara Elena Ram\u00edrez,\u00a0another\u00a0Cuban\u00a0teacher, who arrived\u00a0in 1960, and who is credited with introducing\u00a0the\u00a0complete traditional classical\u00a0ballets such as Sleeping Beauty, Giselle and Les\u00a0Sylphides.\u00a0She started teaching in\u00a01963\u00a0at\u00a0one of the exclusive social clubs\u00a0in\u00a0Santo Domingo and\u00a0then at\u00a0the Palace of\u00a0Fine\u00a0Arts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Together with\u00a0teacher\u00a0Corbett,\u00a0she\u00a0established\u00a0the National Classical\u00a0Ballet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another important contribution to classical dance was\u00a0provided by\u00a0Armando Villamil,\u00a0Panamanian teacher, dancer and choreographer, who was hired as director of the dance department at the\u00a0Cultural Center of\u00a0Santiago. He\u00a0created\u00a0the\u00a0Experimental School\u00a0of\u00a0Classical Ballet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1974, distinguished\u00a0dancer Irmgard\u00a0Despradel, who was a student of both,\u00a0teacher\u00a0Corbett and\u00a0teacher\u00a0Ram\u00edrez,\u00a0opened\u00a0her own school, the Santo Domingo\u00a0Ballet. In 1978, with the main figures of the academies of the\u00a0two\u00a0aforementioned\u00a0teachers, the Ballet of Fine Arts\u00a0opened,\u00a0and\u00a0later changed\u00a0its\u00a0name to\u00a0Dominican\u00a0Classical\u00a0Ballet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A new milestone is\u00a0attained with\u00a0the creation\u00a0in January,\u00a01981,\u00a0of the National Classical\u00a0Ballet,\u00a0by decree of the Executive\u00a0Power.\u00a0Eduardo Villanueva\u00a0was appointed\u00a0as its\u00a0director\u00a0and teachers Corbett and Ram\u00edrez as\u00a0its\u00a0deputy\u00a0directors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In July,\u00a0teacher\u00a0Ram\u00edrez\u00a0established\u00a0the\u00a0Dominican Concert Ballet, an unofficial\u00a0company, with the\u00a0leading\u00a0dancers\u00a0from\u00a0her academy. The following year, the National Ballet traveled to Mexico, this being\u00a0its first presentation\u00a0abroad. And in 1983, with the\u00a0support\u00a0of\u00a0teacher\u00a0Villamil, the First National Meet\u00a0of Ballet and Dance\u00a0Schools\u00a0is\u00a0held\u00a0in the city of Santiago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1984, the National Classical Ballet hires Russian\u00a0teacher Nelly\u00a0Golovina, soloist\u00a0for more than 20 years\u00a0with\u00a0the Bolshoi Ballet, who\u00a0performed\u00a0The Great Classics, a\u00a0ballet\u00a0that,\u00a0because of\u00a0its huge\u00a0success,\u00a0had ten\u00a0encore appearances. In 1985,\u00a0Panamanian\u00a0soloist\u00a0Guillermo\u00a0Tribaldos\u00a0was hired. Carmen Heredia de Guerrero, in her capacity as\u00a0head\u00a0of\u00a0the country\u2019s\u00a0ballet,\u00a0participated\u00a0in the three specialized\u00a0conferences sponsored by the\u00a0Organization of American States\u00a0and dancer Margot Fonteyn,\u00a0and which were\u00a0held in Panama, Buenos Aires and Caracas\u00a0during\u00a0the period 1984-1986.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1984,\u00a0dancer and teacher\u00a0Patricia\u00a0Ascuasiati\u00a0presented\u00a0the first complete experimental ballet, with the folkloric theme La\u00a0leyenda\u00a0de\u00a0Mand\u00e9.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During\u00a0the nineties, the Dominican ballet was influenced by\u00a0renowned\u00a0representatives of\u00a0Cuban dance, among them dancer Armando Gonz\u00e1lez, teacher Aida\u00a0Villoch, and dancer and teacher Zenaida Terrero.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And in 1993,\u00a0David Howard, who was\u00a0at the time\u00a0considered one of the most famous ballet teachers in the world,\u00a0visited the country. Howard, who passed away in 2013, was an English dancer who taught ballet at\u00a0important\u00a0institutions such as the Royal Ballet,\u00a0the\u00a0American Ballet Theater,\u00a0the\u00a0San Francisco Ballet,\u00a0the\u00a0Joffrey Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada. He\u00a0opened\u00a0his own academy in New York, the\u00a0David Howard\u00a0Ballet\u00a0School, which\u00a0operated\u00a0for 18 years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At\u00a0the initiative of Alina Abreu,\u00a0in April,\u00a02003,\u00a0the Dominican Republic hosted the World Dance Assembly\u00a0at the National Theater, with presentations by the Dominican National Ballet, the National Choreographic Center, the\u00a0Roto\u00a0Ballet, the National Folkloric Ballet,\u00a0the\u00a0Edmundo\u00a0Poy\u00a0and\u00a0Kalal\u00fa\u00a0Dance,\u00a0and the\u00a0Folk\u00a0Dancing\u00a0Theater, with a production by\u00a0M\u00f3nika\u00a0Despradel. In July of the following year, the Dominican Dance Gallery\u00a0opened\u00a0at the National Theater.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2006,\u00a0the\u00a0First International Festival of Dance Academies was held in the country, dedicated to the memory of Magda Corbett, with the participation of Cuba, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Spain and the United States. And in 2008, Awilda Polanco and Cecilia Camino won first place\u00a0at\u00a0the First Caribbean Dance Biennial – “Caribe\u00a0en\u00a0Creaci\u00f3n” – held in Cuba, which was the first international recognition\u00a0won by the\u00a0contemporary Dominican dance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2010,\u00a0the Contemporary Dance Program (PRODANCO)\u00a0was\u00a0established,\u00a0attached\u00a0to the Dominican National Ballet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At present, the National Ballet and\u00a0the\u00a0Concert\u00a0Ballet remain the most consolidated institutions. The\u00a0latter\u00a0organization,\u00a0through\u00a0two of its dancers, Mercedes Morales and V\u00edctor Ram\u00edrez,\u00a0won\u00a0the first medal in ballet\u00a0received\u00a0by country at the International Ballet Festival,\u00a0held in\u00a0Peru.<\/p>\n

Did you know?<\/strong>\u00a0Silvia Crespo was the first Dominican dancer to\u00a0perform\u00a0with Fernando Bujones, who is considered the United States\u2019\u00a0soloist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Did you know?<\/strong>\u00a0Stephanie\u00a0Bauger\u00a0is a Dominican classical dancer who at a young age managed to become\u00a0soloist\u00a0with\u00a0the Dominican National Ballet, performing with a well-known Argentinean dancer (Julio Boca) as\u00a0his\u00a0second\u00a0soloist, successfully participated in international\u00a0competitions\u00a0in Havana, and won the Casandra Award in 2010, among other recognitions.<\/p>\n

Did you know?<\/strong>\u00a0Michele Jim\u00e9nez is a Dominican classical and modern dancer,\u00a0soloist\u00a0with\u00a0the Netherlands National Ballet\u00a0and,\u00a0in\u00a0previous\u00a0years,\u00a0soloist\u00a0<\/i>with the<\/i>\u00a0Washington<\/i>\u00a0Ballet<\/i>. She has won multiple awards at the international level.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Academi<\/b>e<\/b>s<\/b><\/h2>\n

The progress and growth of classical dance has\u00a0continued\u00a0thanks to the\u00a0presence\u00a0of numerous academies that arose in the heat of its strengthening as an artistic activity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the academies\u00a0we\u00a0can\u00a0mention\u00a0Articentro,\u00a0led\u00a0by Miriam Bello; the\u00a0Alina Abr\u00e9u\u00a0Classical\u00a0Ballet; Danzarte, formerly\u00a0the\u00a0Magda Corbett\u00a0Ballet Academy,\u00a0opened\u00a0by Marinella Sallent; the Jeanette Lantigua\u00a0Academy; the Los Prados\u00a0Ballet\u00a0Academy,\u00a0owned by soloist\u00a0Pastora Delgado; the\u00a0Higher\u00a0School of Ballet,\u00a0led\u00a0by Ninoska Vel\u00e1squez; the Ana Pavlova Academy,\u00a0established\u00a0by\u00a0teacher\u00a0Eladia de Cuello, and\u00a0led\u00a0by her daughter Karina Cuello; the Ximena Quintana\u00a0Academy,\u00a0at Casa de Teatro, onwed by\u00a0Doris Infante;\u00a0and,\u00a0Ecos, Dance\u00a0Rhythms,\u00a0headed\u00a0by Awilda Polanco.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, teacher\u00a0Norma Garc\u00eda\u2019s academy,\u00a0located\u00a0in the city of Santiago; the Cont\u00e9mpora\u00a0Ballet,\u00a0headed\u00a0by Alfa Rodr\u00edguez;\u00a0in San Francisco de Macor\u00eds, teacher Mar\u00eda Luisa Bueno\u2019s school; and the Roto\u00a0Ballet,\u00a0established\u00a0by renowned\u00a0dancers V\u00edctor Ram\u00edrez and Mercedes Morales.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Biogra<\/b>phies<\/b><\/h2>\n

Hertha Brauer:<\/b>\u00a0Born in Hamburg, Germany, trained in ballet. She\u00a0ventured in\u00a0theater, cinema and literature.\u00a0She worked in\u00a0journalism and wrote\u00a0scripts\u00a0for cinema. She\u00a0immigrated to the Dominican Republic from Italy, along with her husband, Ernst Hannes Brauer. During\u00a0her\u00a0first year in the country,\u00a0she\u00a0lived\u00a0in the mountain\u00a0community of Jarabacoa. After moving to the capital, Santo Domingo,\u00a0she\u00a0opened\u00a0what is considered the first Dominican ballet academy.\u00a0She left for Puerto Rico in 1948. Among her students are Lili Nanson, Milena L\u00f3pez, Miriam Josefina Jim\u00e9nez, Olga Espaillat, Olivia Gonz\u00e1lez, Alice Ricart, Br\u00edgida Coll, Liliano Angulo, Margarita Allanic, Julio Solano (Som\u00e1), Frank Vicini, Olga Bello, Ruth Garrido, Annette Enfroy, Rosa Obreg\u00f3n and Alicia Cruzado.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Magda Corbett (La Madame):<\/b>\u00a0She was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1916, and died in the Dominican Republic in 2006. She immigrated to the country in 1947, along with her husband, Englishman Francis Corbett, and after the departure of\u00a0teacher\u00a0Hertha Brauer, took charge of the small\u00a0ballet\u00a0school that\u00a0she\u00a0had\u00a0created. She started classical dance at the age of six, and two years later she was admitted to the Budapest Artists Association.\u00a0As an artist\u00a0she traveled to France, Vienna, Austria and other European nations, and in 1939\u00a0she\u00a0visited\u00a0India where\u00a0she taught ballet in the city of Bombay. By the time\u00a0she arrived in\u00a0the Dominican Republic,\u00a0she had stopped dancing. In 1992 she was\u00a0awarded\u00a0the Heraldic Order of Christopher Columbus, in the\u00a0rank\u00a0of\u00a0Knight, for her\u00a0contributions to the consolidation of ballet. In March,\u00a02011, during the celebration of the Dance\u00a0Month, the class and\u00a0practice\u00a0room of the National Classical\u00a0Ballet\u00a0at\u00a0the Palace of Fine Arts\u00a0was named after her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Clara Elena Ram\u00edrez:<\/b>\u00a0Born in Santiago de Cuba, she began\u00a0studying\u00a0classical dance at the Pro-Arte\u00a0Society\u00a0Musical School, under the direction of Hungarian teacher\u00a0George Milenoff, and later\u00a0under\u00a0Russian\u00a0teacher Nicolai Yavorsky. She also studied at dancer\u00a0and teacher\u00a0Alicia Alonso\u2019s\u00a0academy\u00a0in Havana, and then returned to her hometown where she\u00a0was head of\u00a0the\u00a0Ballet\u00a0of\u00a0Fine Arts at the Conservatory.\u00a0She arrived in the Dominican Republic in 1960\u00a0and,\u00a0together\u00a0with\u00a0teacher\u00a0Magda Corbett,\u00a0opened\u00a0the National Classic Ballet.\u00a0Some of the dancers who\u00a0studied at their\u00a0academy\u00a0are:\u00a0Irmgard Despradel, Carlos Veit\u00eda (the teacher\u2019s son), Eduardo Villanueva, Jeannette Lantigua, Isadora Bruno, Ninoska Vel\u00e1zquez, Mary Louise Ventura, Lourdes Ram\u00edrez, Silvia Crespo, Ana Karina Cuello, Soraya Franco, V\u00edctor Ram\u00edrez\u00a0and\u00a0Mercedes Morales, among many others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eladia de Cuello:<\/b>\u00a0Was born in La Vega and, from a very\u00a0early age,\u00a0excelled in ballet. Before attending high school,\u00a0she studied in Santo Domingo at\u00a0teacher\u00a0Magda Corbett\u2019s\u00a0academy. After\u00a0getting\u00a0married,\u00a0she moved to Boston, United States of America, where she took advanced ballet courses at the\u00a0Boston School of Dancing. On her\u00a0return to the Dominican Republic,\u00a0in 1966\u00a0she\u00a0opened\u00a0the Ana Pavlova\u00a0School\u00a0of\u00a0Ballet, which\u00a0she\u00a0headed\u00a0for 15 years.\u00a0Some of the most famous dancers\u00a0studied at her academy,\u00a0among them Patricia Ascuasiati, Gracielina Olivero, Dilia Mieses and Andreina Jim\u00e9nez.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Armando Villamil:<\/b>\u00a0Dancer, teacher of classical dance\u00a0and choreographer. He was born in Panama, where he studied with\u00a0teacher\u00a0Gladys Port\u00f3n.\u00a0In Mexico\u00a0he studied at\u00a0the National Institute\u00a0Concert Ballet. He also studied classical ballet at the University of Chile. He received a scholarship to study at the\u00a0Musical Theater of the\u00a0Bolshoi\u00a0Ballet\u00a0in Russia, and subsequently\u00a0he was\u00a0awarded a scholarship by the Harkness Foundation\u00a0of\u00a0New York to pursue higher studies with\u00a0maestro\u00a0Nikita Tal\u00ed. In his native country he was director of the National Ballet of Panama,\u00a0teacher\u00a0of Fine Arts\u00a0at\u00a0the National University and choreographer\u00a0of\u00a0artistic\u00a0extension courses\u00a0at\u00a0the same\u00a0academic institution. In the Dominican Republic, he\u00a0was head of\u00a0the Department of Dance, the\u00a0Culture\u00a0Center of the city of Santiago, and\u00a0opened\u00a0the School of Experimental Classical\u00a0Ballet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Norma Garc\u00eda:<\/b>\u00a0Ballet dancer and teacher.\u00a0She was born in Havana, Cuba\u00a0and began studying\u00a0ballet at the age of 10\u00a0at the Higher Institute of Art. When she arrived in the city of Santiago, in the Dominican Republic, she\u00a0already\u00a0had a long career as a classical\u00a0ballet\u00a0dancer and teacher. When Monsignor Roque Adames managed\u00a0to bring her to the country,\u00a0she was\u00a0working as\u00a0the head of the Department\u00a0of\u00a0Ballet\u00a0at\u00a0her\u00a0alma matter<\/i>. In Santiago\u00a0in 1992,\u00a0teacher\u00a0Garc\u00eda\u00a0established\u00a0the Ballet Department of the\u00a0Culture and Art\u00a0Institute. In 1994 she\u00a0opened\u00a0the Santiago Classical Ballet, and then created the Danzar Foundation,\u00a0whose objective is\u00a0to\u00a0foster\u00a0learning, professional enhancement\u00a0and appreciation of classical ballet, and of\u00a0dance in the general sense.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Irmgard\u00a0Despradel:<\/b>\u00a0<\/b>Dominican dancer, teacher and choreographer. She\u00a0began her\u00a0ballet studies with\u00a0teacher\u00a0Corbett, and\u00a0continued\u00a0them with\u00a0teacher\u00a0Ram\u00edrez,\u00a0at\u00a0whose academy\u00a0she was the\u00a0soloist\u00a0for years. There,\u00a0she was the first Dominican interpreting the\u00a0main roles of the\u00a0Sleeping Beauty and\u00a0the\u00a0Giselle\u00a0ballets\u00a0in the country,\u00a0while she\u00a0began\u00a0her\u00a0teaching\u00a0career. She then studied at the Harkness Ballet in New York. On\u00a0her\u00a0return,\u00a0together with\u00a0dancer Mauricio Fern\u00e1ndez,\u00a0created\u00a0the\u00a0Santo Domingo\u00a0Ballet\u00a0company, and later an academy for teaching.\u00a0Subsequently,\u00a0she opened\u00a0her own space\u00a0to\u00a0perform. For five years,\u00a0she kept\u00a0the television space La Danza\u00a0en\u00a0el Mundo\u00a0(Dance throughout the world), a program for\u00a0disseminating\u00a0ballet,\u00a0presented\u00a0on Channel 11 of\u00a0Telesistema\u00a0dominicano.\u00a0She specialized in the Vaganova Method (Russian School). She was acting director and resident choreographer\u00a0of\u00a0the National Classical Ballet, and founding\u00a0teacher\u00a0of the National School\u00a0of\u00a0Dance\u00a0(ENDANZA).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Miriam Bello:<\/b>\u00a0Dominican ballet dancer and teacher, born in San Pedro de Macor\u00eds. She began her classical dance studies\u00a0almost at the age of 11\u00a0with\u00a0teacher\u00a0Corbett in Santo Domingo,\u00a0and then received a scholarship for three years at the American Ballet Theater in New York.\u00a0Some\u00a0ten years after her\u00a0return,\u00a0she created\u00a0Articentro, her\u00a0own school\u00a0of\u00a0ballet. She has been director of the National Ballet, director of the National School of\u00a0Dance,\u00a0deputy\u00a0director general of Fine Arts and deputy director of the Narciso Gonz\u00e1lez\u00a0Cultural Center. She holds degrees in theater and\u00a0in\u00a0international law, a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in higher education;\u00a0and also\u00a0paints and has studied visual\u00a0arts. During the activities commemorating the\u00a02012 Month of Dance, she was recognized as “National\u00a0Glory” for her outstanding work in the dance genre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Marinella\u00a0Sallent:<\/b>\u00a0Dominican artist, graduated with a degree in\u00a0pedagogy and a\u00a0master\u2019s\u00a0degree\u00a0in\u00a0performing\u00a0arts\u00a0from\u00a0the Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain.\u00a0She\u00a0was a\u00a0founding team\u00a0member\u00a0of the National School of Dance, where\u00a0she has\u00a0worked\u00a0as a\u00a0teacher. She\u00a0established\u00a0Danzarte,\u00a0her\u00a0own school\u00a0of dance,\u00a0which in 1996 won the Cassandra Prize for the best classical\u00a0performance\u00a0of the year. She has been\u00a0national\u00a0dance\u00a0coordinator of the National System of Specialized Artistic Training, and director of the Dominican National Ballet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Carlos Veit\u00eda:<\/b>\u00a0Outstanding Dominican dancer and choreographer.\u00a0He has been artistic director of the\u00a0Dominican Concert\u00a0Ballet and resident choreographer of the Dominican National Ballet.\u00a0He is the son of teacher Clara Elena Ram\u00edrez. In 1995, he won the Classic Choreographer of the Americas Award,\u00a0presented\u00a0by the Kennedy Center. He has been a member of the Boston Ballet and\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Miami\u00a0Concerto\u00a0Ballet. In 2004 he\u00a0ceased\u00a0to be director of the National Ballet to dedicate himself to the\u00a0Dominican Concert\u00a0Ballet,\u00a0which\u00a0he\u00a0created and\u00a0headed. In 2012 he was a finalist at the\u00a0“Serguei Diaguiliov”\u00a06th<\/span>\u00a0Choreographic Art Competition, an international competition held at the Music Theater in Lodz, Poland. The piece with which he competed was\u00a0La Belleza y sus Bestias\u00a0(Beauty and\u00a0its\u00a0Beasts), performed by dancer Jonathan Castillo of the Dominican National Ballet.<\/p>\n

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Bibliography<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n