Grand Theater of Havana Alicia Alonso
Neo-baroque theater and ballet house behind a marble facade, home of the national ballet company.
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About this audio guide
This guide to the Grand Theater of Havana centers on Alicia Alonso, the Cuban ballerina who walked onto this stage in nineteen forty-eight almost completely blind after a detached retina cost her sight seven years earlier. It follows the eighteen months she spent rehearsing Giselle flat on her back, moving only her fingers, and the private system of colored spotlights and a waist-high wire she relied on to find her way across the stage without seeing it. You'll also hear about the four marble figures, carved by Giuseppe Moretti, that have watched this entrance since nineteen fourteen.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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