Mar\u00eda Elena Llorente, Principal Dancer and *Ma\u00eetre* (ballet mistress\/coach) of the National Ballet of Cuba (BNC), passed away Monday morning at the age of 80 at the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital in this city, due to complications arising from heart failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a post on the BNC\u2019s official Facebook page, Llorente\u2014a recipient of the National Dance Award\u2014was born in the Cuban capital on May 20, 1946. She began her ballet studies as a child at the School of the Pro-Arte Musical Society of Havana, later continuing at the Alicia Alonso National Ballet Academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Notable teachers contributed to her training: Alicia Alonso (1920\u20132019), Fernando Alonso (1914\u20132013), Marta Mahr, Alexandra Fed\u00f3rova (1884\u20131972), and, notably, the Puerto Rican dancer Jos\u00e9 Par\u00e9s (1926\u20132006). According to Mar\u00eda Elena, Par\u00e9s made her aware of the importance of possessing a solid, clean technique to be used \u201cas a means and not as an end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1962, she joined the BNC corps de ballet\u2014a company where she was promoted to the rank of Soloist in 1967 and Principal Dancer in 1976. Llorente thus began a distinguished artistic career spanning more than five decades, characterized by technical assurance, stylistic precision, and elegance of interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over those years, she took on a vast and comprehensive repertoire that included works in a wide variety of styles by both Cuban and international choreographers; And, of course, there are the titles from that great repertoire inherited from the 19th century\u2014often referred to as the \u201ctraditional\u201d repertoire\u2014in which she excelled: *La Fille mal gard\u00e9e* (she is considered one of the most outstanding interpreters of the role of Lise in the history of Cuban ballet); Swanilda in *Copp\u00e9lia*; the roles of Myrtha (Queen of the Wilis) and Giselle in the crowning masterpiece of Romantic ballet; Princesses Aurora and Florine in *The Sleeping Beauty*; Odette-Odile in *Swan Lake*; and Kitri in *Don Quixote*.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The condolence statement notes that the ballerina also participated in the premieres\u2014or Cuban premieres\u2014of many ballets, some of which were created specifically for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the view of the BNC, works deserving special remembrance include *Introducci\u00f3n a una idea*; *Hamlet*\u2014a ballet in which, to date, she is the only dancer to have performed the female lead, Ophelia, in the complete version; and *Los amantes de Verona*, a choreographic reimagining of the Shakespearean tragedy *Romeo and Juliet* by Iv\u00e1n Tenorio (1941\u20132014).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also included in this selection of outstanding works are *Tarde en la siesta*\u2014a signature piece of Ibero-American choreography in which she danced the role of Esperanza, the younger sister; *El r\u00edo y el bosque* and *Vals* by Alberto M\u00e9ndez; the title role in *Isabel Ilincheta* (from *Cecilia Vald\u00e9s*) and *Equinoxio* by Gustavo Herrera (1946\u20132016); and the ballets *La tierra combatiente*, *D\u00edas y flores*, *Curva descendente*, and *La infanta* by the Chilean choreographer Hilda Riveros (1936\u20132013). It should also be remembered that Llorente was the first BNC principal dancer to perform\u2014and thus incorporate into the company\u2019s repertoire\u2014certain *pas de deux* from the traditional canon that later became staples for many leading Cuban dancers: the *Grand Pas Classique* and the *La Bayad\u00e8re* *pas de deux* (premiered with Alberto M\u00e9ndez); the *Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux* (premiered with L\u00e1zaro Carre\u00f1o in 1982); and the now-celebrated *Le Corsaire* *pas de deux*, which she danced for the first time with the Spaniard V\u00edctor Ullate during the 5th Havana International Ballet Festival in 1976.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A significant moment in the professional life of this celebrated dance teacher was her performance with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York in May 1977\u2014an event described by actor Harry Belafonte (1927\u20132023) as \u201can important historical event.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her final performance as a dancer took place on October 28, 2002, at the closing gala of the 18th Havana International Ballet Festival, with the premiere of the ballet *Souvenir*. Choreographed by Eduardo Blanco specifically for the occasion, the piece featured her dancing alongside the then-young dancer Javier Torres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following year, on April 29, 2003\u2014at the International Dance Day Gala where the BNC\u2019s \u201cFour Jewels\u201d received the National Dance Award\u2014Llorente gave a special performance alongside Jos\u00e9 Zamorano (1953\u20132020) and other iconic figures of Cuban dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On October 29, 2012, as a moving finale to the gala of the 23rd Havana International Ballet Festival\u2014marking the centenary of *La comparsa* by Maestro Ernesto Lecuona (1895\u20131963)\u2014she returned to the stage for another very special performance alongside Alicia Alonso, Marta Garc\u00eda (1949\u20132017), Orlando Salgado, Jorge Vega, Osmay Molina, and L\u00e1zaro Carre\u00f1o.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statement continues by recalling her foray into choreography, highlighting the full-length version of *Don Quixote* in 1988\u2014created alongside Marta Garc\u00eda and Karemia Moreno\u2014and her stagings of two scenes from *La Bayad\u00e8re*.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like her colleagues, and alongside her career as a performer, Llorente spent years working as a teacher and rehearsal coach for several generations of dancers\u2014not only at the BNC but also at the National Ballet School, the Choreographic Center of the Valencian Community, and the courses of the Alicia Alonso Dance Chair (now the institute bearing the same name) in Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mar\u00eda Elena Llorente\u2019s artistic career was recognized with significant national and international awards: the Bronze Medal at the 4th International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria; the Puerto Rico Bar Association Medal (1978); the Distinction for National Culture conferred by the Cuban Ministry of Culture; the Alejo Carpentier Medal; the F\u00e9lix Varela Order (First Class) granted by the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba; and the National Dance Award, received in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In accordance with the artist\u2019s wishes, her remains will be interred in the family mausoleum, the renowned dance company added, expressing deep shock and sorrow while sharing in the grief of the family, admirers, and friends of a figure who is, without a doubt, a significant personality in Cuban dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IMAGE CREDIT: ACN \u2013 Culture \/ Photos: National Ballet of Cuba<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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