International Ballet Festival of Havana
The International Ballet Festival of Havana is a biennial ballet festival held in Havana, Cuba. It takes place in various theatres in the city, including the Great Theatre of Havana, the Karl Marx Theatre, and the Mella Theatre. The festival was created in 1960 by a joint effort of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, the Instituto Nacional de la Industria Turística, and the cultural branhes of the Cuban government. The International Ballet Festival of Havana was included in mass dissemination plans in the arts following the Cuban Revolution.
Great Theatre of Havana opera house. Home of the International Festivals
Gran Teatro de La Habana is a theater in Havana, Cuba, home to the Cuban National Ballet. It was designed by the Belgian architect Paul Belau and built by Purdy and Henderson, Engineers in 1914 at the site of the former Teatro Tacón. Its construction was paid for by the Galician immigrants of Havana to serve as a community-social center. Located in the Paseo del Prado, its facilities include theatres, a concert hall, conference rooms, a video screening room, as well as an art gallery, a choral center and several rehearsal halls for dance companies. It hosts the International Ballet Festival of Havana every two years since 1960.
Gran Teatro de La Habana
Detail showing the architectural connection of the Centro Gallego to the new stone facing of 1838 Teatro Tacon on Calle San Rafael.
Teatro Tacón, Havana, 1900
Illustration of a banquet held in the Teatro Tacón