快活视频

By Rebecca Kirkman and Roy Henry on August 4, 2019

In Towson University鈥檚 Center for the Arts, about two dozen ballet students warm up at the barre in a sun-drenched dance studio. A spry, petite figure weaves between them, stopping to adjust the position of a hand here, a shoulder there.

The woman is 80-year-old Maestra Ramona De Sa谩, director of the internationally renowned Cuban National Ballet School since 1965. One of the most respected figures in the pedagogy of dance in the contemporary world, De Sa谩 is here as part of TU's Cuban National Ballet School Teaching Seminar. It's the first time she's taught such a seminar in the U.S.

A four-day program designed to highlight and share the distinct Cuban ballet methodology with dance instructors in the U.S., the seminar was made possible through a partnership between TU鈥檚 Department of Dance and Community Dance Center, along with the Ruth Page School of Dance in Chicago.

鈥淚 am Cuban American, and it was always a dream of mine to connect with the Cuban National Ballet School,鈥� says Catherine Horta-Hayden, professor and chair of the Towson University Department of Dance. 鈥淚t really is a methodology that is coveted worldwide. They develop some of the best trained dancers in the world.鈥�

Horta-Hayden explains how the infusion of Cuban culture into the country's ballet methodology makes it unique. 鈥淥ne of the many intriguing notions of the curriculum is how they make it distinctly Cuban. There鈥檚 this wonderful cultural aspect to training their ballet dancers [...] They have found a way to infuse the culture of the island, the warmth of the people, the aesthetics, into this ballet form.鈥�

The seminar's 25 available spots were filled quickly, showing a keen interest from the dance community. Attendees include ballet instructors at public schools, private studios, pre-professional programs and in higher education from Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

Over four days, participants learned about the training done in year six and seven of the Cuban National Ballet School鈥檚 eight-year program through lectures, question and answer periods and hands-on teaching demonstrations.

鈥淭his partnership is crucial for Towson University, for the department, for the community, because it鈥檚 about educating people about the cultural aspects of this art form. It鈥檚 also understanding a different culture and their perspective,鈥� Horta-Hayden says.

The heart of the program is about more than just dance. It鈥檚 about cultural exchange and dialogue.

鈥淭he impact has to do more with this human element,鈥� Horta-Hayden says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also about embracing another culture. Showing others how their efforts are valued and that we see the impact they have on dance across the world.鈥�

Despite more than a half-century of experience teaching ballet, De Sa谩 sees the seminar as an opportunity to continue learning. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a beautiful experience to be here. The same way that I have taught, I have learned from everyone who has been here,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e may have different social experiences, but we all come together to learn from one another. It鈥檚 like a fraternity of individuals, and it鈥檚 an honor to be here.鈥�

Horta-Hayden hopes to resume the program again next year, and one day expand it to include an educational exchange program where 快活视频dance students could travel to Cuba to take classes at the Cuban National Ballet School.

鈥淭his idea of opening your doors, your heart, sharing this knowledge across cultures鈥擨 think is part of Towson University鈥檚 mission of inclusivity, of diversity,鈥� Horta-Hayden says.