Mérida Celebrates Performance of Viengsay Valdés and Anyelo Montero

January 16, 2024

The director of the National Ballet of Cuba, Viengsay Valdés, stood out in a special way at the gala "With and Without Tutus," held in Mexico as part of Mérida Fest 2024.

This is highlighted by several Mexican media outlets, such as Diario de Yucatán and PorEsto! The headline of the latter describes the show that took place on January 13 at the Daniel Ayala theater as a success, completely full, where 14 artists from different groups such as the Ballet of Monterrey and the National Company of Dance of Mexico shared the stage.

"Viengsay Valdés did it again. The prima ballerina and director of the National Ballet of Cuba stood out exceptionally at the ballet gala 'With and Without Tutus' which, under the direction of Víctor Salas, was presented last night with great success and a full house, in its first performance at the Daniel Pérez Ayala theater, within the framework of Mérida Fest 2024", wrote journalist Edwin Farfán Cervantes.

The director of the National Ballet of Cuba, Viengsay Valdés, stood out in a special way at the gala "With and Without Tutus," held in Mexico as part of Mérida Fest 2024.

"Accompanied by the principal dancer of the National Ballet of Cuba Anyelo Montero, Viengsay Valdés flew across the stage and stole the night from her first performance of the third pas de deux from Ricardo Amarante's ballet Love Fear Loss, in a temperamental and powerful love story that made many of the attendees stand up to applaud them," published the critic in the Mexican newspaper.

He added that "this duet of principal dancers also crowned the night by closing the show with fragments from the ballet Carmen, exploiting that range of emotions that move between love and death in choreographies inspired by Bizet's opera."

The attendees of the gala were able to enjoy pieces such as The Death of the Swan, Spartacus, The Flames of Paris and La fille mal gardée, among others, but the journalist assured that the most applauded moment of the night was the duet from Love Fear Loss, performed by the Cuban dancers.

With the title "Evening of Ovations," critic Iris Ceballos Alvarado reviewed the show in Diario de Yucatán in a chronicle. "Known and admired in Mérida, Viengsay Valdés, the prima ballerina of the National Ballet of Cuba, stole the spotlight at the Ballet Gala 'With and Without Tutus,' which was presented the day before yesterday at the Daniel Ayala Pérez theater," she wrote.

She highlighted that the current director of Cuba's leading classical dance group made her presence felt and showcased her talent in the fragments of the ballet Carmen, which she performed alongside principal dancer Anyelo Montero.

"The turns, movements and lifts of the couple, in an interpretation that was moreover elegant and clean in its execution, caused amazement and admiration among those present, who gave her a standing ovation," she added.

She emphasized that Viengsay Valdés "performed the piece Love Fear Loss, choreography by Ricardo Amarante, the third Pas de Deux, highly demanding and of great power, which she tackled without problems with skill and temperament. This interpretation, the first in her participation in the event, also earned her the standing ovation of the public, which filled the theater."