Miguel Cabrera, an official at the National Ballet of Cuba, founded by Alonso, said she died at a hospital in Havana. During her early years in the U.S., Alonso continued her studies with noted ballet teachers such as Enrico Zanfretta and Alexandra Fedorova, both from the School of American Ballet in New York. AdvertisementAlonso joined the prestigious American Ballet Theatre of New York in 1940 and remained with the company for 16 years. But she worried about the development of new dancers back home and in 1948 founded her own company in Havana, the Ballet Alicia Alonso. Star dancer Rolando Sarabia went to the U.S. in 2005, and as recently as 2010 five members of the National Ballet stayed behind in Toronto after a performance.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 17, 2019 17:37 UTC