Ah, the ballet!

A trip to Havana wouldn't be complete without a visit to the ballet, which has received government funding consistently since the 1959 revolution.  The salary of a ballerina is comparable to that of a doctor - an indication that the arts are held in high regard.

We bought tickets for La Sylphide - a rather strange little work set in a Scottish farmhouse, and apparently one of the world's oldest surviving romantic ballets.  It was a bit odd seeing Cuban ballerinas dancing in kilts, and the performance was a little bit rough around the edges - think recorded music blasting out over an empty orchestra pit - but I'm very pleased I went. The Gran Teatro of Havana, where the Cuban Nacional Ballet performs, is beautiful in a scruffily elegant sort of way.

We were also privileged to chance upon some junior ballerinas rehearsing at the Hotel Nacional a few days earlier.