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Where were you born?
In Mayarí, Holguín province, Cuba.
 
What was your parents’ occupation?
My mother is doctor and my father is an engineer.
 
How many brothers and sisters?
I’m an only child and have a sister on my father’s side
 
How old were you when you first starting learning to dance?
Eight years old.
 
Where did you train?
I attended the Raúl Gómez García Art School at Holguín.
 
You then were accepted into the Escuela Nacional de Ballet (National Ballet School) in Havana, Please describe the audition.
I was very nervous because only two students are selected from each province of the country. We present two different routines in front of the jury, the basic routine and another routine taught by a teacher of the National School of Ballet.
 
Is it a boarding school? What was your daily schedule?
It is a boarding school. We would wake up at six to get ready for breakfast and be picked up to go to class from 8am to 4pm. We had all meals at the school and had a lot of fun at the boarding school, like any other student. We practised ballet, studied, went to parties. It was a very good time.
 
Did you have to travel far from home to attend the school?
It is a half an hour ride but we had school transport.
 
What did you learn at the school besides ballet?
All basic subjects like Maths, Spanish, History, French as a second language and also Dance History, Ballet Methodology, Acting, Appreciation and History of Arts.
 
What was your first public performance?
I was in fourth grade, eight years old and attended a dance festival in Holguín province to dance a solo.
 
You later joined the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. What roles did you dance with that company?
I danced the Pas de Sept of The Sleeping Beauty. The variation of Corsaire; Majissimo; The variation of Carnaval de Venecia and corps de ballet in several festivals and performances.
 
When did you join Ballet Revolucion and why?
I joined Ballet Revolución two years ago. It was a new opportunity of work that gave me a chance to learn new dance skills since I started dancing genres I had not danced before. It was a nice new challenge.
 
What has been the highlight of your time with Ballet Revolucion?
To have the privilege to meet the Queen of England.
 
What do you always bring to the theatre?
My dance shoes, and my spirit to perform to my best every day.
 
Is there one thing you couldn’t live without?
My mother.
 
What word would you use to describe your feet?
Blessing.

This article was first published in the Dance Australia June-July 2013 issue.

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