Anette Delgado returned dressed as a princess

The first dancer of the National Ballet of Cuba (BNC) first danced in public after her daughter’s birth.

It has been a year away from the stages. Little time, if we take into account that she was pregnant and had a girl. A long time, if we mind some of her fans, eager to see her again starring in a classic. However, Anette Delgado returned on Sunday to the Alicia Alonso Great Theater of Havana dressed as a princess: she starred in Cinderella, Pedro Consuegra’s two-act ballet based on the music by Johann Strauss Jr.

“It has been a huge challenge, it’s like a debut to me”, she previously commented to CubaSi during a break from her rehearsal in one of the halls of the National Ballet of Cuba.

It has to be; it about a demanding choreography, which demands from the dancer a very high technical level (numerous complicated steps, difficult sequences… that must be taken over effortlessly) and multiple embodiment: Greta, Cinderella, is the humble maid of her stepmother and at the same time (thanks to magic) the gleaming princess who falls in love with the prince.

There was no haste, Anette Delgado could have returned to the stage with a simpler ballet, “but this one was already programmed and I decided to face the risk; although –she jokingly says– I almost regret it”.

The stage she leaves behind has been complex, “from all points of view, physical and spiritually”, but she does not want to waste time sitting.

“I have worked very hard for this play at the rehearsal rooms and believe me, the things that I effortlessly did a year ago are usually harder now. But I am doing my best because I know that many people are eager to see me.

“I know there will be steps that maybe aren’t accomplished the way I did before leaving, but this is a process, we must take it easy. Ballet is a very strong exercise, although not everybody realizes it.

“Of course, you can be sure of something: every time I stand on a stage, every time I dance whatever repertoire play, I give up everything. So, I will dance the best Cinderella I can, with the certainty that I gradually will recover what I have lost”.

Anette was accompanied by her usual partner, who is also her husband: first dancer Dani Hernández. He was an indisputable support, but the entire cast is happy to share the stage with her.

“I hope the audience grasps the outcome of my job, I hope it enjoys the show as I am going to enjoy it myself. Dancing has always made very happy”, the Cuban ballet star had announced. And as always, she didn’t disappoint.

Translated by Jorge Mesa Benjamin / CubaSi Translation Staff