Solidarity From Cuba, Courtesy of the Revolution
Solidarity From Cuba, Courtesy of the Revolution
November 2, 2016
by W. T. Whitney
Cuba may soon turn out to be a helpful neighbor to the United States. U. S. barriers have prevented that from happening. But bi-national relations are improving and there are signs that Cuba is primed to lend a hand.
For example, Catherine Conley of Chicago arrived in Cuba on August 26, 2016 to study dance at the National School of Ballet, emblematic among Cuba’s highly-developed teaching programs in the arts. The recent high school graduate, who has been dancing since she was three, will be there for a year. She joins tens of thousands of young people from all over who arrive in Cuba to add to their education.
For ten years Catherine Conley studied dance at the Ruth Page Center in Chicago. She’s participated in summer programs in Boston, New York, and London. The Center in 2015 carried out a student exchange program with the Cuban Ballet School. After participating, Catherine received a scholarship to study dance in Cuba.
The young dancer told a Cuban interviewer that she rejected further dance training in the United States, Europe, or Russia in favor of the Cuban school. In Cuba, she observed, “there’s a very big appreciation for the arts, which I realized the first time I came here … It’s so wonderful that there’s a (television) channel dedicated solely to ballet complete with classes. We don’t have that in the United States.”
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/02/solidarity-from-cuba-courtesy-of-the-revolution/