High Culture Comes to Cabo San Lucas
Los Cabos may not be known for its “high culture,” but locals sure know how to support it. That was the case Sunday, June 30, when many of the area’s best and brightest attended the Gala de Danza at Cabo San Lucas‘s Pabellón Cultural de la República.
Joan Boada and Maria Kochetkova performed the balcony scene from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.
Gala de Danza brought many of the finest dancers in the world to Baja Sur, including representatives from the Bolshoi Ballet, American Ballet Theater, San Francisco Ballet, Barak Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Also on hand were several international champions in Latin and standard ballroom dancing.
Gala de Danza featured many of the world’s finest dancers.
The event was organized by ballet teacher Christina Lyon and Lourdes Téllez, a Mazatlán-born dancer and choreographer who is also the founder of San José del Cabo’s Danza Téllez, in conjunction with support from the local government. Both ladies gave speeches to kick off the evening’s entertainment, as did José Antonio Agúndez Montaño, presidente municipal de Los Cabos.
The biggest applause, however, was reserved for local girl made good, Mariana Carrillo, who grew up in San José del Cabo, and trained in ballet and jazz at Danza Téllez. Although currently training with Southland Ballet in Southern California, Carrillo returned to Baja California Sur for a stirring performance of Saint Saëns’ “Dying Swan,” the most technically difficult ballet piece in the program.
In addition to Carillo’s bravura turn, other highlights of Gala de Danza included a wonderfully spirited rendition of the balcony scene in Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, with dance romance provided by Cuban Joan Boada and the Bolshoi trained ballerina Maria Kochetkova; and an athletic modern dance piece by Clara Blanco and Damien Smith, choreographed to “After the Rain” by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.
The evening ended with a prolonged standing ovation from grateful patrons, and over a dozen local girls going onstage to present the performers with bouquets of roses, a traditional and fitting finale to an incredible evening of dance. For more information about upcoming events in Baja California Sur, visit our events page.