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Yat-Sen Chang Oliva (born 1971 in Matanzas, Cuba) is a Cuban former principal dancer.
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Yat-Sen Chang Oliva (born 1971 in Matanzas, Cuba) is a Cuban former principal dancer.
Yat-Sen Chang is a Chinese Cuban born in Matanzas, Cuba. Yat-Sen Chang studied dance at the Cuban National Ballet School, beginning his studies at the age of nine. In 1989 he graduated as a dancer and teacher and joined the Cuban National Ballet under Alicia Alonso. [1]
In 1992, he was invited to the International Dance Festival of La Baule and joined Jeune Ballet de France, in the same year and performed in many different countries. He joined the English National Ballet in 1993 as principal dancer.[ citation needed ]
He has a daughter with fellow ENB former principal dancer and ex-girlfriend Simone Clarke.[ citation needed ]
Yat-Sen studied at the Cuban National Ballet School, beginning his studies at the age of nine. The youngest of three brothers (all professionally trained ballet dancers), he graduated as a dancer and teacher in 1989 and immediately joined the Cuban National Ballet Company. [2]
Yat-Sen performed both nationally and internationally as a guest artist in many Galas, including; A Homage to Nureyev at The Coliseum Theatre, The 50th Birthday Wings in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, The 50th Anniversary of The English National Ballet, Dame Beryl Grey's Evening at Sadler's Wells Theatre and The 10th Anniversary of Danzaria. Yat-Sen was also a guest artist with the Northern Ballet Theatre NBT in the production The Three Musketeers. He also appeared on television as the lead dancer in Granada Television's Men in Tights and on Blue Peter performing The Twins from William Tuckett's Canterville Ghost.[ citation needed ]
Awards he received included Best Partner at the Varna International Festival (1990) [3] and The "Leonida Massine Award" in Positano for Best Classical Dancer (1999). [4] Yat-Sen is also the Guinness World Record holder of the fastest turns within 30 seconds. [5]
Yat-Sen Chang became the Artistic Director of the Espinosa Dance Project in February 2012. [6] In addition to the EDP company class, He also gave private tuition to vocationally trained students and professionals. [7]
In August 2013 he started his own brand new company, Yat-Sen Chang Dance Company. [8]
Chang was accused of sexually assaulting three women at a London dance school. [9] He was charged with 14 counts of sexual assault on a girl between 2014 and 2016. She was as young as 16 when these incidents occurred. He denied these charges [10] in the Magistrates Court, but on 11 May 2021 was found guilty of 12 counts of sexual assault and one count of assault by penetration. [11] [12] He was sentenced to 9 years in prison. [13] [14]
Danzón is the official musical genre and dance of Cuba. It is also an active musical form in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Written in 2
4 time, the danzón is a slow, formal partner dance, requiring set footwork around syncopated beats, and incorporating elegant pauses while the couples stand listening to virtuoso instrumental passages, as characteristically played by a charanga or típica ensemble.
Matanzas is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas, 90 kilometres (56 mi) east of the capital Havana and 32 kilometres (20 mi) west of the resort town of Varadero.
Alicia Alonso was a Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer whose company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955. She is best known for her portrayals of Giselle and the ballet version of Carmen.
Tamara Rojo CBE is a Spanish ballet dancer. She was the English National Ballet's artistic director) and a lead principal dancer with the company between 2012 and 2022. She was previously a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. She became the artistic director of San Francisco Ballet in late 2022.
The Cuban National Ballet is a classical ballet company based at Great Theatre of Havana in Havana, Cuba, founded by the Cuban prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Alonso in 1948. The official school of the company is the Cuban National Ballet School.
Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada is a Cuban-British ballet director and retired dancer who is director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He danced with many companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Houston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. He was a permanent member of The Royal Ballet from 1998 to 2015. In 2003, he was promoted to principal guest artist, a rank which reduced his commitment, enabling him to concentrate on a growing schedule of international guest appearances and tours. He celebrated his farewell after 17 years at The Royal Ballet, dancing his last performance in November 2015 in Carmen, which he both choreographed and starred in.
Simone Clarke FDI, CDE, DIP Cecchetti is an English ballerina and former prima ballerina of English National Ballet company. She retired from professional dance in 2007 and opened her own school, the Yorkshire Ballet Academy, in Leeds in 2008.
English National Ballet School is a specialist classical ballet school based in London in the United Kingdom. The School was founded in 1988 by Peter Schaufuss as the official school of English National Ballet. The School's current Artistic Director is Viviana Durante.
Joan Boada is a Cuban retired ballet dancer, teacher and ballet master. His career started at the Cuban National Ballet, where he was promoted to principal dancer at age 16. He defected to France in 1994, then performed with several companies and as a guest, before joining the San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer in 1999. After he retired from performing in 2016, he worked as a guest teacher and répétiteur. In 2019, he joined the Spanish National Dance Company as ballet master and choreographic assistant. In 2021, he became the artistic director of both Conservatory Ballet and Kirov Academy of Ballet. In 2022, Boada became the associate director of Boston Ballet II.
Lorna Feijóo is a Cuban former ballet dancer. Her career started at the Cuban National Ballet, where she rose through the ranks. She left Cuba in 2001, then spent two years with the Cincinnati Ballet, before joining the Boston Ballet in 2003, where she remained as a principal dancer until she retired. Her sister, Lorena Feijóo, was also a ballet dancer.
Cuban culture encompasses a wide range of dance forms. The island's indigenous people performed rituals known as areíto, which included dancing, although little information is known about such ceremonies. After the colonization of Cuba by the Spanish Kingdom, European dance forms were introduced such as the French contredanse, which gave rise to the Cuban contradanza. Contradanza itself spawned a series of ballroom dances between the 19th and 20th centuries, including the danzón, mambo and cha-cha-cha. Rural dances of European origin, such as the zapateo and styles associated with punto guajiro also became established by the 19th century, and in the 20th century son became very popular. In addition, numerous dance traditions were brought by black slaves from West Africa and the Congo basin, giving rise to religious dances such as Santería, yuka and abakuá, as well as secular forms such as rumba. Many of these dance elements from European dance and religious dances were fused together to form the basis of la técnica cubana. Cuban music also contributed to the emergence of Latin dance styles in the United States, namely rhumba and salsa.
The Center Prodanza of Cuba is a Cuban school of classical ballet, dance, and synchronized swimming over many different traditions and genres. The Center has produced several prominent ballet dancers and has a ballet company that has toured South America and the Caribbean region
Cesar Corrales is a Cuban-Canadian ballet dancer and actor. He starred as "Young Billy" in the Chicago and Toronto productions of Billy Elliot the Musical and has been a principal dancer with English National Ballet. He is now a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet.
Vadim Muntagirov is a Russian ballet dancer. He is currently a principal dancer at The Royal Ballet in London and previously a lead principal dancer at the English National Ballet.
Yosvani Ramos is a Cuban ballet dancer. He danced with the English National Ballet for nine years, five as a principal dancer, before joining The Australian Ballet as a principal artist in January 2008, where he remained until April 2013. He joined Cincinnati Ballet as a principal dancer in August 2014 where he remained until the end of that season - May 2015. He is currently contracted to Colorado Ballet in Denver as a principal dancer, having commenced in August 2015.
Aurora de los Ángeles Bosch Fernández is a Cuban dancer and teacher of ballet. Along with Loipa Araújo, Josefina Méndez, and Mirta Plá, she is regarded as one of the "four jewels of Cuban ballet". She was a principal artist with the Cuban National Ballet.
Laurretta Summerscales is a British ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer with Bavarian State Ballet and previously with the English National Ballet.
Age Oks known professionally as Agnes Oaks, is an Estonian former ballet dancer, who was a principal dancer with English National Ballet.
Francesco Gabriele Frola is an Italian ballet dancer. He joined the National Ballet of Canada in 2010, and in 2018, he was promoted to principal dancer, the highest rank in the company. The same year, he joined the English National Ballet as a principal dancer, while keeping his position in Canada. In 2020, the English National Ballet promoted him to lead principal, and he started to dance with the company full-time.
