J. Lois Diamond's ALICIA isn't just a biographical tale of acclaimed ballet dancer Alicia Alonso's overcoming her loss of eyesight, but an epic setting her career against changing dance pedagogy from authoritarian to empowering, Cold War politics in which cultural exchanges were a form of soft-diplomacy, and how Alonso herself used her close relationship with the Castro regime in Cuba to advance her career on the international stage. A fascinating portrait of an artist and her times.
J. Lois Diamond's ALICIA isn't just a biographical tale of acclaimed ballet dancer Alicia Alonso's overcoming her loss of eyesight, but an epic setting her career against changing dance pedagogy from authoritarian to empowering, Cold War politics in which cultural exchanges were a form of soft-diplomacy, and how Alonso herself used her close relationship with the Castro regime in Cuba to advance her career on the international stage. A fascinating portrait of an artist and her times.