SAN ANTONIO – Ballet takes hard work and dedication. Erin Butts, Abigail Davis, Raleigh Ledford, Olivia Mattivi, Erin O’Connor, Jadelyn Stanfill and Brittany Vahalik spend most of their days in the dance studio at the Quenedit Ballet School in San Antonio.
"Helps me focus on other things not just school because I focus a lot on school, but dance helps me express myself," said Raleigh Ledford, 13.
Ledford and her fellow classmates have been practicing ballet since they were about 2 to 4 years old and it clearly shows. The girls’ technique and passion for the art is so impressive, they’ve been invited by Ms. Ramona De Sáa, the co-founder of the National School of Ballet Fernando Alonso (previously Cuban National Ballet School), to visit Cuba.
"To be invited to come to her workshop-the Cuban National Ballet School is the biggest ballet schools in the world," said Jazz Instructor and mother Tara Mattivi.
QBS Director Ernesto Quenedit is a product of the National School of Ballet Fernando Alonso in Havana. The school is well-known and recognized for producing some of the world's best principal ballet dancers.
An invitation to the most prestigious ballet school in Cuba is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the girls attending QBS couldn’t be more thrilled.
'We're going to get to learn a lot of new things that we might not have been able to experience before so it's going to be a great opportunity," said Olivia Mattivi, 12.
"It means a lot to me that she invited us. I’m looking forward to the partnering classes and just meeting all the other kinds of dancers because there will be dancers from all over the world going and it’s just a really great opportunity for all of us," said Erin O’Connor, 14.
The workshop will take place March 21 through the 25, the same time that President Barack Obama will also be visiting Cuba.