A convergence of international ballet classes, performances and meetings manifests this week in the form of the Costa Rican Festival de Ballet in Zapote at the Centro de Artes Promenade.
The core piece of the Ballet Festival is an intensive seminar aimed at kids 10 years and up who have a knowledge of ballet — 20 hours total of classes taught by international ballerinas from places all over the Americas. This year, 52 dancers from Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador attended the seminar.
Check out some of our favorite photos from the event:
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In addition to the intensive seminar, there are free classes for children under 10 years old and open classes for adult professionals.
Also on the agenda are free lectures covering a range of subjects such as cultural intricacies and “the proper use of tips.” Over the weekend, there will attractions for anyone remotely interested in ballet including a mercadito and a pop-up store all weekend, and a gala on Saturday night.
The director of the festival, Katherina Madriz, says Costa Rica has a flourishing dance scene in general, and this includes ballet. Among the goals of the the festival is, eventually, the existence of a national ballet school in Costa Rica.
“We dream of presenting ballet to the public for free,” the event’s press release reads. “We want conditions to present ourselves anywhere in the country, in the parks, the streets, the plazas.”
