72 careers meant to acquire a bad reputation.”96 Ballet classes, an ornament in these girls’ education, were geared towards presenting, in the best case, end-of-year amateur recitals.97 Fernando Alonso, who studied at the School of Dance and was the son of

Laura Rainery, Pro-Arte’s president for 1934-48, confirmed this view: “The institution was not interested at all in professionalizing its ballet activities. Instead, they offered ballet lessons to young high-society girls expected to have fit bodies, good posture and a

‘culture of movement’ that would allow them to dance at parties in aristocratic clubs.”98

In spite of Pro-Arte’s affiliation with European culture and the amateur character of the School of Dance, the nationalist forces that propelled the Cuban arts progressively made their way into this institution. The local concern for producing art that explored a

Cuban identity became evident when a group of artists within Pro-Arte took the first step towards creating a Cuban ballet in 1940. That work was Dioné, the brainchild of siboneyista composer Sánchez de Fuentes. Along the same line of his opera Doreya and

96 A. Alonso, “Primeros recuerdos, primeros pasos en la danza” [First memories, first steps in dance], in T. Gutiérrez, Alicia Alonso, prima ballerina assoluta: imagen de una plenitud, testimonios y recuerdos de la artista [Alicia Alonso, prima ballerina assoluta: image of plenitude; testimonies and memories of the artist] (Barcelona: Salvat, 1981), reprinted in Diálogos, 60. Even if the goals of Pro-Arte’s School of Dance were modest, several of the students turned into professional dancers, in addition to Alicia Alonso. Alberto and Fernando Alonso, sons of Laura Rayneri de Alonso, president of Pro-Arte in 1934-48, were among the first students to pursue professional careers in ballet. Alberto, who had been the first male student in Yavorksy’s classes, joined the Ballet Russe de Montecarlo in 1935. Meanwhile, Fernando moved to New York in 1937 seeking professional opportunities as a dancer, which he found in the Mordkin Ballet that same year and later in Ballet Theatre. Many other dance students at Pro-Arte became professional dancers after Alicia Alonso founded her own company, which gave them the opportunity to dance in Havana and tour several countries. Among those who enjoyed international careers were Luis Trápaga (Ballet Russe de Montecarlo), Dulce Wohner (Ballet Theatre, Stuttgart Ballet, Bavarian State Opera), Lydia Díaz Cruz (National Ballet in Washington) and Enrique Martínez (Ballet Theatre). C. Parera, Historia concisa del ballet en Cuba [A concise history of ballet in Cuba] (New York: no publisher information, 1974), p. 45-47.

97 A. Alonso, “Defender nuestra identidad: diálogo con Pedro Simón” [Defending our identity: a conversation with Pedro Simón], Jan. 19, 1973, in Diálogos, 73.

98 Interview of Fernando Alonso with Pedro Simón quoted in A. Piñeiro, “La Silva, una experiencia escénica,” 34.