Cuban ballet dancer's fame growing fast

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Joan Boada left his native Cuba for better opportunities. Now a principal with the San Francisco Ballet, he will be part of tonight's "Midsummer Night's Dance Celebration" at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. 'Midsummer Night's Dance Celebration' A presentation by Ballet Hawaii 7:30 p.m. today Blaisdell Concert Hall $25-$45 526-4400 Featuring: stars from the San Francisco Ballet, the Boston Ballet and the Miami City Ballet; with Amanda Schull of Honolulu, star of "Center Stage"

"In a short time in this country (the United States), I have become a principal dancer," he said. "But I had to go to France first, where I stayed five years, and had training. If I remained in Cuba, there would be no opportunities."

Boada is now a principal with the San Francisco Ballet, whose dancers include Hawai'i's Amanda Schull, and he's heading this way for Ballet Hawaii's "Midsummer Night's Dance Celebration" tonight at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.

And his fame is growing; his artistry might one day be equated with Havana cigars whenever Cuba is mentioned.

"I originally hated ballet," he said in a phone interview from Miami, where he was visiting recently.

"My mom took me to ballet school, when I preferred to be at the beach or playing baseball. I was 9; after six years struggling with my teacher, I finally started to like ballet, and I danced for the school."

Those were difficult times, he said. No matter how good you were or how long you danced, the tradition prevailed that graduates from ballet instruction were relegated to corps-de-ballet work.

Cuba, he said, has had a ballet company since 1959, when the National Ballet was formed with state backing. Previously, the tradition was monitored and steered by Madame Alicia Alonso, whose Ballet Alicia Alonso was born in 1948. With a rigid hierarchy, promotion and elevation to principal rank are hard to come by; young dancers quickly learn that discipline is the key, but few earn their stripes and ascend.

Which is why Boada had to leave his home country.

His athletic physique and matinee-idol looks have not gone unnoticed. Broda also has leapt into lead roles in such staple vehicles as "Coppelia" and "Don Quixote." As Basil in "Quixote," in which he danced with Lorena Feijoo in a San Francisco Ballet production, a reviewer said his performance "must count as one of the brightest pages in the company's history."

"I still don't know why I like ballet now," he said. "It's not the adrenaline, though I enjoy the excitement. It's just hard to explain."

He lives in the Bay Area now, where he has been a San Francisco Ballet principal since 1999. He has a work visa and a French passport (from his earlier link with Le Jeune Ballet de France and five years of residence in France) and recalls performing at a San Francisco Film Festival gala that eventually led to membership in the Bay Area ballet company.

"I like to travel; but in Cuba, the mentality of the leader is that the dancers don't need to go anywhere. It's not the politics, it's a ballet thing."

Thus, he welcomes periodic trips with the San Francisco company.

"For me, dance is everything," Boada said. "Maybe in a couple of years, 10 years, I try choreography."

Boada has competed in international ballet contests, including Paris (1994); Osaka, Japan (1995); and Shanghai (1995). Besides his San Francisco affiliation, he has performed with the National Ballet of Nancy in France, Ballet Bordeaux, National Ballet of Marseille, the Australian Ballet and the Royal Ballet of Flanders.

He has had his share of dance-related injuries, and he said his youth and naivete contributed to three knee surgeries — one in France, two in the United States.

"I was so young and everything was too easy," he said. "Now I have to be more careful; I have to watch where I will put my leg, my knee, to avoid injury."

He originally hurt a knee in France. "I repaired it once in San Francisco and it didn't work, so I had another surgery; I was in pain, I was not able to dance for a while." He has been on the mend since October 2001.

What's on the dance card includes:

• "Giselle Act II," with the San Francisco Ballet's Julie Diana, Zachary Hench, Muriel Maffre, Benjamin Pierce, Amanda Schull and Tara Hench
• "Shogun," with the San Francisco Ballet's Joan Boada and the Miami City Ballet's Luis Serrano
• "Agon," with the San Francisco Ballet's Muriel Maffe and Benjamin Pierce
• "Don Quixote Pas De Deux," with the Miami City Ballet's Katie Carrenza and Luis Serrano
• "Stairway to Paradise," with the San Francisco Ballet's Amanda Schull
• "Di-Li-Do," with the Boston Ballet's Tara Hench
• "Flames of Paris," with the San Francisco Ballet's Joan Boada and Amanda Schull