Ballet instructor from Cuba helps train ‘Next Generation’ dancers
TAMPA, Fla. - Ivonne Lemus Mendez is a talented ballet teacher. A dancer herself, she grew up in Cuba and was captivated by the grace and beauty of ballet, and now, she is training the future generation of dancers.
"I started to study ballet at the age of nine years old," said Mendez. "In Pinar del Río, a little town close to Havana."
Mendez began her ballet career in Cuba.
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"In Cuba it's so strict when you study ballet or any artistic art form," she said. "It's not like here that private some time, and you go to the neighborhood, the school they are not they are like very specific."
When Mendez was 14, she went to Havana to study ballet at the National Ballet School.
"We were 300 kids, and they just picked two from that group," she explained.
After years of hard work and dedication, Mendez joined the prestigious National Ballet of Cuba in 1986.
"In Cuba we have a tradition of classical ballet. So, I participate in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Don Q, and the best of those ballets was Giselle," Mendez added.
She danced professionally with the National Ballet of Cuba for 13 years and with Winnipeg Ballet in Canada for five years. Mendez retired and moved to Tampa in 2007, where she began working as an instructor at the Next Generation Ballet company at the Straz Center.
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"It has been a beautiful, a beautiful and amazing process," Mendez said.
And remember her favorite ballet? She's decided to have the ballet company perform "Giselle" the ballet she led for so many years.
"It's like when you choose to compare with Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet," Mendez said.
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The Next Generation dancers are excited about the opportunity to perform the well-known ballet.
"I feel so grateful to be a part of this ballet, especially since I've grown up here watching all these amazing dancers perform all these big roles," said Christina Johnson, a Next Generation Ballet dancer. "And now I get to do that. It's just surreal."
"It's an amazing experience. Like it's such a great opportunity to grow, to learn and to have the opportunity to perform a big role," said Luca Sanchez, a Next Generation Ballet dancer. "And also it's one of the oldest ballets too. So it's such a huge opportunity."
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Mendez, is so proud and happy for the opportunity to see these students shine.
"I never saw in 2007 that we got to grow. How we are right now is incredible. It's incredible. The opportunity that the Straz Center gave me to grow in this place is amazing," Mendez said.
She is glad to be making a lasting impact on the lives of her students. They will be performing the ballet next month. For more information, visit www.strazcenter.org.
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