Ai Weiwei endured "immense pressure" in detention: source

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1 of 2. Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei speaks to members of the media in the doorway of his studio after he was released on bail in Beijing June 23, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/David Gray

By Sui-Lee Wee

BEIJING | Wed Aug 10, 2011 11:16am EDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei, whose disappearance in April caused an international outcry, endured intense psychological pressure during 81 days in secretive detention and still faces the threat of prison for alleged subversion, a source familiar with the events told Reuters.

In the first broad account of Ai's treatment in detention since he was released in June, the source, who declined to be identified fearing retribution, said the 54-year-old artist was interrogated more than 50 times by police, while he was held in two secret locations.

The questioning focused on his purported role in the planned Arab-inspired "Jasmine Revolution" protests in China in February and his writings that could constitute subversion, said the source.

That account runs counter to the Chinese government's repeated statements that Ai's detention was based on alleged economic crimes.

"What you're doing is illegal," Ai told police officers at one point, according to the source. "They said: 'Do you know before Liu Shaoqi died, he was holding the constitution...Talk about illegality, there's no difference between the country that we are in now and the time of the Cultural Revolution."

Liu, a former president, was purged and died in prison during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution when paramount leader Mao Zedong turned against his comrades in the name of radical upheaval.

In the second location, where Ai was held for 67 days, the artist famed for his work on the "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium in Beijing, was watched over by two police officers for 24 hours a day, with their faces often inches from his, watching his every movement even while his slept.

Ai had to ask the police officers for permission to drink water and use the toilet. He was not allowed to speak and was watched over by the officers even while he slept. They demanded that he put his hands on top of the blanket, the source said.

"It was immense psychological pressure," the source said.

Under the conditions of Ai's release, he is not allowed to be interviewed by journalists, meet with foreigners, use the Internet and interact with human rights advocates for a year from his release, the source said.

Despite this, the burly artist, with flecks of grey in his distinctive beard, has spoken out on his Twitter account for detained dissidents and his associates who had disappeared during the time that he did but have since been released.

During his detention, Ai was fed well and allowed long walks, the source said.

Ai has long been an outspoken government critic, and for a long time, many believed Ai had been somewhat protected by his fame and by being the son of a famed Communist poet, Ai Qing.

But when Ai was taken from the airport by plainclothes officers on April 3, they covered his head with a black hood, put him in a car and drove him to a secluded location, the source said.

Ai was told that he was being put under "residential surveillance." He asked whether he could have access to a lawyer or whether his family knew of his whereabouts, and police officers told him that could take up to six months.

While he was held, the source said, Ai was asked whether he knew who the organisers of the "Jasmine" protests were. Ai denied all knowledge, the source said.

Police officers discussed the contents of his blog and Twitter account, "line by line," the source said.

He was told he could face 10 years in prison for "inciting subversion to state power" -- a broad charge that China often uses to punish dissidents.

On the day he was released, police officers told him he "could still be sentenced to 10 years," the source said, adding that Ai had to sign a contract stating that he would agree to the terms of his release before he could be released.

"OBSCENE PERSON"

Ai's detention ignited an outcry from many Western governments about China's tightening grip on dissent that started in February, when dozens of rights activists and dissidents were detained and arrested.

The artist was the most internationally well-known of those detained, and his family has repeatedly said he was targeted by authorities for his outspoken criticism of censorship and Communist Party controls.

During the nearly three months of detention, his family and friends said his whereabouts were unknown. Ai met his wife Lu Qing once at a time when rumors circulated that he was being tortured.

When Ai was released on bail in late June, the Chinese government said he remained under investigation for suspicion of economic crimes, including tax evasion. Ai told Reuters earlier that he has not received a formal notice from the authorities to explain the charge of "suspected economic crimes."

Police officers told Ai "you criticised the government, so we are going to let all society know that you're an obscene person, you evaded taxes, you have two wives, we want to shame you. We'll not use politics to deal with you," the source said.

The source said Ai told them "no one is going to believe you," but officers told him "everyone will believe us, tax evasion is a very serious crime in many countries."

Despite the intimidation, Ai is unlikely to leave the country for good, the source said. He had confirmed earlier to Reuters that he had accepted a visiting teaching post at the Berlin University of the Arts and that he would like to go to Germany, if given permission by the authorities. [ID:nLDE76C14I].

Ai will not abandon his once prominent role as a free speech advocate, the source said. On Tuesday, Ai tweeted that if people do not speak out for dissidents Wang Lihong and Ran Yunfei, they do "not stand for fairness and justice...and have no self-respect."

On Monday, he tweeted about the conditions of four associates who had been detained at the same time as Ai, saying "they innocently suffered immense mental devastation and physical torment."

(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Ken Wills and Jonathan Thatcher)

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Art and sub-atomic particles to collide at CERN

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By Robert Evans

GENEVA, Switzerland | Thu Aug 4, 2011 10:18am EDT

GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) - CERN, focus of research into the Big Bang and what makes the universe tick, on Thursday announced a new program -- fusing science with art to encourage painting and music inspired by the wonders of the cosmos.

Or more prosaically a "policy of engaging with the arts" that will involve giving the European nuclear research center's seal of approval for cultural projects influenced by the particle physics at the heart of its work.

"The arts and science are inextricably linked; both are ways of exploring our existence, what it is to be human and what is our place in the universe," said CERN director general Rolf Heuer, a German physicist and classical music fan.

Leading Japanese video and photographic artist Mariko Mori provided a more lyrical view of the ideas behind the program, which will be directed by a "Cultural Board for the Arts" and bring artists to work in residence at CERN.

"CERN's challenge, to discover the truth of our existence with revolutionary science, provides inspiration to artists and creators everywhere," said Mori after a recent visit to the center on the borders of France and Switzerland.

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is leading humankind's efforts "to understand what we are," said the rising star of international art who creates visions of alien worlds in sculpture, painting and video.

The 5-member "Cultural Board" -- including a top opera company director from France, a museum chief from Switzerland and a CERN physicist specializing in the cosmic search for anti-matter -- will select two projects a year for endorsement.

The cash-strapped CERN, whose budget is strictly controlled by its 20 member states, cannot provide finance itself, but Heuer says the moral backing will boost each project in seeking external funding.

As part of the new policy, the research center will form partnerships with leading world cultural organizations, like the digital arts body Ars Electronica which will put CERN at the heart of its "Origins" festival in Linz, Austria in September.

CERN, whose subterranean Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has simulated trillions of mini-versions of the Big Bang that created the universe 13.7 billion years ago since its launch in March 2010, is no newcomer to the arts.

Young researchers there have created rap accounts of the LHC launch, physicists have formed a jazz band and a small symphony orchestra and the sounds of the particles smashing together in the collider have been converted to music.

And last year a U.S. artist was invited to use the whole of the side of one three-story building on its main site for a pop-art mural illustrating what he called the secular mythology of "a cathedral of science."

(Editing by Stephanie Nebehay and Paul Casciato)

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Berlin exhibit uncovers once classified Stasi photos

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1 of 7. An undated handout picture shows an officer of former East German Ministry for State Security (MfS), known as the Stasi, presenting a disguise outfit. Spies from former communist East Germany demonstrate the art of disguise by donning fur wigs, fake moustaches and dark glasses in a Berlin exhibition of recently uncovered and once highly classified photographs.

Credit: Reuters/Morgen Contemporary/Simon Menner/Handout

By Sarah Marsh

BERLIN | Wed Aug 10, 2011 11:00am EDT

BERLIN (Reuters) - Spies from former communist East Germany demonstrate the art of disguise by donning fur wigs, fake mustaches and dark glasses in a Berlin exhibition of recently uncovered and once highly classified photographs.

German artist Simon Menner, who put together the exhibition "Pictures from the Secret Stasi Archives," said it should show how something that seems harmless, such as these images that could be shots from a spy film spoof, can harbor danger.

"These were used during courses on how to dress up and blend into society," the 33 year-old artist said. "They seem pretty absurd now, but it was meant seriously -- this is evil stuff."

Menner says he aims to fuel a debate about the problems inherent to the concept of surveillance, using evidence of the way the Stasi secret police functioned in the Cold War.

"These are once highly classified images taken by a secret service that were never meant to be published -- just imagine this was an exhibition of photographs from the CIA!," he said.

"Here in Germany we have this treasure, an archive that is pretty much open to everyone -- something worth so much, especially in a time when we are debating surveillance issues."

Germany has some of the toughest privacy laws in the world due to its experience with state surveillance systems once used by the Nazis and the Stasi.

Menner spent days combing through the vast archives once built by the Stasi using a network of informants numbering one in 90 East German citizens and open to the public since 1990.

In one row of images, a spy exhibits disguises, from the Russian mafioso wearing a furry hat and trenchcoat to the casual middle-aged man sporting a cardigan and buttoned-up shirt.

Menner also uncovered Polaroid photos made by Stasi agents when they secretly searched peoples' houses on the hunt for evidence they might be betraying the communist state.

"The people who lived there were never informed when their flats were searched, so the first thing the agents did was to take Polaroid images of the apartment to be able afterwards to put everything back in its original position," he said.

BIG BROTHER

These photographs seem harmless at first, showing an unmade bed, a sprawl of shoes, papers on a desk. Yet they testify to the insidious invasion of the Stasi into peoples' private lives.

They also underline a universal problem with secret services and preemptive surveillance, says Menner: ordinary people naturally prone to misperception are enshrined with great powers and left free to interpret evidence as they wish.

A West German coffee maker could be seen as proof by the Stasi that someone was a spy, or simply proof they liked coffee.

"Depending on which interpretation you choose, the coffee-maker owner could end up on jail," said Menner, who has frequently explored the idea of an Orwellian Big Brother in his own photographic oeuvre.

"But that is not something that can actually be found in the image but rather decided by some Big Brother...you see through these images some of the general problems with surveillance."

The problem of misperceptions arising from surveillance was not just a relic of the Cold War, and could be found in western society too, with potentially fatal consequences, Menner said.

Menner referred to a video leaked last year which showed how a U.S. helicopter crew in Iraq mistook a camera for a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and killed the cameraman.

"The idea of a common enemy brings society together," he said. "Maybe surveillance does make western society more secure but we have to be very careful with it."

Some of the more surprising images in the exhibition show the spies of the western Allied Forces photographing the Stasi spies, sometimes laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

Menner explained that among the allied powers, there were small units allowed to move freely between East and West Germany, with each side considering these "military liaison missions" as an ideal opportunity for spying.

"Sometimes they met, both sides were absolutely aware that the other side was there, but nevertheless both sides took photos, showing that both East and West lived in pretty much the same state of mind," he said, noting that he was unable to obtain the counterpart images from the British or Federal German secret services.

"The Cold War is over...and yet there is still no way for me to get hold of these images," said Menner. "This again shows just how valuable these pictures are."

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

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New Spider-Man is half black, half Latino nerd

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1 of 4. The new Spider-Man for the Obama-age -- a half-black, half-Latino nerd named Miles Morales, as unveiled by Marvel Comics, is shown in this handout image released to Reuters on August 3, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Marvel Comics/Handout

By Ray Sanchez

New York | Wed Aug 3, 2011 4:20pm EDT

New York (Reuters) - Marvel Comics on Wednesday unveiled a new Spider-Man for the Obama-age -- a half-black, half-Latino nerd named Miles Morales.

The new Spidey, who lives in Brooklyn, was revealed in Marvel Comics' Ultimate Fallout Issue 4. He replaces longtime comic-book favorite Peter Parker, who was white, hailed from Queens and was killed in Ultimate Spider-Man Issue 160 in June.

"Going into this we knew we wanted to make a statement about the 21st century," said Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso.

"I'm mixed race. My mom is from England; my dad is from Mexico. When Obama was elected I cried -- partly because he was African American but largely because of the fact that he was mixed race," Alonso said.

"I remember what it was like to grow up mixed race. This is more and more prevalent in the United States and it speaks to our rich cultural heritage."

Like Parker, Miles is a nerdy, awkward working-class kid from the outer boroughs of New York. But Parker was an orphan raised by his aunt and uncle in a traditionally white section of Queens.

Miles' parents -- his mother is black, his father Latino -- are still alive, live in more racially diverse Brooklyn and play key roles in his story.

"Spider-Man is arguably the most recognizable superhero on the planet and little kids like my son Tito can relate to him because of the red-and-blue tights," Alonso said.

"But when he peels off his mask now, he's going to have a very different look and he's going to resonate emotionally with all sorts of new readers.".

The new Ultimate Spider-Man series and Wednesday's Ultimate Fallout issue are available digitally and in stores.

"I have no doubt that people will fall in love with Miles the way they did with Peter Parker regardless of what race or class or creed they are," Alonso said.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Jerry Norton)

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Author Hargreaves tickled pink as Mr. Men turns 40

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By Alice Baghdjian

LONDON | Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:41pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Monsieur Chatouille, Don Cosquillas, Unser Herr Killekille all tickled the butcher and the policeman and no matter what language you speak, Mr Tickle's extraordinarily long arms continue to delight young readers all around the world.

The bright orange character celebrated his 40th birthday on Wednesday.

Mr. Tickle, created by Roger Hargreaves as an answer to his six-year-old son's question "what does a tickle look like?", along with Messrs Greedy, Nosey, Happy, Bump and Sneeze, formed the foundation of the Mr. Men children's books when they were first published in 1971.

The series of 49 Mr. Men and 36 Little Miss books has sold 120 million books worldwide since their first appearance -- an average of one copy sold every 2.5 seconds.

"It is truly incredible that something so personal to my father went on to become such a global phenomenon," Adam Hargreaves, son of creator Roger Hargreaves and now the face of the Mr. Men empire, said in a statement.

"If he were alive today, I think he would be ecstatic to see how popular his creations have become. My dad managed to capture basic human characteristics that can be recognised as part of each and every one of us. We've all been a Mr. Happy, Mr. Funny and even a Little Miss Naughty at times," he said.

In the last decade Roger Hargreaves became one of best-selling British authors, alongside Harry Potter creator J.K Rowling.

Adam Hargreaves took over the Mr. Men series after his father's death in 1988 and has continued to create characters, even special editions based on real people.

The latest Little Miss character, Little Miss Princess, was published in March this year to coincide the British royal wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William, while British designer Stella McCartney was the inspiration for Little Miss Stella in 2006.

The brand has spawned two television series across the globe, beginning with the 1970s series in Britain, narrated by Arthur Lowe. A modern-day Mr. Men Show, produced by entertainment group Chorion, who now own the rights to the Mr. Men characters, airs in Britain, the United States, France and Australia.

(Edited by Paul Casciato)

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Philip Levine named 18th poet laureate

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NEW YORK | Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:05pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Urban poet Philip Levine was named on Wednesday as the 18th poet laureate by the Library of Congress, which praised his writing for plain-spoken lyricism about working class Americans in Detroit.

Levine, 83, who was born and grew up in Detroit but now lives in Fresno, California where he taught English and writing at California State University, will take up his one-year term this fall, opening the Library's annual literary series in October, Librarian of Congress James Billington said in a statement.

"Philip Levine is one of America's great narrative poets," Billington said. He "championed the art of telling 'The Simple Truth' about working in a Detroit auto factory, as he has, and about the hard work we do to make sense of our lives."

Levine, an author of 20 collections, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1995 for "The Simple Truth" and National Book Awards for "What Work Is" (1991) and "Ashes: Poems New and Old." (1980)

As a young man he worked in car factories in Detroit, and the industrial heartland became one of the main subjects of his work.

Levine told the New York Times in an interview he thought he had begun to do his best work in the early 1990s, but added: "I find more energy in my earlier work. More dash, more anger. Anger was a major engine in my poetry then. It's been replaced by irony, I guess, and by love."

The title poem of his collection, "The Simple Truth," was less tender than some of his later poems:

"Some things

you know all your life. They are so simple and true

they must be said without elegance, meter and rhyme,

they must be laid on the table beside the salt shaker,

the glass of water, the absence of light gathering

in the shadows of picture frames, they must be

naked and alone, they must stand for themselves."

Levine, who will take on the duty of bringing poetry to the wider public, joins a list of distinguished poets who have served in the position of U.S. poet laureate, including Ted Kooser, Louise Gluck, Billy Collins, Robert Pinsky, Rita Dove and Robert Penn Warren. He succeeds the poet W.S. Merwin.

(Reporting by Christine Kearney, editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Trash becomes treasure for one Thai artist

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BANGKOK | Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:37pm EDT

BANGKOK (Reuters) - From custom-built motorcycles to statues of Yoda, one Thai artist is building works of art using scrap metal from Bangkok's garbage heaps, recycling trash to create his very own treasure.

A former woodcarver, Rungroja Saengwongpaisarn began working with metal in 1996 at the request of a patron, soon fusing his passion for conservation with his art and creating a distinctive style.

"It's using metal that was discarded. We are giving the material a new life by using it to create art," the 54-year-old Rungroja said.

Where some see junk, he sees raw material, salvaging discarded car parts and household goods such as woks with his team everyday. The items are then used to craft statues, models and even robots.

An ancient Asian warrior snarls on one side of his gallery, which also contains a toothy dinosaur, elephants and a pensive Yoda.

Recycling has paid off for the sculptor, whose works range in price from $60 to $40,000 and can take anywhere from 3 days to up to one year to complete. One of the more challenging pieces was a three-meter (yard) high robot that weighed about 450 kg (990 pounds).

Finding parts that match his vision can be a challenge.

"The difficult thing is to make the scale of each model, like this one," Rungroja said, displaying a small motorcycle.

"The face of the model is quite meticulous... Different models will require different types of details."

His latest work, a motorcycle dubbed "Pre-Alien," is the third motorcycle he's built. Each takes him about three months to complete and sold his last one to a Japanese collector for more than $10,000.

Rungroja expects "Pre-Alien" to sell for more than $15,000. The motorcycle weighs about 180 kg and can hit speeds of up to 100 kilometres an hour -- not bad for a pile of junk.

(Reporting by Noppawan Bunluesilp; editing by Elaine Lies)

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Buskers, stars and tourists crowd Edinburgh Festival

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Model Christina Kernohan poses for photographers during a media launch for the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme, Edinburgh, Scotland June 10, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/David Moir

By Ian Mackenzie

EDINBURGH | Fri Aug 5, 2011 12:50pm EDT

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - The Edinburgh Fringe Festival swung into exuberant action on Friday as 21,000 performers ranging from street buskers and mimes to top-class singers, actors and cabaret stars set out to entertain in a city whose population doubles in size over the coming month.

The free-spirited Fringe, the Edinburgh International Festival, the International Book Festival, the military tattoo and major art exhibitions combine in the world's biggest annual arts festival.

The Scottish capital, with a population of around 470,000, virtually doubles in size over the coming weeks. The hoteliers association said its 40 members reported that most of the available 145,000 rooms were taken. A report commissioned by Scotland's festivals said they brought some 250 million pounds ($410 million) to the country's economy annually.

Buskers, magicians, acrobats and brightly clad actors promoting their shows crowded Edinburgh's historic Royal Mile in bright sunshine on Friday, after heavy rain the previous day.

The military tattoo, whose pipe bands and military performances expect to attract 220,000 spectators for its three-week run from Friday through to August 27, has spent 16 million pounds on revamping its seating and facilities on the esplanade of the Castle, which dominates the city's skyline.

The 2,542 shows scheduled for this year's Fringe range from one-person events tucked away in back alleys to world-class comedy, theater and song.

Cabaret has returned this year to feature in the programme. There is also a "free Fringe" in which more than 500 shows can be seen without charge.

The Fringe, which started as an adjunct to the International Festival founded in 1947 as an antidote to the austere days after World War Two, has also given many stars of comedy and theater their first break over the years.

Fringe director Kath Mainland said one reason performers flocked to the city was for the chance of catching the eye of impresarios, talent scouts and agents who gather from around the world in the search of new talent and acts.

The International Festival, with a strong Asian theme this year, runs from August 12 to September 4, and the book festival from August 13 to 29.

(Edited by Paul Casciato)

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New memoir navigates rural China's social minefields

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Author Michael Levy poses for a picture in Songpan City in Sichuan Province, in this handout picture taken in July 2006.

Credit: Reuters/Dylan Madenski/Handout

By Chelsea Emery

NEW YORK | Thu Aug 4, 2011 4:40pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Galvanized by the September 11 attacks on the United States, Michael Levy joined the Peace Corps and found himself on a plane for central China.

His misconceptions about Chinese people, and his vegetarianism, fell by the wayside as he labored to learn the local dialect and stay open-minded when asked to try unusual foods such as millipedes.

Levy also struggled to navigate the region's tricky politics, which affected every aspect of life from singing contests to basketball games.

In the new memoir, "Kosher Chinese", he explores the lighter side of his years in Guiyang, such as eating dog and fighting his way onto crowded buses. On a more serious note, he examines disturbing stereotypes and some reasons behind China's patriotism and national pride.

Now a history teacher in Brooklyn, Levy spoke with Reuters about being the only Jewish person in the province, some embarrassing language mistakes and what he learned about his assumed Chinese name.

Q: Why did you name your book Kosher Chinese?

A: "Boy, was that a process. The title is trying to express all the strange juxtapositions that I experienced -- a tall white guy in western China ... a Jewish guy in a place where they've only met missionary Christians ...

"The place these conversations took place was the dinner table. And often (these discussions centered around) food. So the title is about bringing all that together."

Q: When you returned to the States, did you begin keeping Kosher again?

A: "I'm such a lapsed Jew. Food is such an important part of life and it's a journey. Right now, I'm in this state of flux. People get so freaked out by some of the stuff that is eaten in China, and to me it's not that big a deal."

Q: Except for a dog-meat incident -- didn't you have a fainting spell?

A: "Right now, I could say it doesn't faze me, and that is so horrible to my mom. She really gets uncomfortable when I say that. She has three dogs. I have a dog. I'm a dog lover. I guess I'm also a chicken lover or a pig lover. I love animals and I still eat them. I haven't figured out what I should do with my diet, but I really do think it matters."

Q: What other issues did you face in China?

A: "China was a real challenge as a Jew. Many of the most important Jewish prayers need 10 people, or 10 men if you're Orthodox. I was the only Jew in the province, so it was spiritually lonely. Coming back to the States I've been happy to be back in places where there is a Jewish community. And yet I'm still going to Chinese restaurants and eating pork ... I'm having an identity crisis."

Q: Your students took English names like Jennifer. Did you take a Chinese name?

A: "Levy pretty easily becomes Li in Chinese (and I thought,) 'I know a Li because I've studied a little Chinese history.' So, I said to my Chinese teacher, 'Would you name me Li Lisan?'

"I was very proud of that name. Finally I started to learn more about this person whose name I had adopted. And I learned that he was verboten. He was thrown out of the party. He was a radical. Chairman Mao hated him. And that was my name!

"It was like naming yourself Benedict Arnold in English. But everyone was forgiving. They were just happy that I was trying to immerse myself in Chinese culture."

A: Were there other funny language mix-ups?

Q: "I really wanted to learn the slang. I didn't learn perfect Mandarin. I learned the dialect. That made for great conversations with every type of person - 'Oh, you know the local dialect! That's so cool!' But I would screw it up sometimes.

"One time I was eating hot pot with a bunch of my friends and I tried to order meat balls. I took the word for 'meat' from one sentence that I knew and 'ball' from another sentence and put them together and created the slang for breasts.

"And, you know, that's a little awkward, especially when you're sitting around with colleagues and they're laughing and the waitress is running away red in the face."

(Reporting by Chelsea Emery; editing by Patricia Reaney)

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Bolshoi celebrates Cuba's peerless ballerina Alonso

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Alicia Alonso (L), Cuba's prima ballerina assoluta and director of the Cuban National Ballet talks backstage to her ballerinas before the Cuban National Ballet Gala concert at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, August 2, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Denis Sinyakov

By Nastassia Astrasheuskaya

MOSCOW | Thu Aug 4, 2011 2:54pm EDT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Bolshoi Theater celebrated the 90th birthday of Cuban dancer Alicia Alonso with a gala performance this week of Russian classics performed by her pupils and countrymen.

The Havana-native, who turned 90 years-old last December, received a standing ovation at the packed theater on Tuesday night where she was honored alongside Russian dancers -- such as Vladimir Vasiliev and Azari Plisetsky -- who have worked with her over a career that has spanned more than six decades.

"I really feel like Alicia in Wonderland," Alonso gushed on stage after the performance.

In her youth, Alonso studied ballet with choreographers Michel Fokine, George Balanchine and Leonide Massine, and later brought their ballets to the Cuban National Ballet company, which she founded in 1948.

On her 17th visit to Russia since 1958, Alonso praised the country's dancers for innovating partnered ballets, with lifts and acrobatics for male dancers, which she said did not exist in the United States or Cuba when she graced the stage in the 1940s.

Scenes from Swan Lake, Don Quixote and Coppelia are among the classics adapted by Alonso and danced for her during the gala show by eight Cuban dancers from her troupe.

"What's different about the performance is that it's done by Cubans. The school of dance is always the same, but the troupes are different," Alonso said proudly.

Joining the Cuban dancers on stage, the Bolshoi's principal dancers Svetlana Zakharova and Andrey Uvarov gave a passionate rendition of Carmen Suite, choreographed by Alicia Alonso's husband Alberto, who accompanied her to the gala evening.

Alonso, who suffers from life-long visual problems watched the performance bleary eyed, glowed with proud joy when former Bolshoi star Vasiliev praised her company as a "troupe with immense potential."

It was with Vasiliev at her side in her role as Giselle that Alonso caused a stir in the ballet world in the 1980s, dancing a title role written for a much younger woman and combining her old world elegant style with Vasiliev's brash, youthful power.

"It is we, who need to learn male ballet dancing from the Cubans now. All thanks to Alicia, who founded classical ballet in Cuba, where it was previously non-existent before," Vasiliev said on stage, presenting Alonso with a huge bouquet of flowers.

The Cuban ballet's gala performance marked the close of the Russian Bolshoi season until October.

(Reporting by Nastassia Astrasheuskaya; Editing by Alissa de Carbonnel)

(Created by Paul Casciato)

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