MARIEM VALDES, Choreographer
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MARIEM VALDES is a member of Cuba’s National Dance Council and the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba as well as the current Principal Dancer of Ballet Company Laura Alonso. Showing great promise at an early age, Mariem launched her career with the Escuela Nacional de Ballet de Cuba. A rising star by age 16, she won three gold medals at the acclaimed International Ballet Festival of Havana, after which she joined the Ballet Nacional de Cuba and became Principal Dancer of the Danza Ballet in Mexico. Her biggest dreams have come true: Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet, Giselle, Nikya in La Bayadère, Lisette in La fille mal gardée, Kitri in Don Quixote, la Sylphide and Medora in Le Corsaire. Blending her love of classical ballet with a desire to experiment with contemporary dance, Mariem fused her Cuban heritage and classical training in Cirque Fantastic’s choreographies for Celestyal Cruises, a unique experience that has taken her from Cuba to Greece with 12 different shows since 2013.​
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