Image by John Ross available at: http://www.ballet.co.uk/dcforum/DCForumID12/83.html
Remember that kooky yet charming movie starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, Groundhog Day, in which the main characters relive the same day over and over again until, well, I don't really recall what finally broke the spell. But something did, and I'm sure we were all grateful.
That movie came to my mind when I read this:
Members of Russia's Bolshoi Ballet will perform in Havana's Karl Marx theatre this week in their first appearance on the island in 30 years, Cuba's state-run press says.The return of the Bolshoi comes as part of a renewal of relations between Cuba and Russia, who were Cold War allies for three decades before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Cuban press said dancers from the Bolshoi and the Cuban National Ballet will perform pieces from ballets such as Giselle and The Nutcracker on February 13 in conjunction with the annual Havana International Book Fair, which this year features Russian writers and artists.
The Bolshoi was last in Cuba in 1980, when the Cold War was still running hot. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Cuba and Russia went through a rough patch - mainly over money. But now all seems forgiven (including Cuba's $20 billion dollar debt to the former Soviet Union), and the two countries are warming up to each other once again.
Where does the United States figure in to this picture? Not at all, as usual. Over and over, the United States insists on sitting on the sidelines when it comes to Cuba.
But we almost didn't. The New York Philharmonic had planned a visit to Cuba last year. But its request for (U.S.) government permission to make the trip was denied because the group would have included patrons of the Orchestra. And, when it comes to Cuba, there's a reg for that: the Treasury Department actually offers guidance on its regulations on travel to Cuba, and that guidance specifically states that patrons may not travel to Cuba to attend the performances. As one friend noted to me, it was as if that OFAC guidance were written with the 2009 Philharmonic trip in mind. [There's a simple solution to this problem, if the Obama Administration really wants to solve the problem. Treasury is currently revising its "guidance" to travelers, to address changes to family travel made last fall. Why not publish the new guidance without micro-managing the public performance licensing.]
Of course, two years ago, the U.S. government didn't get in the way of the New York Philharmonic trip to North Korea, which included some 400 musicians, production crews, journalists and - yes - patrons, who, I might add, paid $50,000 per person to go on the trip.
It's demoralizing for Americans who believe in the power of cultural bridge-building to see our great nation stand aside with our hands tied behind our back, as Russia returns for an encore performance in Cuba, just ninety miles away. Only this time, the Cold War is over, everywhere else but here.