A ballerina rises on pointe in the middle of a Cuban street while a neighbour watches from a doorway. In early 2016 the Puerto Rican photographer Omar Z. Robles travelled to Cuba to photograph the island's ballet dancers outside the theatre, among the crumbling façades, passers-by and everyday rhythm of the city.

Dancers performing together in a Cuban street – photograph by Omar Z. Robles
Dancers performing together in a Cuban street in an Omar Z Robles photograph. Gallery attribution: Omar Z Robles.

Omar Z. Robles, photographer of dancers in the street

Robles was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Before photography he studied mime in Paris, and he credits the legendary mime artist Marcel Marceau with teaching him to interpret the world through subtle, precise movement. That training still shapes his pictures: a tilted head, an outstretched hand or the space under a leap tells the story.

He began as a photojournalist, shooting celebrities, athletes, politicians and city dwellers for publications such as the Chicago Tribune's Hoy, Metro San Juan and Latino Leaders. In New York he swapped the anonymous New Yorker of his street photography for the New York dancer, directing ballet dancers to tell stories with their bodies against rough urban backdrops. His dance work went on to be picked up by Mashable, Instagram's blog, The Huffington Post, Harper's Bazaar and others. See more on Omar Z. Robles’s portfolio.

Photographing ballet dancers in Cuba

In a blog post dated 15 April 2016, Robles wrote that he had spent the previous two years photographing ballet dancers "almost exclusively" in urban settings, and that a grant from the Bessie Foundation had allowed him to travel to Cuba a few weeks earlier. He had long wanted to go because of the country's ballet, one of the strongest training traditions in the world.

Once there, he found himself caught between the rhythm of the ballerinas he had come to photograph and the cadence of daily life on the street. He was struck by the resilience of people living on very low incomes, and he compared it to the discipline of the dancers, concluding that endurance is part of what has kept Cuban ballet alive for generations. One of the Instagram captions from the series was written during Barack Obama's visit to Havana in March 2016, when, as he put it, hope was palpable.

His favourite frame from the trip came by chance. While he was photographing Daniela Cabrera, an elderly woman walked up and stood close to her, watching for a long time. Robles stepped back and widened the composition to include her, so dancer and onlooker share the picture.

The dancers in the series

Robles credits each dancer by name. The photographs were shared on his Instagram under the tag #OZR_Dance:

Why Cuba produces great ballet dancers

The backbone of Cuban ballet is the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. It was founded in Havana on 28 October 1948 as Ballet Alicia Alonso by the ballerina Alicia Alonso, her husband Fernando Alonso and his brother Alberto Alonso. The company is based at the Gran Teatro de La Habana on the Paseo del Prado, and its alumni include stars such as José Manuel Carreño, Rolando Sarabia, Lorena Feijoo and Viengsay Valdés. Carlos Acosta, one of the most famous dancers of his generation, also came out of the Cuban system.

Training is the secret. The Cuban National Ballet School is a state-funded network where the course lasts eight years and is free for students, so talented children from any background can reach a professional level. The result is a distinctive Cuban style, known for strong technique, powerful male dancing and dramatic flair.

Seeing ballet in Havana

The best place to watch the national company is the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso, the grand theatre beside Havana's Parque Central. Check the company's programme before you travel, as seasons and touring schedules change. For more on the island, read Ten Cuban Places in a Historical Gallery: Havana, Viñales and Beyond, our Cuba places-and-stories guide, and, for another portrait series that names every subject, Mihaela Noroc’s portrait project.

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