PROVOCATIVE THOUGHTS:
The late Patric Standford may have written these short pieces deliberately to provoke our feedback. If so, his success is reflected in the rich range of readers' comments appearing at the foot of most of the pages.
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Cuban ballet dancer Fernando Alonso was born in Havana on 17 December 1914. He began his career in 1935, and travelled to the USA in 1937 with his brother and his wife Alicia. From 1940 until 1948, Alicia and Fernando danced for the American Ballet Theatre. They then returned to Cuba and founded the Ballet Alicia Alonso, which later became the Cuban National Ballet.
Fernando Alonso was presented with Cuba's National Dance Price for lifetime achievement in 2000. His death was announced on 27 July 2013, aged ninety-eight, by Cuban State TV.