Cuban Ballet Hardcover - 2010

From the jacket flap

"What makes the Cuban dancers stand out, I think, is their ethics. They have a respect for ballet from an early age. It's been said before that no one is born a dancer; you have to want it more than anything. These Cubans want it and feel privileged to be a part of it. They give themselves completely."

"I know that Octavio Roca's love of Cuba is as profound as his knowledge of ballet, and I know this book is from his heart."

Mikhail Baryshnikov, from his foreword to Octavio Roca's "Cuban Ballet."

"Cubans are a dancing people. Dance matters to us, and it matters deeply. Now comes Octavio Roca, whom I have known for decades and who has known us his whole life, and he has seen our dancers at home and abroad as well as on tour and with other companies. As a guest of the International Ballet Festival in Havana, Octavio Roca was able to observe the Cuban dance movement in its own environment and to witness the Cuban School of Ballet in all its richness. For me, his critical writing on dance carries a unique sensitivity to an art for he clearly loves. The rest I leave to the future."

Alicia Alonso, from her foreword to Octavio Roca's "Cuban Ballet."