©Shawna Scherbarth 2001-05. All rights reserved.
Ballerina
Performing Arts Vocational School
Santa Clara, Cuba
December 11, 2003
One of the most successful aspects of the Cuban political system is their emphasis on education. It is free to all, and mandatory to the 9th grade. Interest and aptitude determine the direction and depth of a students coursework.
Our tour group spent an afternoon at an elementary/middle school that emphasizes the performing arts. In addition to the usual scholastic subjects, all students at this school also took heavy coursework in music, instrumental and voice, as well as dance. Those with enough skill could go on to more in-depth studies in high school.
The students performed a brief review for us and I think we were all pretty impressed by the level of proficiency these young people had already gained.
