Cuban ballet to tour US after 8 years

The Cuban ballet group also plans to visit Russia and Spain this year.

Cuba’s National Ballet group is visiting US with a "message of peace". The visit is the first in eight years, its director, Alicia Alonso, has said.

Addressing a press conference after rehearsals, Alonso hoped it would be a wonderful visit with a message of peace and love.

The group will begin its tour on Tuesday with six performances in Washington, New York, Costa Mesa, California and Los Angeles. The National Ballet also plans to visit Russia and Spain before the end of this year.Alicia found the National Ballet group in 1948 is still its director.

Cultural exchanges between Cuba and the United States are rare because of the economic embargo imposed on the island by the United States since 1962.