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En la ceremonia de entrega del premio en la Casa Blanca. De izquierda a derecha: José Ramón Cabañas, embajador de Cuba en Washington; Lizt Alfonso; la alumna Eliannys Karla Pérez y la primera dama Michelle Obama. Foto: Cortesía de la Casa Blanca.

In Cuba, artists working with children are few. However, the case of Lizt Alfonso with her own children is a very particular. It is no coincidence that in 2011 UNICEF ​​will nominate her Goodwill Ambassador. Now, a few years later, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) will award her, at the White House, with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award (NAHYP).
It has become commonplace that the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, honorary president of the Committee, in person gives such an important distinction to those initiatives that promote the development of art and the humanities in youth education. It was on the proposal of the members of the PCAH that they traveled to Cuba in April of this year, that the school of Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba (LADC) became the first one of the Island to obtain so high recognition.
Lizt herself explains what is special about the work being done in this regard in the LADC. "First, I must say that the next 2017 our company will turn 25 years. We were initially motivated by the need to think about the future of a company that performs the fusion style. It is really not easy to find dancers with a wide register and who, in addition, dance well”.
"In our school we accept all those who wish to enter. It is preferable that the children are in classroom learning to dance, which is equivalent to gaining in discipline, rigor, to have a goal in life, to look further..., than hanging around in the streets. We can also educate the family and even the neighbors that surround them”...
"I remember that in the first year the number did not exceed 60. The following course doubled the amount. At present there are 1,200 children attending classes at our school: all races, all religions, all social backgrounds ... Because we have to offer them all the opportunities in the world so they can determine how far they want to go”, says Lizt who acknowledges that the news of the prize excited her tremendously.