All Blog Posts from World Watch

It's not the usual ballet audience, although luminaries such as Cuba’s legendary ballerina Alicia Alonso was among the honored guests, but with tickets going for only 20 Cuban pesos, about 91 cents U.S., the fans attending the Royal Ballet performance in Havana’s Garcia Lorca theater were a diverse social mix.

And for those who didn’t manage to snag one of these bargain tickets - an outdoor screen had been set up just down the street from the theater, in front of a replica of the U.S. Capitol building, the steps leading up to this tourist attraction would fill with ballet fans once the show started.

The five performances, a first for England’s Royal Ballet in Havana are not a money-making deal. Productions like this are expensive to mount.

"Ballpark figure, you’re talking a million pounds," said Kevin O'Hare. "You know if you include everything, I mean some things are happening in kind but really you’re talking a million pounds."

O’Hare said 13 sponsors for these performances came through because of the prestige of Cuba’s National Ballet and Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta, dancing for the past 11 years with the Royal Ballet.

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President Obama and the First Lady had the honor of meeting the Queen of England and her husband Prince Philip on Wednesday.

Her Majesty's must have been the zillionth hand shaken by America's First couple over the course of a busy day, but it was memorable, at least to the Brits, thanks to a couple quirks that may have gone unnoticed at first.

The First Lady put her hand where one should never put one's hand and, Prince Philip, just being himself, disappointed his nation and said something inappropriate, while television cameras were rolling.

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The British Royal Family is enveloped by pomp and circumstance, steeped in tradition and history, and often thought of as a bit antiquated — but they're more tech-savvy than you might imagine.

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Oh, Harry …

Having once been pictured wearing a Nazi uniform to a costume party, you would think Britain’s younger prince would have learned something about offense, and how to avoid causing it. But in another example of casual, stupid thoughtlessness, Prince Harry offers up a further example in a running commentary in a home video he shot [which serves as an example] of a culture where this casual, everyday racism is prevalent and no one seems to pay much attention.

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