Alicia Alonso, the grande dame of Cuban ballet, has died at age 98

Havana — Alicia Alonso, the revered ballerina and choreographer whose nearly 75-year career made her an icon of artistic loyalty to Cuba’s socialist system, died Thursday at age 98.

Miguel Cabrera, an official at the National Ballet of Cuba founded by Alonso, said she died at a hospital in Havana.

As founder and director of the National Ballet of Cuba, Alonso personified the island’s arts program under Fidel Castro’s communist rule and she kept vise-like control over the troupe past her 90th birthday despite being nearly blind for decades.

In New York in the 1940s and ’50s, Alonso was one of the earliest members of the company that became the American Ballet Theatre, helping it develop into one of the more important ballet troupes in the U.S. She was recognized the world over for the stylized beauty of her choreography and was named prima ballerina assoluta, the rarely bestowed highest honor in dance.

The ballet company announced it would dedicate Thursday evening’s performance at Lincoln Center of the George Balanchine classic “Theme and Variations” to Alonso’s memory. Balanchine created the work for ABT and Alonso performed at its world premiere on Nov. 25, 1947, partnered with Igor Youskevitch.

Alonso’s “imprint on ABT as one of the early members of Ballet Theatre is immeasurable,” said Kevin McKenzie, the troupe’s artistic director. “Alicia’s grace, intelligence and courage will surely leave a lasting impact on our art form.”

Even after she turned 90, Alonso maintained a busy travel schedule, cutting an impressive figure at ballet openings and other cultural events with her regal bearing, dark sunglasses and scarf-wrapped head always held high.

But Alonso also drew criticism for her longtime support of Castro’s government. Defecting dancers said they were stifled by extreme discipline, a lack of artistic freedom due to her near-stranglehold over Cuban ballet and the inability to travel freely abroad.

Born Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martinez Hoya on Dec. 21, 1920, in Havana, Alonso began her dance studies in 1931.