Cuba honours ballet legend Alicia Alonso

Celebrations have been taking place in Cuba to honour the retired ballerina, Alicia Alonso, after she received the country's highest award, the Order of Jose Marti.

Miss Alonso said she was overcome by the award, which follows a career spanning seven decades.

Miss Alonso, whose age is a closely guarded secret, made her debut in Havana in 1931.

Her farewell performance was in Italy five years ago.

She founded the Cuban National Ballet in 1959 after the revolution in which Fidel Castro came to power.

At a ceremony, the speaker of the Cuban National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon, said the award was homage to an exceptional artist who was admired the world over.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service