Carlos Acosta is a true ballet star. His physicality, strength and prowess as a dancer are unrivalled and his retirement from dancing, after 17 years with The Royal Ballet, will have hit his legions of fans hard. But he’s 42 now – it’s time. And besides, he has grand plans for the next stage in his career – to form a company of Cuban dancers in his home country and, having written his autobiography in 2007, to turn his hand to fiction.
As a dancer, Acosta has played many of ballet's most iconic roles including Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Basilio in Don Quixote and, perhaps most famously, the title role in Balanchine’s Apollo. Those hoping his farewell will be an evening full of ‘greatest hits’ however, may feel a little disappointed. A glance at the programme reveals we will see nothing of Acosta until just before the interval and that out of 12 ballet excerpts on the bill, Acosta dances only in three.
He has handpicked eight experienced Cuban dancers, to join him on this tour, so it’s as much as a showcase for their talent as it is a farewell. The Manchester Camerata provide live musical accompaniment.
The first half included a pas de deux from Petipa’s Swan Lake and from MacMillan’s Winter Dreams, plus a solo by Gabriela Lugo in Fokine’s The Dying Swan. But the stand out was Deborah Sanchez and Javier Rojas’ pas de deux from La Sylphide. It was charming, flirtatious and danced by the pair with what looked like the greatest of ease.
When Acosta finally took to the stage alongside Laura Rodriguez, he displayed all the technical virtuosity required for the Diana and Actaeon pas de deux from La Esmerelda. It was a solid performance but really gave only a flavour of what this man can do.
End of Time, was, for me, the stand out of the evening. Deborah Sanchez and Enrique Corrales, dressed in skin-coloured body stockings, ebbed and flowed through Ben Stevenson’s exquisite choreography with grace and elegance. It was moving, captivating and beautifully accompanied by the live orchestra.
The Parisian section that followed felt slightly at odds with the rest of the programme. It was more contemporary, a little flippant. Acosta seemed to revel in his character role as a drunk in Les Bourgeois but, again, there was no dancing prowess.
Acosta’s own choreography was aired in the pas de deux from Carmen, danced with passion and skill by Laura Rodriguez and Luis Valle and, after a final solo from Gabriela Lugo in Anadromous, the whole company took to the stage for the grande finale.
With Acosta bound for his home country and his compatriots not long arrived in the UK, to end on Majisimo seemed fitting since it was originally created for the National Ballet of Cuba in 1964. Georges Garcia’s choreography blends classical ballet with Hispanic airs, returning the company to their roots with music from Massenet’s ballet, Le Cid. Acosta made no attempt to be the star of the show. Instead he kept pace and in line with the rest of the troupe, giving them just as much of the foreground, even pushing them to take centre stage.
It’s fair to say his modesty throughout the evening’s performance was unexpected but perhaps it’s unfair to criticise. Although ballet may have retired one of its greatest dancers, it has clearly gained a raft of Cuban talent, doubtless inspired by his success, passion and sheer hard work.
Despite a slightly misleading billing, this is still a finale no ballet fan will want to miss.
Carlos Acosta performed a Classical Farewell at Nottingham Royal Concert Hall on Tuesday 3 May 2016
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