CubaPLUS Magazine

The virtuoso Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta celebrates his 52nd birthday this Monday, confident in his status as an icon of ballet, a national pride, and a global reference in the art form. 

It is a pleasure to pay tribute to him on such a special day, as he has gifted so many emotions to the people of Cuba. This 2023 journalistic effort aims to commemorate the occasion. 

Thanks to his father, Acosta took his first steps—almost by obligation—in this artistic discipline, which soon became an inseparable companion and partner in his well-deserved triumphs in the world of dance. 

His virtuosity allowed him to graduate in 1991 with the highest honors from the National Ballet School, a showcase for prominent companies that placed their trust in him, including the National Ballet of Cuba, the English National Ballet, Houston Ballet, and the American Ballet Theatre. 

Earlier, his talent led him to perform with prestigious companies such as the Compagnia Teatro Nuovo di Torino in Italy and the Teresa Carreño Theatre ensemble in Caracas, Venezuela. 

However, his legacy is most notably linked to the Royal Ballet in London, a company he elevated by joining in 1998 and where he was promoted to principal guest artist in 2003. 

With this company, his proven skills earned him in 2014 the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) medal, presented by Queen Elizabeth II. 

A year later, he bid farewell to the renowned company but not to the London stage, as since 2020 he has directed the Royal Ballet of Birmingham and serves on the Board of Governors of The Royal Ballet School. 

Reflecting on his life in detail, words fall short in honoring the artistic dedication of a man who needs no further praise, for Carlos Acosta is, in every sense, art itself. 

In Havana, the choreographer passionately leads his company, Acosta Danza, which since 2015 has maintained an intense schedule of performances worldwide, blending classical and contemporary styles with elements of Cuban dance. 

The opportunities afforded to him when his name was just beginning to resonate in the dance world motivated him to create in 2017 the Carlos Acosta Dance Foundation, which offers young talents a free three-year dance training program. 

In this way, Acosta expresses his gratitude to life and to his father for showing him the path to this art form, in which he found, as he has said, the salvation he so desperately needed at the start of his journey to build a world of dreams and achievements without looking back. 

Notably, No Way Home is the title of the book he wrote in 2007, in which he recounted the challenges he faced throughout his career. This volume inspired filmmaker Paul Laverty to write the screenplay for Yuli (2018), his childhood nickname. 

Renowned for his impeccable technique that makes his movements unique, he has earned the highest accolades a dancer can aspire to. 

His distinguished awards include the Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne (1990), the Frédéric Chopin Award (1990) granted by the Polish Artistic Corporation, and the Merit Award at the Young Talents Competition in Italy (1991). 

He also received the Princess Grace Dance Award (1995), the Laurence Olivier Award (2006), the National Dance Prize (2011), and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023 from Lausanne, Switzerland. 

(Taken from Prensa Latina)