The Lowry is set to be the first stop on Acosta Danza’s UK tour
The new dance company founded by Carlos Acosta
Acosta Danza, the new dance company founded by acclaimed Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta, receives its UK premiere at Sadler’s Wells this Autumn ahead of a UK tour beginning at The Lowry (Thu 12 – Sat 14 Oct).
Carlos Acosta is an internationally acclaimed star of the ballet world who set up Acosta Danza in Havana after retiring from The Royal Ballet in 2015. Under his artistic directorship, Acosta Danza features a mixture of the finest ballet and contemporary dancers Cuba has to offer. Launching at a time when Cuba is opening up to the world, Acosta Danza highlights the vibrancy and richness of Cuban culture and its artists. The company is an International Associate Company of Sadler’s Wells, and the tour is co-produced by Sadler’s Wells and Valid Productions.
Acosta himself makes a guest appearance as part of the programme, which features the UK premieres of works by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Goyo Montero, Jorge Crecis, Justin Peck and Marianela Boán.
El Cruce Sobre El Niágara (The Crossing over Niagara) by Cuban choreographer Marianela Boán is a duet for two male dancers. Boán danced and choreographed for Danza Contemporanea de Cuba for 15 years. This is one of her most acclaimed works, created in 1987 using Peruvian dramaturg Alonso Alegria’s 1969 written work of the same name.
Imponderable by award-winning Spanish choreographer Goyo Montero is a new work for 12 dancers inspired by the work of pre-eminent Cuban folk musician Silvio Rodriguez, known colloquially as the Cuban John Lennon. The score is created from selected works in the Rodriguez oeuvre, deconstructed and rearranged by Owen Belton, who composes regularly for Crystal Pite, National Ballet of Canada, Nederlands Dans Theater and Ballet BC.
New York City Ballet (NYCB) soloist and resident choreographer Justin Peck’sBelles-Lettres is a work for nine dancers, performed mostly en pointe. The piece was originally made for NYCB and is one of Peck’s most amorous ballets, replete with swooning pas de deux that build into an emotional climax.
Twelve by UK-based Spanish choreographer Jorge Crecis is an athletic piece performed by 12 dancers. Crecis is an associate artist at Déda in Derby.
Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, whose contemporary choreographies include Sutra and milonga for Sadler’s Wells, creates a new classical duet for Carlos Acosta and Marta Ortega in Mermaid.
Sadler’s Wells’ Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Alistair Spalding CBE said: “I am delighted to present the UK premiere of Acosta Danza at Sadler’s Wells and across the UK, and work with Carlos Acosta and Valid Productions on producing these performances. It is exciting to see Carlos work with a range of dancers and leading choreographers to celebrate Cuba’s rich history and culture and share it with the world.”
Carlos Acosta said: “Acosta Danza has been founded with the intention of paying tribute to the wealth of Cuban culture. The Company will develop its contemporary work, whilst also using elements of classical ballet. It is an aspiration that has grown out of my vision as an artist, incorporating all that I have learned during the past twenty-five years of my professional career.”.
In addition to the UK tour, Acosta Danza tours internationally to Peralada Festival in Spain, Neuss in Germany and Festspielhaus St Pölten in Austria.
Produced by Sadler’s Wells and Valid Productions
A co-production with The Movement and Festspielhaus St Pölten
The new commissions in Debut are produced as part of The Movement, a dance producing partnership between Birmingham Hippodrome, The Lowry and Sadler’s Wells. Supported by Arts Council England, The Movement aims to nurture talent and bring large scale dance productions to even wider audiences.
Acosta Danza is a Sadler’s Wells International Associate Company
Listings Information
Acosta Danza
Debut
Dates: Thu 12 – Sat 14 October
Times: 7.30pm
Tickets: £21.50 – £38.50 (inclu booking fee)
Website