Stage: On before
Cuban dance superstar Carlos Acosta to perform at Brighton Dome with Zenaida Yanowsky
Dance superstar Carlos Acosta dances in Brighton for the first time with three special performances July 9-11 2015. Carlos is the world’s favourite dancer and On Before his most personal work to date. The show builds on Carlos’ astonishing dance vision and features collaborations with major UK and international dance stars.
On Before is created and danced by Carlos Acosta and features Royal Ballet principal dancer Zenaida Yanowsky. The show combines existing and new choreography by some of the world’s leading dance makers, Russell Maliphant, Kim Brandstrup, Edwaard Liang, Miguel Altunaga in a framework created by Carlos which tells the story of a doomed relationship between a man and a woman.
The show has a wide-ranging score from Handel to new commissions from Cuban composer Omar Puente and culminates in a moving finale featuring a live choral performance, by Brighton’s own Jam Tarts Choir, of Morte Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium.
Highlights include Acosta’s performance of Russell Maliphant’s graceful, fluid masterpiece Two. Two was made famous in a version danced by Sylvie Guillem which showed Guillem trapped in a box of light, dancing powerfully to Andy Cowton’s intense music. Two has been reworked for Acosta.
Royal Ballet Principal Zenaida Yanowsky dances with Acosta in Sight Unseen, a work by Taiwan-born choreographer Edwaard Liang (NDT1, New York City Ballet). Three works have a distinct Cuban identity, addressing Acosta’s heritage – the first choreographed by Carlos, features a new music commission from Cuban-born violinist and jazz musician Omar Puente. The second is a commission from Cuban choreographer George Céspedes (Danza Contemporanea de Cuba) which features a new score from Cuban group Nacional Electronica. The third is Memoria, created by fellow Cuban Miguel Altunaga (Ballet Rambert) to the music of Mexican composer Murcof.
The night also features Zenaida Yanowsky in Danish choreographer Kim Brandstrup’s Footnote to Ashton, an eight-minute section from Brandstrup’s Two Footnotes to Ashton.
Carlos is the greatest male dancer of his generation and his personal story is a fascinating one. He was born in Havana and is the youngest of eleven children. In a bid to save the young boy from a life of gangs and petty crime his father sent him to ballet school when he was ten. Acosta was expelled from ballet school twice, but when he saw the National Ballet of Cuba perform aged 13 he vowed to become a great dancer. His prizes include the Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne in 1990 and in that same year he won the Gold Medal at the Fourth Annual Competition of Ballet, Paris. He was a Principal with English National Ballet in 1991-2. He danced with National Ballet of Cuba in 1992-3, and was a Principal with Houston Ballet from 1993-8. He joined The Royal Ballet in 1998 and became a Principal Guest Artist in 2003.
Brighton Dome
Thursday 9 – Saturday 11 July 2015 at 7.30pm
Tickets: £27- £42
Ticket office: 01273 709709
