Royal Opera House, London.
6 August 2026.
Carlos Acosta has a long history with this building, and his name still sells it out. Myths and Modern Masters brought him back to Covent Garden with dancers from both companies he leads, and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia under Paul Murphy in the pit, for a three-act programme.
In Avengers style, Acosta assembled a fantastic ensemble of dancers from Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) and Acosta Danza to perform a show rooted in legacy, honouring past choreography with pieces such as José Limón’s The Moor’s Pavane and Agrippina Vaganova’s Diana and Actaeon, with a sprinkle of new and shiny with Acosta’s The Nutcracker in Havana Suite.
The classically curated event showed Acosta, 53, practising what he preaches, moving from founder of Acosta Danza and director of BRB to leading star. His legacy was also shown in the show, with his 14-year-old daughter, Aila Acosta Holland, also starring in Nutcracker in Havana.
The programming started with a piece rich in acting, movement and period costuming with The Moor’s Pavane. Riffing on the story of Shakespeare’s Othello. Acosta as The Moor, his debut in the role, was ushered to distrust his innocent Wife, played by Beatrice Parma, by the man he believed to be his Friend, played by Max Maslen. Miki Mizutani completed the quartet as the Friend’s wife.
As the Royal Opera House’s red curtain pulled back, you saw the four dancers, draped in regal reds, yellows, and whites, your eye drawn to them as almost in a spotlight as they dressed the vast empty stage.
Beautifully danced and the strong storytelling read well; however, with such a powerful show title and excitement to see Acosta, visionary and performer, on stage, this was a very slow piece to start the night with; the 25-minute piece followed by the first of two intervals.
Act Two welcomed the audience with high energy, colour and texture as The Nutcracker in Havana entranced all for 40-plus minutes. An imaginative take on the classical festive ballet, beautifully merging classical dance with Cuban rhythms and grounded movements, hip thrusts, led by knee and body isolations and weight shifts, adding another layer to the piece.
This really was something special to see; having only premiered in 2024, this piece was an exciting flip of the coin from the first number.
The sign of a good Nutcracker is often in iconic moments such as The Sugar Plum Fairy’s grand pas de deux, which in this case was spectacularly performed by Beatrice Parma as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Enrique Bejarano Vidal as Drosselmeyer, captivating with all the lifts, jumps and turns you would expect. Acosta was a pure showman in this piece; in a sparkling waistcoat, he steered Clara, played by Aila, through the piece as we met a mixture of duets and trios serving national and cultural dances in the Divertissement of Sweets.
Building from there, within a very short blink of a blackout and drop of the curtain, Diana and Actaeon began, starring Katherine Ochoa, who entered the stage with such energy and virtuosity that you couldn’t help but watch her, with Yasiel Hodelín Bello soon joining her. The duo of First Soloists from BRB delivered a high-class performance, Ochoa faultless with her fouettés and turns, supported brilliantly by Hodelín Bello. This piece was a fantastic ambassadorial piece for the calibre of dancer at the BRB.
Following a short pause, Nosotros began. Bringing together Acosta and Amisaday Naara on stage, joined by Antonio Novais on cello and Pepe Gavilondo on piano and arrangements, the duet explored the ebbs and flows of relationships. Choreography, lighting and costume design were by Beatriz García and Raúl Reinoso; paired with the live music, this managed to produce such depth to the piece. Danced with such beauty and intensity, Naara anchored the piece, with Acosta supporting with tenderness in performance and strength in lifts. Bathed in a mix of warm tones and brilliant white light at times which opened the stage more to provide a wider surface to dance as the relationship danced through moments of fluidity, joy and strain, all felt in relationships.
Save the best for last was certainly the case with Christopher Bruce’s Rooster closing out the third act following the second official interval. Stylistic, retro, confident and a non-stop 27-minute piece that had humour and cheekiness flecked throughout.
The ensemble lent themselves perfectly to the content matter, set to a rocking soundtrack of The Rolling Stones; this piece was a true celebration of the 1960s and ’70s. Frug, isolation, Elvis knees and hips – it was everything I needed and the perfect way to close the show. I could have watched this on repeat, and never more did an audience “encore encore” need satisfying.
A pleasant evening of dance, not as polished as you would receive from a longer-running production, and slow to start, but a great exhibition of talent from both Acosta Danza and BRB.
By Jamie Body of Dance Informa.
