Carlos Acosta named director of Birmingham Royal Ballet
Arts & Entertainment // Theater
Molly Glentzer Jan. 15, 2019
Carlos Acosta will become the director of England's Royal Birmingham Ballet next January.
It's a fine next leap in a stellar career of more than 28 years, although the dashing Cuban will be forever young in the eyes of Texas fans. He left here in the 1990s, but Houston Ballet has yet to see another male dancer of his caliber — during his first years after defecting to join Houston Ballet, he had the whole package of exuberant vitality, a bigger-than-the-sun smile, noble bearing and ease.
Born in Havana, the youngest of eleven children in an impoverished family, Acosta went on to train at the National Ballet School of Cuba, winning the prestigious Prix de Lausanne at the age of 16. His immense talent was channeled soon after that by then-Houston Ballet director Ben Stevenson. The ambitious Acosta quickly became an international star as he and ballerina Lauren Anderson — who answered his challenges with her own voracious style — performed flashy pas de deux all over the world.
Then too soon, he had moved on to establish a major career with London's Royal Ballet, where he danced 17 years as a principal and secured his reputation as the greatest male dancer of his generation — and one of the greatest of all time.
Even before from the stage in 2016, Acosta launched many of his own projects. He founded his Cuban dance company Acosta Danza and established his own dance academy in Havana in September 2017. His 2007 autobiography, "No Way Home," was a UK bestseller.
Acosta won the chance to replace Birmingham's outgoing director David Bintley through an open, international competition. He will work alongside the company's chief executive, Caroline Miller.
Acosta said he hopes to build on the classical traditions established by Bintley and Sir Peter Wright (both acclaimed choreographers), as well as to expand the company's repertoire and reach more diverse audiences.
"I want to define what it is to be a world leading classical ballet company in the 21st century," he said.
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