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A night lacking in fluency, but worth it to see a master
CARLOS ACOSTA
Sadler’s Wells
BEFORE seeing Carlos Acosta I did something I have not done for any dancer before and read his autobiography. It is a witty, affectionate read, full of hilarious anecdotes, tragedies and blissful moments. It raises one’s expectations of the man himself. He began with the Cuban ballet and is reunited with his colleagues here in this short run.
That he is a terrific dancer there is no doubt – the jetes of his corsair made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. When he performs Le Corsair with Cuban ballet wonderwoman Viengsay Valdes, he is absolutely at home. Leaping, spinning, twisting – a ball of flame to Valdes’s fine, elegant lines and technical wizardry. He is rightly Nureyev’s successor in this role and Valdes is an ample Fonteyn to accompany his artistry.
The programme, however, is rather eclectic. An amusing and clever comedy piece (Paso a Tres), an Africa-inspired dance segment (The River and the Forest), a homily on dolls (Munecos or Dolls), and finally the pas de deux from Le Corsair with the whole linked by a narrative story. At the end the entire cast join in a jazz ensemble. Acosta is seen first in the doll piece and, accompanied by the ever-smiling charmer Anette Delgado, is interesting to watch. The need to create convincing mime and bring a surge of personality to the role is a weakness here. Acosta has this wide, expansive mouth and therefore appears to grin inanely even when he is quite serious. He has a big upper body but it is free and expressive in Le Corsair in a way lacking in Dolls.
However one must trust in Acosta’s generosity of spirit. He has opened this stage primarily for his Cuban colleagues and, as usual, they do not disappoint. I particularly enjoyed Jose Losada who is prince-like in the serenade to Africa in River and Anette Delgado and Veronica Corveas join Victor Gili for the very funny Paso a Tres, an elegant piece on how mistakes are covered up on stage. Valdes is a lovely dancer and should be seen a great deal more in the UK, as should Yolanda Correa who performs the narrative strand throughout the show and is an accomplished and delicate performer.
The whole, devised by choreographer Alberto Mendez with contributions from Acosta and Alicia Alonso, was enjoyable but lacked a fluent connection and so felt rather disjointed. Worth seeing, though, to see these masters of their craft in action.
Until October 28 |
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