Royal Opera House,London
Acosta’s souped-up ballet looks messy and naive in comparison to the elegance of Liam Scarlett’s Viscera, Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun and George Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux Carlos Acosta belongs to that scarce breed of dancers who’ve crossed the line from ballet star to household name. He’s famous not only for his buoyant, or gigantic-hearted technique,but because his personality has captured imaginations. The boy from the Havana slum who battled his way to international stardom, the artist who remained faithful to his Cuban background in the dancers he supported, and the shows he produced,even the novel he wrote – all these qualities contribute to the love audiences feel for Acosta and to the size of the gap he’ll leave when he retires from the Royal Ballet next year. It was only to be expected that Acosta’s new Carmen would be as expansive as his dance personality – unfortunately it’s expansive in all the incorrect ways. Despite his intention to strip the story down to its essentials, Acosta has thrown everything into this 60-minute ballet. He has flamenco players and opera singers performing a souped-up Bizet score; a refrain of barflies who swoop around the space on wheeled chairs; a horned and musclebound figure of Fate who looms in front of a blood-red sun, or jazz,contemporary and Latin dance thrown into the choreographic mix.
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Source: theguardian.com