Carlos Acosta’s A Classical Selection will play at the London Coliseum from 8-13 December 2015, presenting highlights from Acosta’s career in celebration of twenty four years as a dancer, on the London stage. Carlos Acosta is named by some as the great male ballet dancer of his generation, having thrilled audiences throughout the world with his breathtaking performances, including principal roles in many ballets in the classical repertoire.
In devising A Classical Selection, the programme follows the format of his 2006 show Carlos Acosta with Guests of The Royal Ballet, for which he won an Olivier Award; this time it features a new selection of classical works. He will present some of his favourite pieces from classical repertoire with the help of Marianela Nuñez, Zenaida Yanowsky, Yuhui Choe, Tierney Heap, Anna Rose O’Sullivan, Thiago Soares, Valeri Hristov and Nehemiah Kish.
The performance will include a number of the most famous pas de deux from the classical and neo-classical canon: extracts to be performed will include Kenneth MacMillan’s Winter Dreams, George Balanchine’s Agon, August Bournonville’s La Sylphide and Diana & Acteon by Agrippina Vaganova. Full programme details are yet to be announced however at this stage the new production looks set to delight fans and audience members alike.
Acosta trained at the National Ballet School of Cuba and joined The Royal Ballet in 1998, becoming a Principal Guest Artist in 2003. Acosta has since turned his hand to producing, directing and choreographing, and his past productions have played to sell-out audiences. He was awarded the CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in 2014 for his services to ballet and is passionate about nurturing and inspiring the next generation of dancers through the Carlos Acosta International Dance Foundation. At the National Dance Awards 2015 Acosta was awarded the De Valois Award for Lifetime Achievement.