Few dancers delight a theatre audience like Carlos Acosta. The Cuban star is a classical artist and an undoubted charismatic – and although nudging 50, he continues to test himself and to give a frisson to challenging new work.

Few dancers delight a theatre audience like Carlos Acosta. The Cuban star is a classical artist and an undoubted charismatic – and although nudging 50, he continues to test himself and to give a frisson to challenging new work.

Last summer, I watched him in a punishing two-person show called On Before, built on dark and sinewy modern dance. A few months later he and Alessandra Ferri – another star dancer maintaining a seemingly continual peak – thrummed with elegant focus in Goya Montero’s Chacona.

Acosta is also cannily lending his star power – as choreographer and occasional performer – to Birmingham Royal Ballet. Beginning his directorship during a pandemic must have been horrendous, but he’s already making his mark. He forged a personal connection with the RAD when receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award in 2018, and now BRB and the RAD are collaborating on a new project to widen access to teachers and students. It’s rooted in the classic work that he has made his own – he tells us why it means so much to him.

In this issue, we meet some of the other new artistic leaders who are responding to the demands of the 21st century, and enjoy a revealing exit interview with Luke Rittner, the RAD’s retiring Chief Executive. As West Side Story marches towards the Oscars, we also explore dance on film, with voices from India and South Korea, from the Netherlands and the USA. Grab yourself some popcorn and tuck in.

David Jays
Editor