Carlos Acosta to return the Royal Albert Hall

Following on from his retirement from classical ballet in 2016, and to celebrate 30 years as a professional dancer, internationally renowned Carlos Acosta will return to the London stage this autumn to perform a mixed bill at the Royal Albert Hall from 2nd to 5th October 2018.

The full programme for this strictly limited engagement will be announced in due course.

Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta was a Principal Guest Artist of The Royal Ballet 2003–16. He has danced with many of the leading ballet companies in the world. He joined The Royal Ballet in 1998 and became a Principal Guest Artist in 2003. His many roles for the Company included Siegfried (Swan Lake), Albrecht (Giselle), The Prince (The Nutcracker), Des Grieux (Manon), Prince Florimund (The Sleeping Beauty), Basilio (Don Quixote) and Apollo. He has staged Don Quixote and created the new work Carmen for the Company. In the 2017/18 Season he returns as Principal Guest Répétiteur for The Royal Ballet.

Acosta was born in Havana and trained at the National Ballet School of Cuba, going on to dance with the English National Ballet, the National Ballet of Cuba and the Houston Ballet. The culture and history of his home country have been important influences throughout his career, and in 2003 his show Tocororo – A Cuban Tale, loosely based on his childhood, broke box office records at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. His 2007 autobiography No Way Home was a UK bestseller, and he published his first novel, Pig’s Foot, in 2013. His film appearances include in Day of the Flowers and Our Kind of Traitor. Since leaving The Royal Ballet he has founded the dance company Acosta Danza in Cuba and established his own dance school in Havana which opened its doors to its first students in September 2017.

Acosta has received many awards throughout his career, including an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in 2007, a Prix Benois de la Danse in 2008 and an Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2014 Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. In 2014 he was appointed a CBE for services to ballet.