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AfroCubaWeb
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Carlos
Acosta and RacismCarlos Acosta has had to deal with racism his whole life, in Cuba and abroad.
In 2016, the Spanish edition of his autobiography was supressed in Cuba because famed balerina Dame Alicia Alonso was enraged by
his description of her racism, which was actually confined to a very brief entry
on one page and said nothing specific. This supression was taken up by the US dependent and
officialist media,
including Cubanet, Diario de Cuba, and Marti Noticias. Would they only spend a fraction of this
effort dealing with the rabidly violent racism in
Florida, and we might see real progress where lives are at stake. They might
even seek to integrate the world of ballet in Miami, which is nowhere near as
diverse as that of Cuba. See
Misty Copeland Visits Cuba, Where Brown Ballerinas Are The Norm vs Googling
images of
ballet Miami .
Acosta's autobiography came out in
English in 2007, which has given the comrades a great deal of time to prepare
for how to deal with it and prepare the publication of the Spanish
edition. That is precisely what the Insituto del Libro did in preparing it for
publication in 2016. Periodically, we hear the comment that Alicia Alonso, an icon of
hispanic Cuban culture and head of the National Ballet, received far more
money and resources for her dance troupe than the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional
or other national level afrocuban groups. Acosta even sent money to the National
Ballet from his earnings abroad as a star dancer. But Alonso was not swayed -
reportedly she does not believe that Afrodescendants should be allowed to dance
ballet.
All this is in keeping with the eurocentric nature of Cuba's cultural establishment, something that is also true across Latin America and the western world. The difference here is that Cuba is a majority black leftist country and yet these issues are hard to discuss. In the USA, such a story would be front page news, right alongside the daily killings by police. The officialist US media tends to attack the Instituto del Libro for supressing publication, but the Instituto was clearly only following orders from a higher level which is very much enamored with la Dama Alonso. That is where the problem lies. Some of the background to that higher level can be found here:
Fidel y el ballet cubano 8/4/2016 Granma: "Dos personas muy cercanas a Alicia y Fernando y al quehacer del conjunto, fueron claves en hacer posible que Fidel, desde los días de la Sierra Maestra y en los primeros momentos del triunfo revolucionario, pudiese estar al tanto de la magnitud que entrañó tan injusta agresión para la cultura de nuestra Patria. Fueron ellos el Dr. Julio Martínez Páez, Comandante del Ejército Rebelde, combatiente de la Columna 1, al mando del líder de la Revolución hasta el final de la guerra y primer ministro de Salud Pública del Gobierno Revolucionario; y el Capitán Antonio Núñez, topógrafo del Che en la contienda del Escambray y Santa Clara."
Maykel Paneque, a Cuban journalist who lives in Cuba, adds some interesting details in the Havana Times, which is definitely not part of the US officialist media.
Cuban Dancer Carlos Acosta in the World of Alicia Alonso 6/23/2016 Havana Times: by Maykel Paneque - "Of course, he’s referring to the Prima Ballerina Assoluta Alicia Alonso, who is supposedly responsible for the arbitrary action of calling off the book release event that was scheduled for June 11th. The Cuban National Ballet’s founder has also been accused of having raised her voice, or her hand, and interfering on several other occasions so that the book wouldn’t be published on the island. This explains why Carlos Acosta’s autobiography (in spite of there already being two editions in English, the first one dating back to 2007) has had to wait nine long years to be accepted by any Cuban state-owned publishing company, because private ones don’t exist, and we don’t know when they’ll be allowed. How can we explain such a delay, when we’re talking about the confessions of Cuba’s best dancer, who is even considered the world’s best by some experts in the field of ballet? Furthermore, how can a military commando dressed as civilians burst into the Cuban Book Institute, bag the entire lot of the autobiography and then store them in an undisclosed location?"
When we get to the portion of his autobriography that supposedly says something negative about Dame Alonso, there is very little there, pointing to how hypersensitive she is:
"Acosta’s description of this episode shows his preference for oblique sarcasm
and satire over direct criticism and denunciation. This tendency is even more
evident in Acosta’s descriptions of his relationship with the most important and
powerful figure in the history of Cuban ballet, Alicia Alonso. “Alicia is a
legend,” Acosta writes, “she is a figure of such importance that her power could
be compared to that of the president. One word from Alicia can change your
future.” While Acosta is careful never to openly criticize such a concentration
of power in a single person, he does make clear that his future, like that of
all Cuban ballet dancers, rests in her hands.
In one particular instance, for example, he must gain her blessing before
signing a contract to dance with the Houston Ballet. However, his cryptic and
abbreviated description of this tense, life-changing meeting only hints at
Alonso’s haughty, belittling bearing and thinly-veiled racism, leaving the
reader confused and unsatisfied."
--
Carlos Acosta's 2007 memoir is titled "No Way Home" but with the 2018 film
"Yuli," he may just have arrived! 12/18/2018 El Yuma
--Tom Borrego, 9/2016; updated 1/2019
No Way Home: A Cuban Dancer's story
Carlos Acosta Autobriography
For pricing & to order ==>
Articles on the book and its suppression:
El libro de Carlos Acosta ya no se presentará este sábado en La Habana 6/12/2016 Afromodernidades: "El libro estuvo antes en el plan de publicaciones de Unión, la casa editorial de la Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba, pero jamás hizo el viaje de la redacción a la imprenta. Según se conoció, por susurros, la ira y el autoritarismo de Alicia Alonso fueron la causa de tal decisión. Dicen los que ya leyeron esas páginas, yo no estoy entre ellos, que el autor cuenta de su pobre infancia, de sus estudios en la escuela cubana de ballet y de su desempeño en el Ballet Nacional de Cuba. Gran importancia cobra en la historia, su condición de muchacho pobre y negro. Al parecer, aunque todos reconocieran en la compañía que se trataba de un gran bailarín, Carlos Acosta sufrió por el racismo de su directora. Y no le tembló la mano al gran bailarín, convertido luego en escritor, a la hora de relatar ciertos pasajes que probaban la predisposición que sufría Alicia cuando se ponía delante de un bailarín o bailarina con una concentración de melanina en sangre algo superior a la de ella."
Los iconos no se tocan 6/11/2016 Diario de la Marina: "No obstante, según
varia fuentes, la decisión se habría tomado en una reunión en la que estuvieron
presentes el propio Malagón, la presidenta del ICL, Zuleica Romay, y un
representante de Alicia Alonso."
Carlos Acosta no pudo bailar el racismo de Alicia 6/11/2016 El
Fogonero: "La cosa iba muy bien hasta que llegó el momento de presentar su
autobiografía, donde acusa a Alicia Alonso de racista y cuenta su negra
experiencia en el Ballet Nacional del Cuba. Todo estaba listo para el
lanzamiento, pero al final no pudo ocurrir y, hasta ahora, nadie ha dado una
explicación."
Suspendida la presentación en La Habana del libro de memorias de Carlos Acosta 6/10/2016 Diario
de Cuba: "El director de Arte y Litera, Víctor Malagón, consultado por DDC,
afirmó desconocer las razones de la cancelación de la presentación y si había
nueva fecha. No obstante, según varia fuentes, la decisión se habría tomado en
una reunión en la que estuvieron presentes el propio Malagón, la presidenta del
ICL, Zuleica Romay, y un representante de Alicia Alonso. La suspensión del acto
ha causado asombro en el ICL."
El poder de Alicia Alonso se extiende al mundo editorial cubano 6/10/2016 Marti
Noticias: "Una decisión de Chery (la eminente profesora Ramona de Sáa), sobre la
que Carlos apunta: “en el círculo del ballet, la gente se refiere a ella como
quién salvó la carrera de Carlos Acosta”. Fue en el English National Ballet
donde Ben Stevenson lo vió. En la compañía cubana, Acosta, ya ganador de dos
Grand Prix, el de Lausanne y el de París –los más prestigiosos–, no fue aceptado
sino como “solista”, cuatro categorías por debajo de la que ostentaba en la
agrupación inglesa. Reponen Edipo Rey, y Carlos ingenuamente espera que le
adjudiquen el rol titular que había hecho célebre a Jorge Esquivel. Pero bailó
–es un decir– el papel del viejo que debe matar a Edipo. Envejecido por el
maquillaje y el vestuario, los demás bailarines lo chiquearon diciéndole que se
parecía a Celia Cruz. Carlos se sintió humillado. Lo peor: sabía que pasarían
muchos años hasta que pudiese bailar Giselle. Entonces, pensaba, ya sólo podré
ser Albrecht con mi corazón y no con la plenitud de mis piernas. Tres semanas
después –mientras tanto, había bailado un Espectro de la rosa en el que la malla
rosada lo hacía lucir como the Pink Panther–, recibe la carta de Stevenson.
Enseguida lo llamó, y una semana más tarde Stevenson aterrizaba en La Habana".
Suspendida presentación en La Habana de la autobiografía de Carlos Acosta 6/10/2016 Cibercuba: "De
hecho ya resulta extraño que un libro que fue publicado por primera vez en el
lejano 2007 con el título "No Way Home: A Cuban Dancer`s Story", por la
editorial Harper Collins, en el Reino Unido; y luego por Scribner’s, en los
EE.UU., haya tenido que esperar hasta el 2016 para ser editado en Cuba (siendo
también la primera edición en español). Cuentan que el libro, antes de acabar
siendo publicado por el sello Arte y Literatura, estuvo en el plan de
publicaciones de Unión (la casa editorial de la UNEAC), pero la publicación no
se llegó a concretar por la intervención de Alicia Alonso, muy disgustada con lo
que de ella se dice en el libro."
Carlos Acosta y el racismo de Alicia Alonso 6/9/2016 Cubanet: "Lo más
probable es que no se mencione a la directora del Ballet Nacional de Cuba. Nadie
va a comunicar a los posibles lectores, que Alicia Alonso está ofendidísima, con
el bailarín negro, negro bailarín preferiría decir ella, porque pone al
descubierto su racismo. Se comentó y se comenta todavía, que algunas autoridades
del Ballet Nacional de Cuba harían algunas aclaraciones previas a la salida del
libro, donde demostrarían que no existe ningún ápice de racismo en el corazón de
la bailarina y directora, pero al parecer no se pusieron de acuerdo y el libro
no podrá salir ahora, al menos hasta que se haga el desmentido que limpie la
imagen de la Alonso."
Carlos Acosta: 'Nobody who looks like me has ever played the roles I danced' 3/29/2016 Telegraph: “I
am establishing a dance academy in Cuba and giving people from around the world
the opportunity to study dance for free,” he says. “They are proud of me in my
home country and supportive, but it is a place where things move very slowly; so
many meetings and meetings about meetings.”
Where are the black ballet dancers? 9/4/2012 Guardian: "Nor
is this dramatic imbalance limited to the UK: the picture is poor worldwide.
Russia's elite Bolshoi Ballet has no black dancers in its company of 218; there
are very few black dancers at any of the major US and British companies. The
Royal Ballet has four – three men and one woman – in a company of 96. At the
Central School of Ballet, which trains many future ballet stars, there are four
black dancers in a student body of 110. Carlos Acosta, principal guest artist
for the Royal Ballet and one of the world's most successful black dancers,
agrees that the statistics are discouraging. "The percentage of classical black
ballet dancers around the world is sadly minimal, which is quite embarrassing,"
he says."
Cubano estrella del Royal Ballet llama a "erradicar" racismo en la danza 4/22/2010 La
Prensa, Honduras: "El cubano Carlos Acosta, estrella del británico Royal Ballet,
abogó por erradicar el racismo de las compañías de ballet del mundo, aunque
admitió que no sufrió prejuicios raciales en su carrera artística de 21 años, en
una entrevista divulgada este miércoles. "Esto de los negros que no existen en
el ballet es un fenómeno global que tenemos que erradicar", dijo Acosta, al
citar como ejemplo que son sólo tres en el Royal Ballet, lo que calificó de
"revolución", en la entrevista con el programa de televisión "Con 2 que se
quieran", difundida también en el sitio oficialista Cubadebate."
Fidel attends Carlos Acosta‘s choreographic debut 2/17/2003 Granma,
Cuba: Acosta wanted to be a lead ballet dancer, but the national dance company
did not want a black in that role, so he went abroad to Euope and the US to make
his fame. At 24, he is back in Cuba putting on a show about his life, to the
acclaim of all. - "After the audience’s applause had faded away, Fidel mounted
the stage to discuss the show, the book that Carlos Acosta is currently writing,
and today’s dance in Cuba. In the presence of the cast and principal figures
involved in the performance, including maestro Fernando Alonso and Contemporary
Dance Company director Miguel Iglesias, the Cuban leader expressed his interest
in national dance training centers and dance companies. He manifested his
confidence that the country’s current cultural and educational policies will
enable more children, like the lead role in Tocororo, to find new and better
horizons through dance." - Words followed by deeds, witness recent contracts
given to such groups as Raices Profundas to teach across Cuba.
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"Carlos Acosta was born in Cuba in 1973. He began his dance studies at age ten at the National Ballet School of Cuba, in Havana, receiving his diploma in June, 1991, with maximum qualifications and a gold medal. Mr. Acosta has won numerous national and international awards, including
the gold medal at the Prix de Lausanne (Jan. 1990), the Spanish Vegnale
Dance Prix in Italy (Aug. 1990), the grand prix and gold medal at the Fourth
Annual Competition of Ballet in Paris (Nov. 1990) and the grand prix in the
Third Juvenile Competition of Dance (June, 1991)." |
Aché,
6/20/04
 by Pedro Pérez-Sarduy,
London, in brochure for the shows Sadler's Wells,
6/29-7/24/04From the mid-16th century, large numbers of slaves were brought from Africa to work on the plantations for coffee and other produce, and later in what was to be the major commodity of Spain’s Caribbean colony: sugar cane. Uprooted from the coasts of the Gulf of Guinea and the jungles of the Congo, the Africans were the profitable merchandise of the slave trade. Theirs is the legacy of sub-Saharan West Africa, and especially the Yoruba, from what is today Nigeria, who most influenced the process of cultural and religious transculturation, rapidly extending their customs and establishing a long lineage of influence in other African cultures that already existed in Cuba. Elements of their culture, stronger than the rest, shaped the birth and transculturated expressions of that which is Cuban heritage today. It was at the height of Cuba’s sugar expansion (late 18th and early 19th Century) that Yoruba mythology transplanted to Cuba was significantly reshaped as it came into contact with other religious forms of African origin and Catholicism. This spontaneously gave rise to what has been called the ‘syncretism’ between the religious ritual and belief system known as Regla de Ocha, or Santería, based on the worship of the Yoruba pantheon of the orishas and their corresponding Catholic saints. Santería is, de facto, a Cuban religion grounded on personal dialogue with the deities. With practitioners of all colours, Santería has travelled beyond Cuba’s shores and across the seas as a form of popular hybrid spirit worship and is today practised by not only those of African descent of all ages but also by other nationals and foreigners, on and off the island. As Cuba ceased to be only a political curiosity to become a tourist mecca, brochures and guidebooks have familiarized visitors with the saying that in Cuba ‘if you don’t have some congo you have some carabalí’ – in reference to two of the African ethnic groupings brought during the 355 years that the slave trade officially lasted. Thus, this timeless and apparently conciliatory phrase is one which Cubans have come to adopt as their best claim to cultural identity. This ethnic and cultural mestizaje – or mix, born of tears, sweat and blood – may be perverse for some but is for others their only reason for existing. And for the great majority of those whose birthplace is the island, this is the hybridity of being Cuban: a cocktail not only of African and Spanish but also of other ingredients, including Chinese. None of the arts in Cuba have escaped this, but rather have succumbed to the realm of spiritual and artistic creation. The visual arts, literature, theatre, film, music or dance have all embraced that mix, the latter two most markedly so. In the Afro-Cuban arts, mestizaje has significant resistance, both in terms of memory and values scorned by officialdom, and also to attain a status in cultural history that transcends the exotic. It is through this prism that Tocororo, the opera prima of Carlos Acosta, must be appreciated. Cuban choreographers of contemporary dance and ballet have long manifested the influence of popular culture. In Tocororo (named after the multicoloured national bird of Cuba), Acosta’s performance is one that has never been seen before by a Cuban dancer trained in the tradition of classical European ballet. He masterfully debunks the falsehood of another racist myth, that there can be no middle ground in dance: whites in ballet and blacks in contemporary modern dance or folklore. Many may not have reflected on that painful hybridity in Cuba whose origins lie in a different way of viewing the world. A pas de deux becomes a rumba and then a guaguancó, another expression of the Afro-Cuban liturgy invoked by a majority of island inhabitants to celebrate their ancestors. The final apotheosis of the Cuban danzón and son is an ancestral fusion that today generates new forms of dance pleasure, a mix to be found both here and elsewhere. Staging Cuban popular religiosity through contemporary modern dance or ballet carries with it a responsibility, because it is popular sentiment and rejection can be catastrophic. Yet Acosta dared take up the challenge, and his daring proved justified. Tocororo is a respectful and joyful tribute to those who came before him, and is at the same time his own offering. Acosta is no more but the child of fate, the boy of humble origins whose dream magically came true. His destiny was to be born 15 years after the 1959 Revolution led by Fidel Castro, that dramatically changed Cuba. By the time he was born, literacy programmes had transformed town and countryside, schools for art instructors and, throughout the island, art schools, flourished. At this time young and old came together in a cultural endeavour that would give rise to freer, more spontaneous thinking. New young dancers coming through the ballet schools challenged false theories that classical European ballet was not for blacks. Acosta, dancing a classical Don Quixote in the matinee and a mambo by night in his Tocororo, is born of a people for whom the pleasure of dance is a way of life, not simply an elite aesthetic pleasure. Acosta is more than the boy from the humble family deeply affected by the social changes sweeping the island. This young black Cuban – something not to be overlooked out of sympathy or ignorance – was born in a society different from that known by his parents. A society which enabled his talent to triumph over the many years of racial prejudice one faced, to become what he is today: the strong aesthetic image of a Cuban dancer, who is black and has aché, the power and strength the orishas bestow on their chosen. Aché pa’tí, Carlos. |
Carlos Acosta's 2007 memoir is titled "No Way Home" but with the 2018 film
"Yuli," he may just have arrived! 12/18/2018 El Yuma: "In one particular
instance, for example, he must gain her blessing before signing a contract to
dance with the Houston Ballet. However, his cryptic and abbreviated description
of this tense, life-changing meeting only hints at Alonso’s haughty, belittling
bearing and thinly-veiled racism, leaving the reader confused and unsatisfied."
Cuban ballet star Carlos Acosta stars in own biopic 12/12/2018 Reuters: "The
movie, which had its international premiere at the San Sebastian film festival
in September, evokes how hard it could be for artists like Acosta to get Cuban
government permission to work abroad, often key to them being able to forge a
career. But “Yuli” also celebrates the Cuban education system that provided free
ballet training to the descendent of slaves from a rundown neighborhood and
features a choreography blasting U.S. imperialism."
Carlos Acosta: un ejemplo de artista cubano 10/14/2018 Cuba informacion
Compañía cubana Acosta Danza traduce el verano en arte 8/17/2018 Cubarte: "La
compañía Acosta Danza inaugura hoy en el Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso
su temporada Verano, integrada por obras de coreógrafos de Reino Unido, España y
Cuba. La sala García Lorca acogerá al conjunto fundado y dirigido por el
prestigioso bailarín Carlos Acosta, cuya biografía inspiró una película a punto
de estrenarse en el Festival Internacional de Cine de San Sebastián, España."
Carlos Acosta on his new Cuban dance company: 'I want to bring them to the
world, but also to bring the world to them' 4/26/2018 Independent: "Acosta
Danza, a classical-meets-contemporary company he founded in Cuba, had given its
first performances in Havana. Tours of Europe and Britain were soon to follow.
The troupe made its US debut at City Centre in New York this week… “Some dancers
have already been able to buy houses,” Acosta reported proudly."
Encuentros con Acosta Danza 4/6/2018 UNEAC: "Encuentros, nuevo espectáculo
de la compañía Acosta Danza, a desarrollarse del 6 al 8 de abril próximo en el
Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso, invita a dos grandes de la escena
danzaria mundial: el bailarín y coreógrafo japonés SaburoTeshigawara y el sueco
Pontus Lidberg, según se anunció en conferencia de prensa en la sede de la
compañía."
Cuba’s Acosta Danza receives rave reviews in the UK 10/4/2017 Granma: "Cuban
company Acosta Danza, directed by the distinguished ballet dancer Carlos Acosta,
received highly favorable reviews in the United Kingdom, after its debut in
London’s Sadler’s Wells Theater. Several British newspapers praised the chosen
program and the quality of the dancers."
Revelan en Muestra de Cine Español rodaje de película sobre Carlos Acosta 6/14/2017 UNEAC: "Una
película sobre la vida del bailarín cubano Carlos Acosta será la nueva
coproducción que asuman Cuba y España, se conoció en conferencia de prensa
previa a la inauguración anoche de la Muestra de Cine de ese país europeo,
prevista para desarrollarse en las salas del 23 y 12 y La Rampa hasta el próximo
22 de junio."
Carlos Acosta on why the classical ballet world needs new Romeos 9/29/2016 BBC: "Carlos
Acosta, one of the world's leading ballet dancers, bids farewell to classical
ballet next week at the Royal Albert Hall, at the age of 43. He's spent much of
his career in the UK and he has a message for the government - that it must do
more for people from different backgrounds to access free training to find the
British dancing talent of the future. This he believes will end elitism in the
profession."
Fidel y el ballet cubano 8/4/2016 Granma: "Dos personas muy cercanas a
Alicia y Fernando y al quehacer del conjunto, fueron claves en hacer posible que
Fidel, desde los días de la Sierra Maestra y en los primeros momentos del
triunfo revolucionario, pudiese estar al tanto de la magnitud que entrañó tan
injusta agresión para la cultura de nuestra Patria. Fueron ellos el Dr. Julio
Martínez Páez, Comandante del Ejército Rebelde, combatiente de la Columna 1,
al mando del líder de la Revolución hasta el final de la guerra y primer
ministro de Salud Pública del Gobierno Revolucionario; y el Capitán Antonio
Núñez, topógrafo del Che en la contienda del Escambray y Santa Clara."
La censura de Carlos Acosta o los rostros ocultos tras el emblema de nación
mestiza. 7/23/2016 Afromodernidades: "La suspensión el pasado 11 de junio
de la presentación de Sin mirar atrás, autobiografía del bailarín y coreógrafo
Carlos Acosta, recién publicada por el sello Editorial Arte y Literatura, generó
conmoción en las redes sociales. Al momento diferentes publicaciones como Diario
de Cuba, Cubanet, varios blogs y muros de Facebook se hacían eco de la noticia;
al tiempo que especulaban sobre las razones de tan arbitraria decisión. Y no era
para menos, no solo se trataba de un despótico acto de censura cometido contra
una gloria del ballet internacional, sino que, además, los motivos de la
suspensión estaban relacionados con la denuncia del racismo antinegro (tema
candente dentro de la sociedad cubana contemporánea), y como si esto no bastara
la decisión involucraba a una de las figuras e instituciones culturales más
legendarias de la cultura cubana postrevolucionaria: la Primera Alicia Alonso y
el Ballet Nacional de Cuba."
Cuban Dancer
Carlos Acosta in the World of Alicia Alonso 6/23/2016 Havana Times: by
Maykel Paneque - "Of course, he’s referring to the Prima Ballerina Assoluta
Alicia Alonso, who is supposedly responsible for the arbitrary action of calling
off the book release event that was scheduled for June 11th. The Cuban National
Ballet’s founder has also been accused of having raised her voice, or her hand,
and interfering on several other occasions so that the book wouldn’t be
published on the island. This explains why Carlos Acosta’s autobiography (in
spite of there already being two editions in English, the first one dating back
to 2007) has had to wait nine long years to be accepted by any Cuban state-owned
publishing company, because private ones don’t exist, and we don’t know when
they’ll be allowed. How can we explain such a delay, when we’re talking about
the confessions of Cuba’s best dancer, who is even considered the world’s best
by some experts in the field of ballet? Furthermore, how can a military commando
dressed as civilians burst into the Cuban Book Institute, bag the entire lot of
the autobiography and then store them in an undisclosed location?"
El libro de Carlos Acosta ya no se presentará este sábado en La Habana 6/12/2016 Afromodernidades: "El
libro estuvo antes en el plan de publicaciones de Unión, la casa editorial de la
Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba, pero jamás hizo el viaje de la redacción
a la imprenta. Según se conoció, por susurros, la ira y el autoritarismo de
Alicia Alonso fueron la causa de tal decisión. Dicen los que ya leyeron esas
páginas, yo no estoy entre ellos, que el autor cuenta de su pobre infancia, de
sus estudios en la escuela cubana de ballet y de su desempeño en el Ballet
Nacional de Cuba. Gran importancia cobra en la historia, su condición de
muchacho pobre y negro. Al parecer, aunque todos reconocieran en la compañía que
se trataba de un gran bailarín, Carlos Acosta sufrió por el racismo de su
directora. Y no le tembló la mano al gran bailarín, convertido luego en
escritor, a la hora de relatar ciertos pasajes que probaban la predisposición
que sufría Alicia cuando se ponía delante de un bailarín o bailarina con una
concentración de melanina en sangre algo superior a la de ella."
Los iconos no se tocan 6/11/2016 Diario de la Marina: "No obstante, según
varia fuentes, la decisión se habría tomado en una reunión en la que estuvieron
presentes el propio Malagón, la presidenta del ICL, Zuleica Romay, y un
representante de Alicia Alonso."
Carlos Acosta no pudo bailar el racismo de Alicia 6/11/2016 El
Fogonero: "La cosa iba muy bien hasta que llegó el momento de presentar su
autobiografía, donde acusa a Alicia Alonso de racista y cuenta su negra
experiencia en el Ballet Nacional del Cuba. Todo estaba listo para el
lanzamiento, pero al final no pudo ocurrir y, hasta ahora, nadie ha dado una
explicación."
Suspendida la presentación en La Habana del libro de memorias de Carlos Acosta 6/10/2016 Diario
de Cuba: "El director de Arte y Litera, Víctor Malagón, consultado por DDC,
afirmó desconocer las razones de la cancelación de la presentación y si había
nueva fecha. No obstante, según varia fuentes, la decisión se habría tomado en
una reunión en la que estuvieron presentes el propio Malagón, la presidenta del
ICL, Zuleica Romay, y un representante de Alicia Alonso. La suspensión del acto
ha causado asombro en el ICL."
Suspendida presentación en La Habana de la autobiografía de Carlos Acosta 6/10/2016 Cibercuba: "De
hecho ya resulta extraño que un libro que fue publicado por primera vez en el
lejano 2007 con el título "No Way Home: A Cuban Dancer`s Story", por la
editorial Harper Collins, en el Reino Unido; y luego por Scribner’s, en los
EE.UU., haya tenido que esperar hasta el 2016 para ser editado en Cuba (siendo
también la primera edición en español). Cuentan que el libro, antes de acabar
siendo publicado por el sello Arte y Literatura, estuvo en el plan de
publicaciones de Unión (la casa editorial de la UNEAC), pero la publicación no
se llegó a concretar por la intervención de Alicia Alonso, muy disgustada con lo
que de ella se dice en el libro."
El poder de Alicia Alonso se extiende al mundo editorial cubano 6/10/2016 Marti
Noticias: "Una decisión de Chery (la eminente profesora Ramona de Sáa), sobre la
que Carlos apunta: “en el círculo del ballet, la gente se refiere a ella como
quién salvó la carrera de Carlos Acosta”. Fue en el English National Ballet
donde Ben Stevenson lo vió. En la compañía cubana, Acosta, ya ganador de dos
Grand Prix, el de Lausanne y el de París –los más prestigiosos–, no fue aceptado
sino como “solista”, cuatro categorías por debajo de la que ostentaba en la
agrupación inglesa. Reponen Edipo Rey, y Carlos ingenuamente espera que le
adjudiquen el rol titular que había hecho célebre a Jorge Esquivel. Pero bailó
–es un decir– el papel del viejo que debe matar a Edipo. Envejecido por el
maquillaje y el vestuario, los demás bailarines lo chiquearon diciéndole que se
parecía a Celia Cruz. Carlos se sintió humillado. Lo peor: sabía que pasarían
muchos años hasta que pudiese bailar Giselle. Entonces, pensaba, ya sólo podré
ser Albrecht con mi corazón y no con la plenitud de mis piernas. Tres semanas
después –mientras tanto, había bailado un Espectro de la rosa en el que la malla
rosada lo hacía lucir como the Pink Panther–, recibe la carta de Stevenson.
Enseguida lo llamó, y una semana más tarde Stevenson aterrizaba en La Habana".
Carlos Acosta y el racismo de Alicia Alonso 6/9/2016 Cubanet: "Lo más
probable es que no se mencione a la directora del Ballet Nacional de Cuba. Nadie
va a comunicar a los posibles lectores, que Alicia Alonso está ofendidísima, con
el bailarín negro, negro bailarín preferiría decir ella, porque pone al
descubierto su racismo. Se comentó y se comenta todavía, que algunas autoridades
del Ballet Nacional de Cuba harían algunas aclaraciones previas a la salida del
libro, donde demostrarían que no existe ningún ápice de racismo en el corazón de
la bailarina y directora, pero al parecer no se pusieron de acuerdo y el libro
no podrá salir ahora, al menos hasta que se haga el desmentido que limpie la
imagen de la Alonso."
Stage Review: Carlos Acosta - A Classical Farewell 5/3/2016 LeftLion: "Carlos
Acosta is a true ballet star. His physicality, strength and prowess as a dancer
are unrivalled and his retirement from dancing, after 17 years with The Royal
Ballet, will have hit his legions of fans hard. But he’s 42 now – it’s time. And
besides, he has grand plans for the next stage in his career – to form a company
of Cuban dancers in his home country and, having written his autobiography in
2007, to turn his hand to fiction."
Carlos Acosta cederá protagonismo a jóvenes bailarines de su compañía 4/2/2016 Cubadebate: "El
bailarín cubano Carlos Acosta cederá protagonismo a los miembros de su recien
creada compañía en el debut mundial de esta agrupación, y solo danzará el
repertorio clásico, difunden hoy los organizadores de la gala."
Carlos Acosta: 'Nobody who looks like me has ever played the roles I danced' 3/29/2016 Telegraph: “I
am establishing a dance academy in Cuba and giving people from around the world
the opportunity to study dance for free,” he says. “They are proud of me in my
home country and supportive, but it is a place where things move very slowly; so
many meetings and meetings about meetings.”
Carlos Acosta webchat – as it happened 12/3/2015 The Guardian: "The ballet
dancer joined us for a live webchat and discussed making movies, the secrets of
his success and whether he would appear on Strictly Come Dancing."
Bailarín Carlos Acosta inicia audiciones para crear su compañía (+ Video) 8/10/2015 Cubadebate: "Carlos
Acosta, reconocido bailarín de Cuba, iniciará hoy le protocolo de audición en La
Habana, para elegir a los futuros integrantes de la compañía que se propone
fundar próximamente en la nación centrocaribeña. La convocatoria comprendió a
bailarines de todo el país con formación profesional, que pueden presentarse hoy
y mañana en la Escuela Nacional de Ballet Fernando Alonso, ubicada en el centro
histórico de la capital cubana."
Convoca el bailarín Carlos Acosta audiciones en Cuba para formar compañía 8/4/2015 Alma
Mater: "Este año, el Círculo de Críticos de Gran Bretaña le concedió el Premio
Nacional de Danza en reconocimiento a sus logros durante toda una vida dedicada
a ese arte, y la crítica estadounidense aplaudió efusivamente en Norteamérica su
versión de Don Quijote para la compañía británica. Los planes inmediatos del
artista incluyen una nueva versión de la obra Carmen, concebida para el Royal, y
prevista para estrenarse en el próximo mes de septiembre, cuando a la vez prevé
dar los primeros pasos con su compañía en Cuba. A los 42 años de edad, Acosta
tiene contados sus días como príncipe sobre la escena pero su carrera en otras
facetas del arte apenas nace, dentro de su país es Premio Nacional de Danza y en
Reino Unido incluso lo llaman Sir, nombramiento dado en 2014 por el título de
Comandante del Imperio Británico."
Carlos Acosta is the image and inspiration for a dance program 10/7/2014 Cuba
Headlines
Dancer Carlos Acosta Will Say Goodbye to Ballet in 2015 5/28/2014 Radio
Havana
Ausencia de cisnes negros en el Ballet Nacional de Cuba 5/15/2014 Arsenio
Rodriguez Quintana: "...en diciembre había comenzado un texto sobre los noventa
años de Alicia Alonso donde pretendía destacar que ella hizo posible la
introducción en el ballet clásico de bailarines de todas las razas posibles, que
es como decir, la población cubana. Cuando hablo de que introdujo a negros,
mulatos y descendientes de chinos en su escuela, me refiero a formarlos, no a
darles papeles importantes, es conocido el racismo de la Compañía del Ballet
Nacional de Cuba, donde sus cisnes negros de piel han tenido que buscarse la
vida como primeras figuras en compañías extranjeras de alto nivel: Caridad
Martínez, primera mulata en el ballet y Carlos Acosta, dos ejemplos en etapas
diferentes."
Waterstones 11: Carlos Acosta, a leap from ballet to books 1/19/2013 Telegraph,
UK: "His exceptionally virile physicality, astounding jump (which led him, in
the US, to be known as “Air Acosta”) and beguilingly unselfconscious rendering
of characters, led Acosta to become the Royal’s first ever black principal
dancer, an achievement of which he remains justly proud. He has repeatedly
dazzled both public and critics in roles as diverse as the duplicitous Albrecht
in the Romantic classic Giselle, the lusty farmhand Colas in Frederick Ashton’s
1960 masterpiece La Fille mal gardée, and the Messenger of Death in Kenneth
MacMillan’s far darker Song of the Earth. And, at 39 – an age at which many
dancers are considering hanging up their tights – he continues to be a guest
principal artist with the company, a performer whose name on any poster more or
less guarantees bums on seats. Nor is Acosta's new book Pig’s Foot, an ambitious
story encompassing a broad sweep of Cuban history, even his first successful
literary venture. In 2007, his bittersweet autobiography No Way Home was
published to a warm reception. It is, however, his first attempt at fiction,
which – considering how very few novels by dancers there are – makes the
achievement all the more remarkable."
Carlos Acosta and his second book 1/17/2013 Radio Havana: "Renowned Cuban
dancer and choreographer Carlos Acosta has published his second book Pata de
puerco (Pig leg). The work was included on the annual list of most promising
novels recently published in England, the Waterstones 11, that recognizes the
values of the best stories written by authors making their debut as writers. The
story of Pata de puerco by Acosta takes place in Cuba, and narrates part of the
island’s independence struggles, which began at the end of the 19th century."
Novela de bailarín Carlos Acosta alcanza repercusiones 1/16/2013 Cuba
Escena: "La obra resultó incluida entre las más prometedoras novelas publicadas
recientemente en Inglaterra, lugar donde reside Acosta, de 39 años de edad,
quien fue nombrado en los Waterstones 11, una lista anual que reconoce las
mejores historias escritas por autores debutantes, lo cual resulta una especie
de galardón anticipado."
Tour jeté through a controversy 9/12/2012 Progreso Weekly: "Carlos Acosta,
39, one of the few black dancers in classical ballet, likened by critics to
Nureyev, was at the center of one of those disputes where genuine concerns are
often entwined with embroilments and human defects. The core of the issue was
stated by Italian architect Vittorio Garatti in a letter to the top Cuban
authorities, where he reviewed the origins of a project with great social
significance, the Cubanacán Art Schools, a complex built in 1961 in the area of
Havana’s former Country Club, an admirable project because of its artistic
purpose and architectural excellence. Garatti had designed the buildings, along
with other professionals. His alarm is focused in one paragraph of his letter:
“How is it possible, then, that a fine Cuban dancer, Carlos Acosta, trained in
Alicia Alonso’s school in Havana and famous in London, can take over one of the
National Schools of Art (the Ballet School) to use it as a personal and private
dance school?”"
Where are the black ballet dancers? 9/4/2012 Guardian: "Nor is this
dramatic imbalance limited to the UK: the picture is poor worldwide. Russia's
elite Bolshoi Ballet has no black dancers in its company of 218; there are very
few black dancers at any of the major US and British companies. The Royal Ballet
has four – three men and one woman – in a company of 96. At the Central School
of Ballet, which trains many future ballet stars, there are four black dancers
in a student body of 110. Carlos Acosta, principal guest artist for the Royal
Ballet and one of the world's most successful black dancers, agrees that the
statistics are discouraging. "The percentage of classical black ballet dancers
around the world is sadly minimal, which is quite embarrassing," he says."
Cubano estrella del Royal Ballet llama a "erradicar" racismo en la danza 4/22/2010 La
Prensa, Honduras: "El cubano Carlos Acosta, estrella del británico Royal Ballet,
abogó por erradicar el racismo de las compañías de ballet del mundo, aunque
admitió que no sufrió prejuicios raciales en su carrera artística de 21 años, en
una entrevista divulgada este miércoles. "Esto de los negros que no existen en
el ballet es un fenómeno global que tenemos que erradicar", dijo Acosta, al
citar como ejemplo que son sólo tres en el Royal Ballet, lo que calificó de
"revolución", en la entrevista con el programa de televisión "Con 2 que se
quieran", difundida también en el sitio oficialista Cubadebate."
Carlos Acosta, El bueno de la película 10/3/2009 Juventud Rebelde: "«Mi
relación con el cine no viene de ahora», asegura Acosta, quien recientemente
acabó de rodar en la capital cubana El día de las flores. Comenzó cuando Natalie
Portman me llamó, en el año 2007. Regresaba a Londres después de haber bailado
en algún lugar que no recuerdo, y entraba por el aeropuerto cuando recibí su
llamada por el celular. Era para decirme que tenía un proyecto y que había
escrito una historia pensando en mí. Conversamos, me explicó la trama y
discutimos algunas posibles fechas para el rodaje. Luego ella viajó a
Inglaterra. «La película se estrenará próximamente, después de dos años de
haberla filmado. Se titula New York, I love you, y está conformada por
cortometrajes de cinco a siete minutos, dirigidos por varios directores. En la
mía, donde hago el protagónico, solo hay 20 segundos de danza; el resto es
actuación. Resulta que en el filme soy un bailarín que se ha quedado a cargo de
su hija, tras el fracaso de su matrimonio. Su esposa, cansada de estar con un
hombre que apenas consigue trabajar, decide abandonarlo por un banquero."
Cuban Dancer Carlos Acosta Continues to Pile up Awards 5/23/2008 Cuba Now
Nunca mirar atrás – El libro de Carlos Acosta 10/22/2007 Danza Ballet
London Met honours celebrated dancer Carlos Acosta 8/1/2007 London
Metropolitan University: published 12/06 - "Renowned Cuban dancer and
choreographer, Carlos Acosta, is the latest recipient of a London Metropolitan
University honorary award. Carlos was awarded a Doctor of Letters earlier today
during the University's Health and Human Sciences and Psychology graduation
ceremonies held at the Barbican Centre."
Manna from Havana 5/15/2005 Sunday Times: interview with Carlos Acosta -
"He was a wayward teenager whose father believed he was plagued by evil spirits.
Now Carlos Acosta is a world-class ballet star — but he still dances like a man
possessed… But there is something that no amount of glittering biographical
detail can convey. Something never touched on in the rags-to-riches tales.
Something that only surfaces as Carlos starts to talk about the importance of
Santeria in his home as he was growing up. It is, perhaps, the reason there
seems a hint of sadness behind his seductive eyes. It is also, on his own
admission, the reason he became such a superlative dancer. The key to its
understanding lies with the deity with whom his father most identifies, Ogun."
El salto de Carlos Acosta 7/22/2004 BBC: published on 10/21/01, about
dancer Carlos Acosta who is getting some attention in London these days - "Desde
los suburbios de una zona pobre de La Habana hasta los lujosos escenarios del
Royal Opera House en Londres o la Scala de Milán hay un salto tan grande que,
incluso para alguien acostumbrado a realizar espectaculares piruetas sobre la
tarima, resulta sorprendente."
CUBAN DANCER
WILL present tocororo IN LONDON 6/29/2004 Cuba Now: "Acosta, considered the
Best Dancer in 2003 by Great Britain’s National Dance Critics Circle, first
presented Tocororo in Havana in January, then in London in February, and later
in Mexico and the United States, where the press described him as “the bridge
which fills the vacuum between Nureyev and Baryshnikov.” "
Carlos Acosta
and his Aché 6/20/2004 AfroCubaWeb: by Pedro Pérez-Sarduy - "In Tocororo
(named after the multicoloured national bird of Cuba), Acosta’s performance is
one that has never been seen before by a Cuban dancer trained in the tradition
of classical European ballet. He masterfully debunks the falsehood of another
racist myth, that there can be no middle ground in dance: whites in ballet and
blacks in contemporary modern dance or folklore. Many may not have reflected on
that painful hybridity in Cuba whose origins lie in a different way of viewing
the world. A pas de deux becomes a rumba and then a guaguancó, another
expression of the Afro-Cuban liturgy invoked by a majority of island inhabitants
to celebrate their ancestors. The final apotheosis of the Cuban danzón and son
is an ancestral fusion that today generates new forms of dance pleasure, a mix
to be found both here and elsewhere."
Fidel attends Carlos Acosta‘s choreographic debut 2/17/2003 Granma,
Cuba: Acosta wanted to be a lead ballet dancer, but the national dance company
did not want a black in that role, so he went abroad to Euope and the US to make
his fame. At 24, he is back in Cuba putting on a show about his life, to the
acclaim of all. - "After the audience’s applause had faded away, Fidel mounted
the stage to discuss the show, the book that Carlos Acosta is currently writing,
and today’s dance in Cuba. In the presence of the cast and principal figures
involved in the performance, including maestro Fernando Alonso and Contemporary
Dance Company director Miguel Iglesias, the Cuban leader expressed his interest
in national dance training centers and dance companies. He manifested his
confidence that the country’s current cultural and educational policies will
enable more children, like the lead role in Tocororo, to find new and better
horizons through dance." - Words followed by deeds, witness recent contracts
given to such groups as Raices Profundas to teach across Cuba.
CUBAN
DANCER WILL present tocororo IN LONDON 6/29/04 Cuba Now: "Acosta,
considered the Best Dancer in 2003 by Great Britain’s National Dance Critics
Circle, first presented Tocororo in Havana in January, then in London in
February, and later in Mexico and the United States, where the press described
him as “the bridge which fills the vacuum between Nureyev and Baryshnikov.”
"
Sadler's Well
www.sadlerswells.com/whats_on/2003_2004/carlos_acosta_04.asp?id=ccomp
Profile: Carlos Acosta
www.londondance.com/content/318/profile:_carlos_acosta/
Fidel attends Carlos Acosta‘s choreographic debut, 2/17/03
www.granma.cu/ingles/feb03/lu17/7asiste.html
UN DON QUIJOTE DE ALTURA, Jiribilla, 10/03
www.lajiribilla.cu/2002/n77_octubre/1806_77.html
"No hay nada que se compare con este
momento”, repetía al final del espectáculo el primer bailarín del Ballet
Nacional de Cuba (BNC) Carlos Acosta. “Ha sido una función muy
excitante", declaró su compatriota y compañera ocasional de baile, la
también primera bailarina Viengsay Valdés.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Acosta
www.roh.org.uk/people/carlos-acosta
No Way Home: A Cuban Dancer's story
Carlos Acosta Autobriography
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