It was clear from the moment Carlos Acosta accepted the directorship of Birmingham Royal Ballet that he would break the traditional mold of artistic director. In announcing his new position, he shared that he would not step down from his own company, Acosta Danza, or its academy, which he founded in Cuba in 2015 and 2017, respectively. The question […]

Here are the latest promotions, appointments and departures from the last month. Jakob Feyferlik has joined Dutch National Ballet as a principal. Carlos Acosta has been appointed to the Board of Governors of the Royal Ballet School. Julia Mayer has been appointed executive director at See Chicago Dance. Amy Seiwert has departed from her post […]

Since the project was first announced toward the end of 2017, we’ve been extremely curious about Yuli. The film, based on Carlos Acosta‘s memoir No Way Home, promised as much dancing as biography, with Acosta appearing as himself and dance sequences featuring his eponymous Cuba-based company Acosta Danza. Add in filmmaking power couple Icíar Bollaín […]

Birmingham Royal Ballet announced today that international star Carlos Acosta will be taking over as director in January of 2020. Current BRB director David Bintley will be stepping down this summer, at the end of the company’s 2019 season, after a 24-year tenure. “It is a tremendous honor and privilege to have been appointed to […]

We admit it. We’re picky about dance movies. They don’t always represent our beloved art form accurately, or use real dancers to play the main roles. But we just watched the first trailer for the new Carlos Acosta biopic, Yuli, and we’re kinda speechless: There’s an adorable young actor—Edilson Manuel Olbera Núñez—playing Acosta (who looks […]

Back in January , we took a look at Hollywood’s 2018 dance card. While Red Sparrow and the Tiler Peck documentary Ballet Now have been released, several other films that piqued our curiosity are still in various stages of development. (And some have been radio silent, like the Carmen being helmed by Benjamin Millepied.) From […]

What does a superstar like Carlos Acosta do after bidding farewell to his career in classical ballet? In Acosta’s case, he returns to his native country, Cuba, to funnel his fame, connections and prodigious energies back into the dance scene that formed him. Because of its top-notch, state-supported training programs and popular embrace of the […]

What does it take to become an international superstar? Carlos Acosta might have a few ideas. At the Oxford Literary Festival earlier this month, the BBC sat down with Acosta to ask for his life lessons. His answers—which he says he will pass on to his kids one day—give incredible insight into how he’s become […]