Acosta Danza Up Close, Linbury Theatre

Acosta Danza may have been formed under four years ago, but London ballet audiences are already well acquainted with it through visits to Sadler’s Wells and a recent outing at the Royal Albert Hall.

Now the company makes its Royal Opera House debut, Acosta Danza Up Close, in the House’s smaller, intimate Linbury Theatre, .

If the Acosta name was what first attracted audiences to this company, it immediately became apparent that Acosta Danza’s dancers could more than speak for themselves. Cuba is crawling with extraordinary dancers; and Acosta, one of Cuba’s most successful exports, had the pick of the best.

Less successful has been the company’s choice of repertoire; one feels they are still trying to perfect a suitable blend of work by both Cuban and international choreographers.

Acosta Danza Up Close is an eclectic mixed bill entirely distinct from the one the company is bringing to Sadler’s Wells in the autumn. It consists of five works, only two of which have already been seen in London.

El Cruce Sobre el Niágara is the work of the Cuban Marianela Boán and was part of Acosta Danza’s London debut. It’s inspired by the crossing of the Niagara Falls by the French tightrope walker Charles Blondin, carrying a man on his back.

This was how Culture Whisper saw it then: '… a mesmerisingly slow and breathtakingly erotic meditation on the human body under strain, its two male dancers, black and white, bodies perfectly sculpted, seemingly naked, moving in dreamlike harmony. It’s beautiful, if a tad too long.'

Russell Maliphant’s Two is a short solo created for Maliphant’s wife, Dana Fouras, in 1997. Lit by Maliphant’s regular collaborator Michael Hulls, it features a female dancer imprisoned in a box of light, creating an unbreakable fusion between music, movement and light.

Soledad is a double award-winning work by the Spanish choreographer Rafael Bonachela, currently director of the Sydney Dance Company. Set to music by Chavela Vargas and Gideon Kremer, it points towards Latin American music and dance, in particular the tango.

The fourth work in the programme, Impronta, bears the signature of another Spanish choreographer, Maria Rovira, who has a long and fruitful association with Cuba. Impronta is also a solo for a female dancer, which Rovira describes as ‘leaving in the air the imprint of Cuba’s folk dance.’

Finally, Acosta Danza will premiere a new, as yet unnamed, work by the Belgium-based Brazilian choreographer Juliano Nunes.

All in all, then, a varied programme, which will give us another opportunity to appreciate the artistry of the vibrant dancers that make up Acosta Danza.

Join members of Acosta Danza as they prepare for their Linbury performances at Insights: Acosta Danza. Details here