Cuban Carlos Acosta after his success in dancing in the United Kingdom: “I never looked for success.”

Maria Muñoz Rivera

LONDON, October 23 (EFE).- Birmingham Royal Ballet Director and Commander of the British Empire, Carlos Acosta, one of the greatest authorities in current dance, looks back to his Cuban and family roots to celebrate his 50th anniversary: ​​“My life has never been about success,” he says. Never, it was about finding refuge in dance.”

“I think success is just a result of work, but something that helps is not directing your art towards easy things, which creates shadows of emotion,” says Carlos Acosta, who showed his “most personal” works, in an interview with the magazine. EFE.” to date and presents a project linked to the world of rum, the “essence” of its country of origin.

At 50, Carlos Acosta (Havana, 1973) became first dancer of the Royal Ballet in London, opened his own dance center (Acosta Dance Foundation) and received many accolades for his repertory persona and his works. It’s party time for Cubans, and they don’t know how to “do it any other way than dancing.”

Written in 2010 in memory of his deceased mother, he is now premiering On Before, a work he directs and performs and which will soon be touring the UK and US. “It’s one of those shows I can still watch from start to finish, and it’s the best way to celebrate my 50th anniversary,” he explains.

The dancer remembers his dancing origins, admiring the Cuban-born dancer Fernando Pogones. Now he is the icon, and he explains that he takes on this role “as a great responsibility,” specifically, from his dance center, where he tries to train “not only future dancers, but also artists,” he says.

“There are skilled dancers and there are artists, who take risks and try to develop things beyond technique, and constantly doubt themselves in an attempt to take their art to a higher level, which is the level of emotion,” Acosta explains about what he was all about. “A course to follow.”

For Cuban, “from an educational point of view, we have to talk to young people so that they become extraordinary artists,” an aspect that he stresses can also be trained like technique. “There are dancers who are great because of their physical fitness, but when you go to ballet you take away something more than the effect of a perfect jump, you take away the emotion.”

Acosta explains that the recipe for success is, precisely, “not to look for it,” because it is the result of work and “a lot of sacrifices,” but he considers it important not to let oneself be conditioned by adversity. “When you overcome adversity, you reach a place where emotion is untainted,” he explains.

“When the shoes you dance in have to last a whole year even when holes appear, you train the ability to know that nothing will stop you, neither this nor other obstacles,” the dancer adds about the aspect for which he thanks his Cuban roots, which he celebrates in his other project, Shown on Friday.

The dancer and choreographer presents a short documentary piece with Ron Santiago de Cuba for his new release. “It’s an opportunity to give a face to a Cuban product and a whole panorama, the countryside, the landscape, the depth and the essence of the country that gave me life,” he explains.

“I have an international career and many times I have missed my home and my land. It has not been possible until now to be the face of Cuba and I think this is the right time to do it,” he explains of the piece. “The parallel between dance and drink that represents the country,” he says.

For Acosta, the essential ingredients in any dance are “dedication, passion and balance,” elements that he carries over to the preparation of this drink, one of two focuses in which he celebrates five decades and more than three dedicated to this passion. Evie

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