Cuban company Acosta Danza will be turning up the heat this spring when they tour Carlos Acosta’s sizzling dance sensation Carmen.
The classic tale of a doomed love triangle comes to the stage at Woking Theatre, from Wednesday 6 May until Saturday 9 May, in a blend of ballet, contemporary dance, and flamenco. Based on the Prosper Mérimée novel and Georges Bizet’s ever-popular opera, the ballet tells the story of free-willed Carmen and her passionate love affair with the soldier Don José. But when toreador Escamillo appears and captures Carmen’s heart, Don José’s revenge is desperate and bloody.
Former Royal Ballet principal Carlos first created a one-hour Carmen for the Royal Ballet and then expanded and adapted it for his Havana-based company Acosta Danza. And he says the story is irresistible.
Any creator of dance wants to make their own Carmen. It’s such a powerful story, and it has everything. It’s a shame because Bizet died before knowing that it was going to be such a huge success.
His Carmen was hammered by the critics, largely because they had never seen a woman behave that way before. Here is a woman who lives by her motto that ‘I can never love a man that loves me back’ so she’s always jumping to the next thrill. These were very complicated things to explore in the 19th century.
Carlos, whose Nutcracker in Havana has toured the UK to critical and audience acclaim, was keen to ensure his Carmen stands out from the crowd.
So many people have created Carmens, and the challenge was to come up with something with my own spin.
“What people can expect is pretty much my own take on the story, which is to strip it to that triangle of betrayal and deceit and passion that is Carmen, Don José and Escamillo It’s in an atemporal context, so I’m not trying to portray any history or any period. Within that space, I created the figure of destiny in the shape of a Bull. The Bull is Carmen’s destiny and also a master of ceremonies, so it is the Bull who is telling the story and creating the scenarios.”
While the story of Carmen is one of the great tragedies, Carlos has also ensured plenty of shade and light in the production.
“Although it’s a well-known tragedy, we also remember that we are a company that comes from the Caribbean, and for us, joy is very important. So, somehow, even though there is darkness in this story, I’ve found moments of reminding the audience that there’s also joy. There are circumstances, such as when a group comes together in a tavern, that can be joyful even within a tragedy.”
Carlos’ Carmen brings together Bizet’s famous score with the 1967 Rodion Shchedrin Carmen Suite with additional music and arrangements from British composer and conductor Martin Yates and Cuban composers, Denis PeraltaYhovani Duarte.
“I am very drawn to the original music, which is so recognisable, but then when you have an idea of what you want to do, you need to see whether the music entirely speaks to your idea,” Carlos explains.
“So, for instance, in the tavern scene, I recreated a flamenco tableau. The music didn’t give me the feel of the authenticity of the flamenco taverna, so I knew that at that particular scene, I would have to go with other music that Denis and Yhovani have created
“And there is also a pas de deux for Carmen and Don José at the close of the first act, and I wanted that to be a big pas de deux in the classical style of Kenneth Macmillan. I explained what I wanted to do, and Martin sourced an aria from elsewhere in the opera that Don José’s childhood sweetheart Michaela sings, and he adapted it. And so it flows and changes the mood and it was just perfect. It suited the narrative of what I wanted to say.”
Carlos, who is also director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, formed Acosta Danza in 2015 in his home city of Havana. Over the past decade, Acosta Danza has proved to be a valuable training ground for Cuban dancers while also touring the globe with a host of shows.
What was once a dream for Carlos is now a successful reality.
“It has been a big blessing, and we have survived in very hostile circumstances like the pandemic and then so many theatres closing,” says Carlos. “And not only have we been able to create a company that is highly recognised but also a school and a junior company as well.
“When you go along this kind of pathway to create something like Acosta Danza, you bring your enthusiasm and you gather your team but you never know how the story is going to end – and suddenly we are celebrating ten years. It’s unbelievable.”
Carlos was determined from the beginning that Acosta Danza would aim high.
“Acosta Danza is a small format company with lots of talent, particularly in contemporary dance. Then I came from the ballet world, and I wanted to bring the ballet audience with me as well. I also wanted the company to have these big titles like Nutcracker in Havana and Carmen while still retaining the contemporary triple bill elements.
“So the company can exist in the classical and contemporary worlds. Acosta Danza is an extension of who I am. I am Cuban, and also I’m a fusion of everything, and so instead of just selecting one pathway I’m trying to be somewhere in the middle.
“Then we are touring to mid-scale venues because audiences at these venues can not normally have these big dance spectacles. Because my company is small, I can choreograph Nutcracker in Havana and Carmen for these dancers, so they are filling this niche.”
Carlos says those audiences won’t be disappointed.
“This is a Carmen like no other. It has the Cuban influence, it has the classical element, and it has the fusion that I came up with. Acosta Danza is part contemporary, part classical, part Cuban, any advice about that all of that is fused into Carmen – and audiences love that.”
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/carlos-acostas-carmen/woking-theatre/
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