Sadler’s Wells, London
September 23, 2025
Carlos Acosta, artistic director of the Brimingham Royal Ballet, founded Acosta Danza in 2015 with the specific aim of supporting the development of young dancers from Cuba. It has succeeded spectacularly, testament to Acosta’s creative talent and visionary inspiration. Indeed, there is now an Acosta Danza Yunior, for dancers just starting on a professional career, which is an equally impressive ensemble.
Acosta was awarded a CBE in 2014 for his contribution to dance, and this year Acosta Danza won the National Dance Award for Best Mid-Scale Company. A Decade in Motion is a celebration of those ten years.
Photo Credit Argel Ernesto González Alvarez
There are four short works in the programme, of which two, 98Dias and Llamada, are UK premiers, choreographed by Javier De Frutos and Goyo Montero respectively. The other two pieces are La Ecuación, choreographed by Georges Céspedes, and De Punta a Cabo choreographed by Alexis Fernández.
La Ecuación (the equation) which opened the evening, is the best of that very good bunch. Set in a large framework cube, it is a tight, mathematically precise dance, performed to exacting requirements for beat and static, motion and no-motion.
Photo Argel Ernesto González Alvarez
98Dias is built around Federico Garcia Lorca’s 3-month stay in Cuba, and starts with a stunning sequence, which resembled people getting shot repeatedly, caught in a web they struggle to find the way out of.
Llamada explores gender, sexuality and society’s response to difference, and the closing piece De Punta a Cabo is a romp through the gamut of Cuban dance styles, fused into an evocation of modern-day Cuba.
All seventeen dancers were outstanding throughout, never dropping their attention to detail, bringing intense emotion to their dancing. Their skill and technique are a force to be reckoned with. They dance exquisitely, interpreting the choreographers’ works in vibrant intensity, bringing the four works to live flooding across the footlights.
One not to be missed!
A Decade in Motion is at Sadler’s Wells, London until September 27, 2025.