Acosta brings Latin flair to reawaken an old Russian warhorse

By Graham Watts, 28 February 2022

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“the company rose to the challenge with aplomb, exhibiting strength at all levels”

Reviewed at Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham on 25 February 2022

Don Quixote (Carlos Acosta, Marius Petipa)

Birmingham Royal Ballet

Paul Murphy, Conductor

Tim Hatley, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Peter Mumford, Lighting Designer

Royal Ballet Sinfonia

Momoko Hirata, Dancer

Mathias Dingman, Dancer

Brandon Lawrence, Dancer

Tzu-Chao Chou, Dancer

Yu Kurihara, Dancer

Tom Rogers, Dancer

Yvette Knight, Dancer

Rory Mackay, Dancer

Kit Holder, Dancer

Valentin Olovyannikov, Dancer

Acosta's Don Quixote for BRB: polished but not quite enough panache

Jonathan Gray, 23rd April

Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote for Birmingham Royal Ballet returned to Sadler's Wells with polished but low-key interpretations across the board.

***11

Nutcracker in Havana: a novel take on the popular ballet

Graham Watts, 1st November

A unique take on a well-worn favourite, Carlos Acosta has done a good job on his Havana based Nutcracker.

***11

Carlos Acosta's full-length Carmen is hot but it doesn't sizzle

Deborah Weiss, 2nd July

Carlos Acosta's Carmen is full of exuberance and first class dancing but it doesn't quite set the stage on fire.

***11

Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote thrills at the National Ballet of Canada

Gianmarco Segato, 1st June

Superstar dancer Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote debuts at the National Ballet of Canada, showcasing thrilling dancing in a sumptuous, sun-filled Spanish setting.

*****

Carlos Acosta: On Before inspires rapturous standing ovations

Kathy Elgin, 16th February

Carlos Acosta can still draw in the crowds and this carefully chosen programme is well worth watching.

***11

The Royal Ballet's Don Quixote delivers a crowd-pleasing romp

Vikki Jane Vile, 30th September

Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote is a dazzling production which stands out for its lack of filler moments. There are no slow crowd scenes, just flat out dancing.

****1

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Graham Watts

Graham Watts is a freelance dance writer and critic writing regularly for Dancing Times, Dance Europe, Danza Europa, and many more publications. He regularly writes features for Sadler’s Wells, London Coliseum and La Scala. Chairman of the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle in the United Kingdom and of the UK National Dance Awards he has interviewed many of the greatest names in dance including Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev, Boris Eifman, Alexei Ratmansky, Andris Liepa, Sir Peter Wright, David Bintley and Dame Gillian Lynne. When not involved in dance Graham is a keen fencer, and has captained the British Sabre team.

Acosta brings Latin flair to reawaken an old Russian warhorse: Don Quixote in Birmingham