World-renowned choreographer and ballet dancer Carlos Acosta, in conversation with prominent broadcaster, journalist and campaigner, Mariella Frostrup.
Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Carlos Acosta trained at the National Ballet School of Havana in Cuba. Winning the Prix de Lausanne in 1990, he went on to make London’s Royal Ballet his home, choreographing the Royal Ballet productions of Don Quixote and Carmen.
After retiring from a career in classical ballet spanning 28 years, he formed his own dance company, Acosta Danza in 2016, which tours the world with a vibrant combination of classical and contemporary, fused with Cuban dance elements. In the following year, Carlos opened a Dance Academy that provides young dancers a three-year dance training programme with the same opportunities he himself benefitted from.
In 2018 Carlos received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award from the Royal Academy of Dance and in 2019 the Critics’ Circle bestowed him with their Annual Award for Outstanding Services to the Arts.
He will be in conversation with Mariella Frostrup, a prominent broadcaster, journalist, and campaigner. In 2018, she made a ground-breaking documentary about menopause, followed by a book on the same topic. Marielle currently helms her daily afternoon show on Times Radio and is a columnist for The Sunday Times Magazine and The Telegraph. As a respected arts critic, she has participated in judging panels for various awards including the Booker Prize, the Orange Prize for Fiction, and the Evening Standard Film Awards, among others.
Carlos and Mariella will be discussing writing, dance, and the different expressions of art while recounting anecdotes from their illustrious careers on September 19 at JW3.