In ballet, the dancers are the stars. A lot of people will book their tickets because they want to see a particular dancer’s interpretation of a classical role. But in contemporary dance, their presence has tended to be more anonymous, putting their bodies at the service of the work.
One of the joys of this past week has been seeing the personalities of contemporary dancers emerging from behind the steps. In Acosta Danza, the Havana-based company founded in 2015 by Carlos Acosta, the dancers are never less than dazzling, whatever the choreography they perform. Perhaps it’s because Acosta himself was such a luminary that his eye is caught by artists who can communicate something of themselves as they move, and whose energy and skill illuminates everything they do.
