If any dancer has earned the right to play a Greek god, it’s Carlos Acosta. The Cuban ballet star, still implausibly sleek, returns to the Covent Garden stage for a run of shows to mark his 50th birthday, and began the celebrations last night with his favourite work, George Balanchine’s Apollo.
Previous Acosta shows have been billed as farewells: he’s the unstoppable Mick Jagger of British dance. But chances to drink in his luxurious stage presence are increasingly sparse – and this audience came to acclaim him. He appeared in five of the 10 pieces, with talents from the companies he directs: Acosta Danza and Birmingham Royal Ballet.
