Dance: A joyous fusion

Acosta Danza
A Decade in Motion
artistic director Carlos Acosta
dancers Amisaday Naara, Adria Díaz, Daniela Francia, Frank Isaac, Leandro Fernández, Brandy Martínez, Cynthia Laffertte, Ofelia Rodriguez, Melisa Moreda, Thalia Cardin, Wendy Elizabeth, Alexander Arias, Aniel Pazos, Paul Brando, Edgar Zayas
Sadler's Wells, London • 23-27.Sep.25 ★★★★★

Acosta Danza celebrates its 10th anniversary with a programme of four exhilarating pieces that burst with Cuba's distinctive blend of rhythms, attitude and physicality. Performed by Carlos Acosta's company of seriously gifted and gorgeously muscled dancers, two of these works (98 Días and Llamada) are UK premieres, and all four capture what Acosta refers to as his home nation's "fusion of cultures, rhythms and dances". These are pieces that get the heart racing with astonishing choreography that expresses a pure love of dance. 

First up is La Ecuación (the equation) by choreographer George Céspedes, in which four dancers spiral around the frame of a cube in brightly coloured costumes. Their movement echoes and mirrors, in solos and groups, striking eye-catching shapes along with the jubilant thump of X Alfonso's music, which mixes marimba and maracas with rumbling techno undercurrents. With its bright colours, pulsing beats and inventive lighting, this is unusually expressive and expansive, and also acrobatic and cheeky, a celebration of soaring physicality that feels improvised but is skilfully precise.

Choreographed and designed by Javier de Frutos, 98 Días echoes the life-changing days poet Federico García Lorca spent in Cuba in 1930, rediscovering his multi-ethnic heritage. Along with music by Estrella Morente, the soundtrack features spoken words by Lorca, including a lecture about his arrival on the island and the evocative poem Son de Negros en Cuba. In cool blue jumpsuits with lace sleeves, a group of 10 dancers performs to both words and music, with gorgeous full-bodied movement that expresses the collision of cultures, highlighting Latin and African rhythms, classical flamenco and ballet flourishes, and both dancing and fighting in the streets. It's visually and emotionally breathtaking.

Even more emotive, Goyo Montero's Llamada (calling) sees the dancers on stage in white skirts and matador trousers, expressing deep yearning as thy spin both in a group and in their own spotlights. This is a rolling, floating piece with music by Owen Bolton, Miguel Poveda and Rosalia, and it explodes with passion as romance blossoms, lighting shifts to red and costumes are shed. The music and choreography are elegantly beautiful, creating wrenching connections between the dancers that evoke wider social themes, most notably that internal sense of direction that we all recognise regarding things like culture, religion and sexuality.

Finally, the entire company takes the stage for De Punta a Cabo (from end to end) by Alexis Fernández and Yaday Ponce. Set along Havana's Malecón seawall, this is a celebration of culture that depicts Cuba's unique blend of Native American, European and African heritage in both movement and music (by Kumar, Kike Wolf and Omar Sosa). In front of a projection of the bay, which sometimes features performers atop the wall, the dancers joyfully throw themselves into a range of eloquent movement, jumping and spinning as they engage with each other as if they're attending a street party. The music shifts from smooth and rhythmic to hip hop as night falls, and a pair of bongos adds enjoyable beats. It's no wonder that they strip off their sweat-soaked clothes and collapse in a heap at the end. Only to pop up for a very lively curtain call.

For details, SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Hugo Glendinning, Argel Ernesto González Alvarez,
Ariel Ley, Enrique Smith Soto • 23.Sep.25