Acclaimed dancer, director and choreographer Carlos Acosta CBE has taken the classic festive Nutcracker and given it a lively Latino make-over in his first full-length production for Acosta Danza. The result is Nutcracker in Havana, an imaginative retelling, and relocation, of the much-loved ballet. And in this delightful fantasy it even snows in Cuba! Acosta was in the audience for the London opening along with that living legend of British ballet Wayne Sleep OBE.
The key elements of the lovely Christmas Eve tale, based on the short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E T A Hoffman, are retained here but given local Cuban flair by the costumes, choreography and videography. Nina Dunn’s video projections and set designs are key to setting the scene.
Acosta has carefully blended the traditional ballet with the dance traditions of Cuba and added a newly- commissioned arrangement of the magnificent Tchaikovsky score written by Cuban composer Pepe Gavilondo. The gorgeous Tchaikovsky melodies are still there, sometimes clear to hear and at other times masked by Latin rhythms and an overlay of percussion, brass and guitars. Play the music a bit louder and the audience would want to get up and dance.
Alongside the classical ballet the choreography plays with Latin dance and contemporary styles. The kaleidoscope of national dances, including Spanish, Arabian, Mirlitones, Chinese and Russian, are colourful and acrobatic.
The result of all this is a charming and joyful celebration of Christmas seen through the eyes and imagination of the young Clara, danced with exuberance by Acosta Danza artist Laura Rodríguez. Most of the dancers are members of that Havana-based company, along with some local guest dancers, including four from the Acosta Advanced Training Hub here in Woolwich.
Former English National Ballet principal Laurretta Summerscales makes a very elegant Sugar Plum Fairy, surely one of the most well-known and desirable roles in the canon. The pas de deux with her Prince, Yasiel Hodelín Bello, is especially sparkling. Another guest artist, Cuban-born dancer and choreographer Alexander Varona, has wonderful stage presence as the magician Tio Elias Drosselmeyer.
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Nutcracker in Havana is a delight, falling somewhere between classical ballet and pantomime with its dancing rats, toys that come to life and snow on the rooftops of Cuba. This may not be the most technically brilliant show and purists will find points of disagreement with the storyline, but none of that really matters; it’s two hours of feel-good festive fun and a joyful celebration of all that’s good and kind and magical about Christmas. This is especially poignant knowing that Christmas was effectively banned for years in Cuba under Fidel Castro. As Acosta says in the program notes, Nutcracker in Havana really is
“an explosion of happiness”.
Nutcracker in Havana, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank
Presented by Norwich Theatre and Valid Productions
Artistic director and choreographer: Carlos Acosta
Video projection, set design, mapping: Nina Dunn for Pixellux
Associate set and video designer: Tyler Forward
Costume design: Angelo Alberto
Compositions and arrangements: Pepe Gavilondo Peón
Additional music: Yasel Muñoz
Lighting design: Andrew Exeter
Wig and make-up design: Jin Ho Kang
Sound design: Declan Matwij
Creative producer: Stephen Crocker
Cast: Acosta Danza dancers: Laura Rodríguez, Yasiel Hodelín Bello, Alejandro Silva, Zeleidy Crespo, Raúl Reinoso, Enrique Corrales, Patricia Torres, Daniela Francia, Adria Díaz, Amisaday Naara, Frank Junior, Leandro Fernández, Denzel Francis, Brandy Martínez, Elizabeth Tablada, Chay Deivis, Brian Ernesto, Thalía Cardín, Melisa Moreda, Alexander Arias, Paul Brando, Ofelia Semanat, Aniel Pazos, Cynthia Laffertté, Wendy Friol
Guest artists: Laurretta Summerscales, Yonah Acosta, Alexander Varona, Yaday Ponce, Verónica Corveas, Aymara Vasallo
Junior guest dancers from the Acosta Advanced Training Hub: Henri Lynch, Melissa Ann Hughes, Mia Nicholas, Victoria Lavalle
Nutcracker in Havana played at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at Southbank to 15 December and is now touring
