Diane Parkes chatted to the renowned dancer and choreographer about Cuban company Acosta Danza’s production Carmen which concludes its tour at Woking Theatre on Saturday 9th May.
Cuban company Acosta Danza will be turning up the heat this spring when they tour Carlos Acosta’s sizzling dance sensation Carmen.
The classic tale of a doomed love triangle comes to the stage at Woking Theatre, from Wednesday 6 May until Saturday 9 May, in a blend of ballet, contemporary dance and flamenco.
Based on the Prosper Mérimée novel and Georges Bizet’s ever-popular opera, the ballet tells the story of free-willed Carmen and her passionate love affair with the soldier Don José. But when toreador Escamillo appears and captures Carmen’s heart, Don José’s revenge is desperate and bloody.
Former Royal Ballet principal Carlos first created a one-hour Carmen for the Royal Ballet and then expanded and adapted it for his Havana-based company Acosta Danza. And he says the story is irresistible.
“Any creator of dance wants to make their own Carmen, it’s such a powerful story, it has everything. It’s a shame because Bizet died before knowing that it was going to be such a huge success.
“His Carmen was hammered by the critics, largely because they had never seen a woman behave that way before. Here is a woman who lives by her motto that ‘I can never love a man that loves me back’ so she’s always jumping to the next thrill. These were very complicated things to explore in the 19th century.”
Carlos, whose Nutcracker in Havana has toured the UK to critical and audience acclaim, was keen to ensure his Carmen stands out from the crowd.
“So many people have created Carmens, that the challenge was to come up with something with my own spin. What people can expect is pretty much my own take on the story which is to strip it to that triangle of betrayal and deceit and passion that is Carmen, Don José and Escamillo.
“It’s in an atemporal context, so I’m not trying to portray any history or any period. Within that space I created the figure of Destiny in the shape of a Bull. The Bull is Carmen’s destiny and also a master of ceremonies so it is the Bull who is telling the story and creating the scenarios.”
While the story of Carmen is one of the great tragedies, Carlos has also ensured plenty of shade and light in the production.
“Although it’s a well-known tragedy, we also remember that we are a company that comes from the Caribbean and for us joy is very important. So somehow even though there is darkness in this story, I’ve found moments of reminding the audience that there’s also joy. There are circumstances, such as when a group come together in a tavern, that can be joyful even within a tragedy.”
Carlos’ Carmen brings together Bizet’s famous score with the 1967 Rodion Shchedrin Carmen Suite with additional music and arrangements from British composer and conductor Martin Yates, and Cuban composers, Denis Peralta and Yhovani Duarte.
To book tickets for the production while it is at Woking Theatre click here.