Carlos Acosta and Company.

Sadler's Wells Theatre London, England July 15-26, 2003

The queues outside Sadler's Wells Theatre for tickets hadn't been so long since British dance's enfant terrible, Michael Clark, bared his buttocks in the 1980s. But this time the patient fans were praying for a chance to see a completely different superhero, one whose humble charm and prodigious talent has captivated international attention. Carlos Acosta has a great following in Britain, where he dances as a principal guest artist at The Royal Ballet. His fastidious classical technique, combined with fantastic pyrotechnical displays and a natural absorption into his character roles, bring realism and vigor to all his performances. And while most superstars, given the opportunity to have their own show, present partners and snippets from their best roles, Acosta chose to return to his Hispanic roots, creating and choreographing a slightly autobiographical work based on his rural beginnings in Cuba. The two weeks of full houses at the Wells (boosted by a BBC documentary on his life shown just before his arrival) demonstrated that he had chosen well.

Tocororo--A Cuban Tale gives a spirited and zesty look at dance in Cuba today, with none of the salsa and hip-wiggling danzon that some Cubaphiles (including me) possibly were expecting. Rather, the twelve young dancers from Danza Contemporanea de Cuba offered a slick, showbiz-style mix--a West Side Story meets FAME, the Musical--highly flavored with Afro-Hispanic/Caribbean traditions. The story line was thin--very thin--but nobody seemed to mind since the carnival atmosphere was infectious, setting toes a-tapping and smiles broadening in the auditorium: A young country lad, Tocororo, reluctantly leaves his father and tumbledown shack to seek his future in the big city. The youth becomes a classical dancer and meets up with street kids who deride his style and talent. But his first love, shapely Clarita, comes to his rescue, showing him the local moves, which he quickly perfects. The tale ends with Tocororo accepting and outshining the challenges of the pack's guru, a tall and skinny cigar-puffing city slicker called The Moor.

ACOSTA, WHO RADIATES THE JOY OF DANCING FROM THE CORE OF HIS BEING, DIDN'T WANT TO BE JUDGED IN HIS FIRST ATTEMPT AS A CHOREOGRAPHY AND LIBRETTIST; RATHER ON HOW HE CAPTURED THE MOOD OF HIS BELOVED MOTHERLAND. And this he effectively achieved through the energetic and enthusiastic company dancing and a five-piece band onstage beating out the rhythms. The Moor was danced with relish by folkloric artist Alexander Varona, who possesses great stage presence, along with amazing rotating joints that would alarm any hip surgeon. Mireya Chapman wearing a frilled white folkloric dress and turban, was the matronly Santera, religious soothsayer, while Veronica Corveas, a soloist with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, as the girlfriend, offered soft and lyrical classicism in her duets with Tocororo. Acosta's 13-year-old nephew, Yonah Acosta, played the younger Tocororo, showing great potential with strong technique and fine lines, reminding me of the coltish-limbed schoolboy Carlos I had first seen in Cuba in the late 1980s. However, the cast was very nearly upstaged by a fabulous red-and-cream 1950s Chevy convertible straight off the dusty streets of Havana, driven onstage for the finale.

Like the Cuban audience, which included President Castro, at Tocororo's premiere in the Gran Teatro de la Habana in February 2003, the British public--of all ages and races--thoroughly enjoyed the work's charisma and unpretentious spontaneity. "One of the best dance things I've ever seen," confided one lady to her friend on exiting Sadler's Wells.