Tour jeté through a controversy
By Elsa Claro
HAVANA – Carlos Acosta, 39, one of the few black dancers in classical ballet, likened by critics to Nureyev, was at the center of one of those disputes where genuine concerns are often entwined with embroilments and human defects.
The core of the issue was stated by Italian architect Vittorio Garatti in a letter to the top Cuban authorities, where he reviewed the origins of a project with great social significance, the Cubanacán Art Schools, a complex built in 1961 in the area of Havana’s former Country Club, an admirable project because of its artistic purpose and architectural excellence.
Garatti had designed the buildings, along with other professionals. His alarm is focused in one paragraph of his letter: “How is it possible, then, that a fine Cuban dancer, Carlos Acosta, trained in Alicia Alonso’s school in Havana and famous in London, can take over one of the National Schools of Art (the Ballet School) to use it as a personal and private dance school?”
In a message from London, dated 5 July 2012, where he lives intermittently, given his status as principal dancer at the Royal Ballet since 1998 and later as a principal invited guest, Acosta retorted: “In Vittorio Garatti’s letter to Fidel and Raúl, he said that I was attempting to use the building for private purposes, or something like that. The truth is that I don’t know what he’s talking about because it is Cuban patrimony.”
The artist had proposed that the buildings be rehabilitated by expanding the cultural project, which would combine the initial criteria with current concepts but would be so costly (more than US$3 million just to start the renovations) that donations would be needed. The changes would be entrusted to the renowned British architect Norman Foster, who volunteered to work for free.
That announcement, slightly distorted by the media, created the impression that Acosta wanted to change the construction, but Acosta explained that “Norman Foster’s participation is limited to creating a maquette of the existing buildings so the donors at the various fund-raisers we’ll stage will have an idea of what the project is about.”
Ramona de Saa, director of the National School of Ballet, recalled how in February 1962, Fernando Alonso contacted her because he was selecting possible teachers, from among leading dancers and soloists, to create the staff of the nascent National School of Art.
“The place they gave us in the Country Club was divided by the Quibu River, which used to overflow. We could never use it in our work. The Dancing Arts Faculty lent us its hall and we held our classes at Havana’s Grand Theater, the company’s headquarters,” recalled Ramona. In 2001, the fabulous current facility, with 20 halls, was inaugurated near the ballet’s headquarters, the García Lorca Theater.
It’s worthwhile to mention the important role Ramona de Saa, a shining light in Cuban dance, played in Carlos Acosta’s life.
“Sometimes I wonder what my life might have become if she hadn’t rescued me,” said the dancer, whom Ramona taught and prepared for the international auditions that tested him from an early age (he graduated in 1991 with a golden diploma).
The young Acosta was not interested in ballet. He wanted to be a soccer player, but – unusual in these macho regions – his father, a trucker, pointed him toward the dance, following the advice of a friend who said the boy’s impetuous nature did not bode well.
With some hesitancy, but already fascinated by the leaps and twists of ballet, Acosta allowed Ramona to guide him. He had no idea that things would go so well for him. In 1990, he won the Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne; the Grand Prix of the Fourth Biennial Concours International de Danse de Paris; the Premio Vignale Danza in Italy, and the Frédéric Chopin Award of the Polish Artistic Corporation.
In 1991, he won the Grand Prix of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba; the Meritorious Award and the Young Talents Competition in Positano, Italy, and the Osimodanza Award in Italy. In 1995, he won the Dance Award from the Princess Grace Foundation and in 2011 won the National Award for Dance, presented by the Cuban Ministry of Culture, in a hard-fought competition.
Where does the controversy stand right now? At a meeting of the Minister of Culture with Garatti and Acosta, it was agreed that the Enterprise for Projects and Engineering Services for Culture (ATRIO) will be responsible for “putting together the technical team to restore the building originally assigned to the Cubanacán Ballet School” and “establishing, during the first stage, the contractual ties between the National Council for Scenic Arts (investor) and ATRIO (project manager) for the execution of the projects and other technical studies required by this endeavor.”
The agreement includes maintaining constant communication “with architect Vittorio Garatti so that he may be apprised of the development of the work and be consulted as needed.” Cuban laws on copyrights require this consultation.
It seems that this storm, like natural or human storms, is over and the project will move ahead. On Sept. 19, there will be a fund-raising dinner at the Royal Opera House in London, organized by David Tang, a Hong Kong entrepreneur.
The main attraction will be the dancing of Acosta himself, who does not plan to retire from the stage or the classrooms without first leaving a mark.
“The last stage of my life as a dancer is coming nearer and a question fills my head: what am I going to do?” Acosta said. “I didn’t want to limit myself to teaching or doing choreography – though both appeal to me – but I think I can be the instrument for a legacy that will benefit the coming generations, and I want to do it here [in Cuba] because everything that’s Cuban thrills me, because being Cuban defines me. Rum and dominoes are my thing. To me, that’s essential.”
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