"So, my grandmother didn't know that until she came to Cuba. "He was involved in the Cuban revolution," says Gabriela. Once they were on the island, Manuel finally clued Lorna in on something else. "'An American and a dancer?' That's how you say. "Having an American in their house - an American and a dancer! - at that time was not a good image for a wife," she says.
She didn't speak a word of Spanish, and she didn't know anyone except for Manuel and his family, whom she had briefly met in New York before.Īnd Lorna didn't have an easy time with Manuel's conservative parents, according to Gabriela. Not long after, she moved with him back to Cuba.
Lorna and Manuel fell for each other, and they quietly got married in New York. Manuel's father had become very successful in their new country - in part as a distributor of one of Cuba's most famous products, Bacardi rum - and he had sent Manuel to study business at Columbia University, with the expectation that he would come back to help run the family business. Manuel's parents had immigrated to Cuba from the Galicia region of Spain, an area with deep Celtic roots. He didn't understand what I was saying, so he said nothing, but his partner said he was from Cuba."Ī couple of months later, Lorna spotted this red-haired guy near Juilliard. Can't you see he has red hair and freckles? He's probably Irish.'" After the music stopped, I asked the mambo dancer where he was from. Acosta is joined by members of Danza Contemporánea as he weaves a part-autobiographical narrative told through classical, contemporary and Afro-Cuban dance – all to the accompaniment of a live house band."I wondered what country he was from and I commented to my friend that the fellow was surely not North American, but he said, 'Impossible. In the second half of the evening Acosta presents his Tocoroco Suite, a selection of highlights from his hugely popular 2003 dance work completely re-imagined for the Royal Opera House main stage. The first half concludes with Edwaard Liang's Sight Unseen, danced by Acosta and Zenaida Yanowsky to music by Arvo Pärt. Acclaimed Cuban dancer Alexander Varona dances Russell Maliphant's Flux, followed by a world premiere from the acclaimed dance group Danza Contemporánea de Cuba. Altunaga piece is a world premiere danced by Acosta while Céspedes stages his thrilling La ecuación. The first half of the evening sees Acosta collaborate with two Cuban dance stars, Miguel Altunaga and George Céspedes. Royal Ballet Principal Guest Artist Carlos Acosta curates and stars in an exciting mixed programme of dance inspired by his homeland.
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