Carlos Acosta CBE (1973-). Cuban-born dancer, choreographer and director

Carlos Acosta was born in poverty in Havana, Cuba. He studied at the National Ballet School of Havana, where he quickly made a mark, graduating with a gold medal and other prizes in 1991. An exciting performer, he was a principal with English National Ballet from 1991 until 1992, and then with the National Ballet of Cuba (under Alicia Alonso) from 1992 to 1993, when he joined Houston Ballet until 1998.

In 1998 Acosta joined The Royal Ballet, where he made a strong impression in many ballets, both classical and modern. He became a principal of The Royal Ballet in 2003. As well as dancing for The Royal Ballet, he appeared as a guest artist around the world, and in 2007 danced the title-role in Yuri Grigorovich’s Spartacus with the Bolshoi Ballet, both in London and in Moscow. In 2020 Acosta replaced David Bintley as director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, and was awarded a CBE for his services to dance in 2014. In 2018, Acosta starred in Yuli, the Carlos Acosta Story, based on his own life a film about his own life, and has choreographed a number of works, including Tocororo, Don Quixote and Carmen. Acosta is also director of the Acosta Danza company, the Acosta Danza Academy and the Carlos Acosta International Dance Foundation