Hello. Imjohn wilson. Welcome to this cultural life, the radio 4 Podcast Series in which i talk to leading creative figures about the key moments of their life and the most important cultural works that have fired their imagination and had a profound impact on their own art. My guest is carlos acosta, the cuban born ballet star who, over a 30 year career, is now regarded as one of the greatest dancers of all time. He became the first black principal of the royal ballet and set new standards of grace and athleticism in theatres around the world. Having retired from the classical stage, he set up his own cuban dance company, acosta danza, and is also director of the birmingham royal ballet. Welcome. Lets start in cuba, with your family, your upbringing. A happy childhood . Very happy, i must say, although in the 80s in cuba, still, our family was on the. I would say it was poorer than most families, but still there was a big, big sense of community. It was a good time for cuba anybody c
For more, heres our correspondent in hawaii, sophie long. This is what remains of lahaina. Cars are banned peoplejumped into the sea to escape the flames. Homes and businesses reduced to charred remains. President biden promised immediate help and said every available asset should be used to provide it, but, days later, people here say its not yet reaching those most in need and people like felicia are desperately trying to get supplies into lahaina themselves. Im frustrated. People are. Were all together. Were one family, we need to take care of each other. No ones feeding everyone. Theyre traumatised. Theyre upset. No ones giving hugs. They need mental help. What do you need from me . To hear people in the same pants since the fire on thursday. Kids in the same diapers since thursday. People without food. They havent drank since before the fire. What are we doing . Hundreds of thousands flock to mauis stunning coastline every year and thousands ofjobs here are dependent on tourism, b
Homes and businesses have been damaged or destroyed. Recovery crews are combing through the charred ruins and hundreds of people remain unaccounted for. The wild fires are the worst to hit a state in america in over a century and there is growing anger on maui over both the lack of warning about the fires, and the response by officials to the thousands left without homes and in some cases, without adequate food and water. Sophie long reports from the island. This is what remains of lahaina. Cars abandoned as people ran and jumped into the sea to escape the flames. Homes and businesses reduced to charred remains. President biden promised immediate help and said every available asset should be used to provide it, but, days later, people here say its not yet reaching those most in need and people like felicia are desperately trying to get supplies into lahaina themselves. Im frustrated. People are. We re all together. Were one family, we need to take care of each other. No one s feeding e
Uk wages rise at a record rate. But economists warn its not all good news as it could force Interest Rates to rise again. And two years since the taliban returned to power in aghanistan theres severe hunger and a near collapse of the Health System we have a special report. Former President Donald Trump says he will release his own report on what he calls Election Fraud in georgia. That comes after prosecutors in the us state charged donald trump and 18 others with attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat there. The former president is facing 13 new charges, including racketeering and conspiracy. Racketeering is a type of organised crime where a person profits through dishonest or illegal activities. This is his fourth criminal indictment; he now faces in total 91 charges with allegations of election interference, hush money paid to a porn star, and mishandling classified documents. Mr trump has denied any wrongdoing in all of his criminal cases. Hes called the latest charges a w
A century and there is growing anger on maui over both the lack of warning about the fires, and the response by officials to the thousands left without homes and in some cases, without adequate food and water. Sophie long reports from the island. This is what remains of lahaina. Cars abandoned as people ran and jumped into the sea to escape the flames. Homes and businesses reduced to charred remains. President biden promised immediate help and said every available asset should be used to provide it, but, days later, people here say its not yet reaching those most in need and people like felicia are desperately trying to get supplies into lahaina themselves. Im frustrated. People are. Were all together. Were one family, we need to take care of each other. No one s feeding everyone. Theyre traumatised. Theyre upset. No one s giving hugs. They need mental help. What do you need for me . To hear people in the same pads since the fire on thursday. Kids in the same diapers since thursday. Pe