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
i did a sort of musical extravaganza, tocororo, a cuban tale, in 2020, 2002, sorry. he turned up in a suit, because normally he comes with the green military outfit, and then my father on camera met him, and he started to talk about with him and everything, and i remember my father said he was the messiah and all of that, and fidel said to my father, you know, you know too much, i m going to pay you a visit so we can really have a chat over coffee, like a proper chat, and my father did not leave the house for months after that, because i said, should we go out? he said, no, no, fidel told me he is coming, i better wait, and obviously he never did, but that tells you how much he admired fidel. do you think you would have become one of the greatest dancers if it had not have been for the communist regime? i think for somebody