Passionate, tribal and absolutely superb - Acosta Danza "Spectrum" (Royal Opera House, 24.01.2023)

It was at Live at Lunch, in the Royal Opera House's Linbury Foyer, almost three years ago (on the 14th of February 2020 precisely), when I first saw Acosta Danza. I noticed straight away their technical virtuosity and their unique dancing style, which is a fusion of classical ballet and contemporary dance with Cuban twist. So I was very pleased that they returned to the Royal Opera House again (Linbury theatre), with their new tour called Spectrum.

Spectrum is a showcase of five contemporary dances, all choreographed by different choreographers. The first dance "Performance" (choreographed by American choreographer Micaela Taylor), was actually a European premiere. From the very beginning, the energy, commitment, intensity and expressivity were at the top level. Very graphic, sometimes even brutal hip-hop movements, were enhanced by the intense music, or better said "sound", by various composers (A. Stott, J. Dexter Goss, AGF Band and K. Khadem) contrasted, at the very end, by more lyrical music of C. Debussy. Surprisingly though, the final "Pas de deux", danced on lyrical Debussy music, wasn't as romantic and soothing as the music. Quite the contrary, it had very sharp, energetic movements (as well as the whole dance). They were, however, performed with such elegance and fluidity, ensuring the public of a maximum controll and technical supremacy.

Debussy's music again, his famous score L’après-midi d’un faune, was the inspiration for the second dance - Faun (choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui), which later on finished with the music of Nitin Sawhney. I think this dance was really a masterpiece. Beautifully choreographed and superbly performed. OnTuesday night, it was Yasser Dominguez and Patricia Torres, who interpreted the forest man a woman, in a very tribal, tarzan-like manner, but with such passion and perfect body coordination that it left us speechless. With barely any costums on them, we could admire their sculptural bodies, perfectly lit according to the mood and theme of the dance.

In the other three dances: Portal, Nosotros and Alrededor no hay nada, all dancers had their time and space to show "their best" in a series of solos and each one of them proved to be absolutely worthy of our respect and admiration. Carlos Acosta (the company's Artistic Director and Founder) can be very proud of his company and, indeed, his legacy.

By the way, Carlos will celebrate his 50th birthday this summer and will return to the Royal Opera House's stage once more, from 26-30 of July.