Carlos Acosta brings the streets of Havana to ‘The Nutcracker’ with new take on holiday ballet

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Carlos Acosta, the Cuban-born ballet star, has danced “The Nutcracker” countless times in his glittering career. Now he’s giving the ballet a twist by putting the culture and music of his homeland at the heart of the holiday classic. Acosta is choreographing and directing his new show, “Nutcracker in Havana,” which reimagines the traditional story by setting it in Cuba and fusing classical ballet with the street dances of Havana. It will be set to a new version of Tchaikovsky’s familiar score, mixed with Latin music. The show is set to tour U.K. cities from November. It will be performed by some 20 dancers from the Havana-based dance company Acosta founded in 2016.