The bittersweet story of a Cuban ballet dancer's rise to
international fame.Born in 1973 in a suburb of Havana, Acosta
aspired to become a soccer star. His dream ended at age nine when
his father Pedro, a stern disciplinarian, forced him to enroll in
ballet school. An Afro-Cuban truck driver whose relationship with
Acosta's fair-skinned mother had scandalized her family, as a youth
Pedro had been ejected from a whites-only cinema while watching a
silent film about ballet. In a debut memoir noteworthy for its
candor, energy and colorful sketches of life in Cuba, Acosta
depicts the grueling world of ballet against the backdrop of the
challenges he confronted in a country undergoing major upheaval
during the 1990s. Triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union and
resultant loss of economic aid, the era known in Cuba as the
"Special Period" gave rise to massive food and gasoline shortages,
daily power outages and a national despair that prompted thousands
to flee the country on rough-hewn rafts. The winner at age 16 of a
prestigious international ballet competition in Switzerland, Acosta
was permitted by the Cuban government to perform as a guest artist
with numerous dance companies, including the Houston Ballet. He
writes poignantly that his elation about his career was deflated
each time he boarded a plane and left his struggling family.
Acosta's chronicle of his efforts to integrate his success as a
black ballet dancer with his complex feelings about his country and
ambivalence about a profession he didn't choose makes a lively,
provocative read. Now based in London, he has been celebrated in
recent years as the choreographer and lead dancer of Tocororo, a
ballet inspired by the pain and passion of his upbringing in Cuba.A
fresh, authentic account of art, adversity and family. (Kirkus
Reviews)
The rags-to-riches story of one of the world’s greatest dancers,
from his difficult beginnings living in poverty in the backstreets
of Cuba to his astronomical rise to international stardom. In 1980,
Carlos Acosta was just another Cuban kid of humble origins, the
youngest son in a poor family named after the planter who had owned
his great-great-grandfather. With few options and an independent
spirit, Carlos spent his days on the streets, dreaming of a career
in football. But even at a young age, Carlos had extraordinary
talent. At nine, he was skipping school to win break-dancing
competitions as the youngest member of a street-gang for whom dance
contests were only a step away from violence. When Carlos’s
father enrolled him in ballet school, he hoped not only to nuture
his son’s talent, but also to curb his wildness. Years of
loneliness, conflict and crippling physical effort followed, but
today the Havana street-kid is an international star. This magical
memoir is about more than Carlos’s rise to stardom, however. It
is the story of a childhood where food is scarce but love is
abundant, where the soul of Cuba comes alive to influence a
dancer’s art. It is also about a man forced to leave behind his
homeland and loved ones for a life of self-discipline, displacement
and brutal physical hardship. Carlos Acosta makes dance look
effortless, but the grace, strength and charm have come a cost –
here, in his own words, is the story of the price he paid.
General
Imprint: |
HarperPerennial
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
July 2008 |
Authors: |
Carlos A. Costa
|
Dimensions: |
197 x 127 x 22mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
317 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-00-725078-3 |
Categories: |
Books >
Arts & Architecture >
General
|
LSN: |
0-00-725078-9 |
Barcode: |
9780007250783 |
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Review This Product
Thu, 7 Jul 2022 | Review
by: Maryke S.
I am sure the book is good, I haven’t read it yet, but just a word of warning that this is the same book that was later published under the title ‘Yuli’.
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