0:00:02 > 0:00:07MUSIC: Habanera from Carmen
0:00:09 > 0:00:12POLITICAL SPEECH IN SPANISH
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Nearly 60 years after the Cuban revolution,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25change, it seems, is in the air.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Today, the United States of America is changing its relationship
0:00:28 > 0:00:30with the people of Cuba.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35In the most significant changes in our policy in more than 50 years,
0:00:35 > 0:00:39we will begin to normalise relations between our two countries.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44No-one's sure what the future holds,
0:00:44 > 0:00:46but here, on the outskirts of Havana...
0:00:48 > 0:00:52..ballet superstar Carlos Acosta is hoping to transform
0:00:52 > 0:00:57an abandoned dream of the revolution's founding fathers.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02You know, when you see this masterpiece,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05you broadly understand how passionate I feel about this place.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07I mean, it's not difficult to see.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10No, it's not difficult. It is an amazing structure.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14It's unbelievable, you know. I mean, and it's like, when I went around
0:01:14 > 0:01:17and I knew I wanted to have a base for my new company
0:01:17 > 0:01:20and get ready for the transition after dance,
0:01:20 > 0:01:24I came here, I saw that this wonderful national monument.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26It was like this, in decay,
0:01:26 > 0:01:31and then I decided, you know, to get all my efforts to save this place.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36They had an idea to create a city of art.
0:01:36 > 0:01:37This is Fidel's idea?
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Fidel and Che Guevara's idea, that's right,
0:01:40 > 0:01:45to create the most amazing five schools of art in the world,
0:01:45 > 0:01:47and so there was a ballet school,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51this originally was intended to be the ballet school.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Over there, you see over there? That's the music school.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58Over here, it's the contemporary dance school,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02then the plastic arts school and the drama school.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Those were the five schools of the vision that they set out to do.
0:02:06 > 0:02:13So, at the very beginning of the revolution, Fidel has this vision?
0:02:13 > 0:02:16That's right. This is the zone before the revolution,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20the Beverly Hills of the nation, you know, huge mansions,
0:02:20 > 0:02:27all this was like a golf club, a golf...a golf grounds.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31And so before he actually demolished the golf course,
0:02:31 > 0:02:33- they thought that...- They played golf?
0:02:33 > 0:02:35..they'd play golf for the last time.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44These are beautiful, these Catalan curves are lovely.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Imagine, somebody would give you the programme, the Royal Ballet,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51say, "Come on, please, over here..."
0:02:51 > 0:02:55- Well, take me to the auditorium. - That's right, that's right.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58MUSIC: Le Corsaire
0:03:13 > 0:03:16APPLAUSE
0:03:22 > 0:03:25OK, so this is where the Royal Ballet is going to come.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30- Yes.- OK? They're going to be dancing in the mud with the mosquitoes.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32No, I'm just kidding.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34This is what it looks like now.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37It's not going to look like that always, of course.
0:03:37 > 0:03:43But as you see, right now, this has been created as an auditorium.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47The idea is to expand the capacity to 500-plus,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50which it's already a theatre with this capacity,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54by creating a mezzanine and so on. I mean, this is an idea.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56The proscenium arch will be there
0:03:56 > 0:03:59and then, over here, it will be the stage.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01So you can imagine, Carlos,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I take it you can imagine yourself dancing here.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08I can imagine instantly dancing differently.
0:04:08 > 0:04:14- I mean, if we hurry up, you know... - Before you're too old, you mean!
0:04:14 > 0:04:18That's right! That dream can be true, but we must hurry.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Breathing new life into Havana's forgotten ballet school
0:04:26 > 0:04:27is a bold ambition,
0:04:27 > 0:04:32but it would be somewhat foolish to bet against Carlos beating the odds.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35Carlos is someone
0:04:35 > 0:04:38that just decides to do something and finds a way to do it,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40very successfully every time,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44so he will be successful in whatever he wants to do.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Carlos wants to constantly
0:04:47 > 0:04:51learn more, express more, find out more. He's just...
0:04:51 > 0:04:53He's itchy!
0:04:53 > 0:04:58I think now it's really interesting retiring. I mean,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00I know from my own experience, you have to step away for a bit
0:05:00 > 0:05:03to breathe, but he doesn't want to step away.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06He wants to get right immersed in what he can give back and how
0:05:06 > 0:05:09he can get the next talent seen, and that's really exciting.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Are you aware that people think you're something,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35someone special in their lives?
0:05:35 > 0:05:40When I'm doing the book signing and I actually see somebody
0:05:40 > 0:05:45telling me how much pleasure I have brought into their life...
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Thank you for all the wonderful years.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50You've certainly brightened my life.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Thank you very much. Thank you.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57It's like, wow, that's very...
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Like, it is still surreal to me.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06But I know, you know, I'm aware,
0:06:06 > 0:06:10but in life you have to move on.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13What I don't want is that one day
0:06:13 > 0:06:17the same people come and say to me, "Why don't you retire?"
0:06:17 > 0:06:20You know? That's exactly what I try to avoid.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33After a glittering 17-year career with the Royal Ballet,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Carlos Acosta is soon to take his final bow.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42My wife keeps saying, "Why don't you bring your turban home?"
0:06:42 > 0:06:44THEY LAUGH
0:07:00 > 0:07:03APPLAUSE
0:07:03 > 0:07:04Little lover boy!
0:07:06 > 0:07:11What is surprising is that combination of natural talent
0:07:11 > 0:07:13but also fierce intelligence.
0:07:19 > 0:07:25When Carlos walks on the stage, he's there, he's so present
0:07:25 > 0:07:28and he's got such magnetism
0:07:28 > 0:07:31even before he's actually done a step.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48He gave the guys a different energy, a different hunger,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50and he also did that for the public.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58His physicality is incredible. He's very strong,
0:07:58 > 0:08:00very muscular. He has power.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16APPLAUSE
0:08:19 > 0:08:23My life has been in the 17 years getting up, have breakfast,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26go to the Royal Opera house, for 17 years.
0:08:26 > 0:08:27How you doing?
0:08:27 > 0:08:30- Good, how are you? - Good summer?- Yeah, very good.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33- Relaxed?- Yeah.- Yeah? Excellent.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35It is a family. It is a family.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39You think about it, I spend more time in this company than
0:08:39 > 0:08:43in my actual family, so how you leave your family behind, you know?
0:08:43 > 0:08:45No, you know something? Let's do it...
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Carlos is, in fact, masterminding his own farewell.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Let's learn, all of us, let's learn this.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56Choreographing, directing and dancing in a brand-new
0:08:56 > 0:09:01production of Carmen that will be his Royal Ballet swansong.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04That's right, so when you go, bam, bam...
0:09:04 > 0:09:08and bam, and la, ti, da, bam!
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Bam-bam uh-uh-uh ng-uh ng-uh...
0:09:12 > 0:09:14LAUGHTER
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Yeah?
0:09:16 > 0:09:18That's right, OK.
0:09:18 > 0:09:19One leg first, and good.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25HE HUMS SUITE 1 FROM CARMEN
0:09:32 > 0:09:35THEY LAUGH
0:09:35 > 0:09:37What made you choose Carmen
0:09:37 > 0:09:42for this big moment in your life, in your career?
0:09:42 > 0:09:46Carmen, well, it's a very powerful story. It's great music.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50MUSIC: Suite 1 from Carmen
0:09:50 > 0:09:54I thought that I could do something quite modern,
0:09:54 > 0:09:59striking and simple, but also that was emotion-based.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06And sort of create my own story.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12I need challenges, so it's almost like, I programme myself
0:10:12 > 0:10:14and challenges give me a purpose.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25This is where Carlos grew up, in the back streets of Havana.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29And his extraordinary journey from here to the world stage
0:10:29 > 0:10:31has been, perhaps, the biggest challenge of all.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Why was he called Yuli?
0:11:34 > 0:11:38My father, he's tough.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41He... He's tough!
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Was your father Pedro especially tough with Carlos?
0:12:10 > 0:12:11I grew up in Los Pinos,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14which is a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Havana.
0:12:14 > 0:12:19It was a working-class neighbourhood. Food was rationed.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24You would go, collect the food like everybody else. Very simple.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27By the time I open my eyes,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30my father and my mother were split up already
0:12:30 > 0:12:35but neither of them had anywhere else to go, so they had to share.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38- You know, nobody's going anywhere. - How many rooms were there?
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- One bedroom. - The one bedroom?- Just one bedroom.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45- How many of you?- We were five. It was very, very tight.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Nobody knew anything about ballet and dance and art in general.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51There were no books.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55- You were quite a mischievous boy, weren't you?- Mmm.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00My father was a truck driver, so he was quite tight with money,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02you know, he'd give you just enough.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Sometimes I wanted to go to the movies, to the cinema
0:13:05 > 0:13:09to watch some movies, but he would not give you any money,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13so I, from the very beginning, had a sense of independence.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17I knew that I had to make my own living in a way.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22One of the things was stealing whatever you could steal to sell it
0:13:22 > 0:13:26and, with that revenue, then I could buy myself a cinema ticket.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29- Revenue? Is that what you called it? - Well, you know...
0:13:33 > 0:13:40So this is your life? You're busy stealing, fighting, break dancing...
0:13:45 > 0:13:47So where did ballet come from?
0:13:47 > 0:13:53So, what happened was, the neighbour downstairs,
0:13:53 > 0:13:57she recommended a ballet school to my father.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01First, it was in the centre of the city, in Vedado, which is,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04like, wellbeing, it's the centre,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07and second, hot meals for free.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09- Right.- OK?
0:14:09 > 0:14:15And third, it's good to get me off from these gangs of breakers
0:14:15 > 0:14:17that will lead to no good eventually.
0:14:19 > 0:14:25So, my father said, "Breakdancing, ballet - why not?
0:14:25 > 0:14:27"You like dance? OK, I got news for you.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32"I'm going to put you in a ballet school." And that was that.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51I was praying not to get in
0:14:51 > 0:14:54because, I mean, ballet... first of all,
0:14:54 > 0:14:59to be a ballet dancer in my neighbourhood was very embarrassing.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Very embarrassing and, you know, they would call me Alicia Alonso -
0:15:03 > 0:15:06"There's Alicia" - and all this sort of thing.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11And the other thing with ballet, in the beginning,
0:15:11 > 0:15:13it could be very boring.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15I was a restless child.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19You compare the music of hip-hop or Michael Jackson music,
0:15:19 > 0:15:20it is very fast paced.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25In the ballet, in the beginning, you are put with this tedious
0:15:25 > 0:15:27ballet lesson.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Trying to show this... For a nine-year-old!
0:15:30 > 0:15:34I love it now, but for a nine-year-old it just sounded tedious.
0:15:34 > 0:15:40So many details to soak in, from the fingers to the elbows.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45How they... And then all this. It is too much information and too slow.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50And this was going on. This is a very, very alien world.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52It was not good.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54HE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:15:54 > 0:15:57BIRD TWEETS
0:15:57 > 0:15:59This is almost the first photograph of you.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02That is my first photograph. It was THE day of the photograph.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06I remember that very clearly. I forgot the day of the photograph.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11We were swimming in some...in La Finca,
0:16:11 > 0:16:13we were swimming in this place called La Poseta,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16and then my father just went to look for me over there
0:16:16 > 0:16:18and just dragged me all the way down.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22He make me put his tie. That was very embarrassing.
0:16:22 > 0:16:23Oh, that's his tie?
0:16:23 > 0:16:26That's his tie. I was saying, "Not the tie! Not the tie!"
0:16:26 > 0:16:28"You shut your mouth!"
0:16:28 > 0:16:32He put the tie on and just dragged me all the way to the photograph,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35and that was the day of the photograph.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40RHYTHMIC DRUMBEAT
0:16:41 > 0:16:45There used to be this forest at the back that has
0:16:45 > 0:16:46completely disappeared.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50It was a magical place with owls and all kinds of...
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Caverns. Natural caverns and pathways
0:16:54 > 0:16:56made by nature.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01It's a magical place. It was just really wonderful.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03RHYTHMIC DRUMBEAT
0:17:03 > 0:17:07THEY SING
0:17:09 > 0:17:12This magic environment that you were in was fuelled
0:17:12 > 0:17:17also by your father and his beliefs and he had this shrine, didn't he?
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Explain to me what Santeria is.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23It was a very basic religion, coming from a kind of voodoo.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27You do sacrifices, you do offering for the gods.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32It is also worship.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34RHYTHMIC DRUMBEAT AND SINGING
0:17:40 > 0:17:43There was a shrine in our home and sometimes we had nothing to eat,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46but the shrine has this wonderful buffet.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50It's supposed to be for the gods, though, not for you!
0:17:50 > 0:17:56Exactly. You see the ants, how they were eating the whole thing.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Sometimes I would get into trouble because I would eat the whole shrine.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03RHYTHMIC DRUMBEAT AND SINGING
0:18:05 > 0:18:08That was in most people's houses as well.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12In the '80s, religion was prohibited,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15so everybody tried to not say...
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- You have to be quite secretive. - You had to be quite secretive.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23It was a very controversial topic.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26THEY SING
0:18:32 > 0:18:35CHEERING
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Ironically, Pope Francis,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45the first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48received a rapturous welcome in Cuba earlier this year
0:18:48 > 0:18:52and has played a key role in the easing of relations with America.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58But for Carlos, it was his personal battle with ballet that
0:18:58 > 0:19:00dominated his young life.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16How long did it take you
0:19:16 > 0:19:20when you were having to go to ballet school in those early days?
0:19:20 > 0:19:23- What time did you get up in the morning?- At five.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28The routes from here were not straightforward.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31The buses were overcrowded. Sometimes you were hanging.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Sometimes there was one bus
0:19:33 > 0:19:37and it was so full that you couldn't get on.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Is that one of the reasons why you played truant quite a lot?
0:19:40 > 0:19:42I'd wake up at five.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48By the time I arrived and eat and go to bed,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52it was, like, ten o'clock at night.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54I was nine years old,
0:19:54 > 0:19:58so it was very hard to follow that routine every single day.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07They kicked me out from the school.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Even though I was talented,
0:20:09 > 0:20:13even though when I was there I show aptitude and so on,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17they decided that the best thing for me was to transfer me
0:20:17 > 0:20:20and send me to a different school in Pinar del Rio.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25CAR HORN BLARES
0:20:48 > 0:20:52# There's a story
0:20:53 > 0:20:58# The gypsies know is true
0:20:58 > 0:21:05# That when your love with golden earrings... #
0:21:05 > 0:21:08The Pinar del Rio school had a particularity
0:21:08 > 0:21:10that it was a boarding school.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14I became like an exile.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21For two years, I was there and then my parents would never come and see me.
0:22:23 > 0:22:29The worst time was on Wednesday, when every parents would come
0:22:29 > 0:22:33to bring hot food and meals and everything and show their support,
0:22:33 > 0:22:36I had to sit down and see that every single Wednesday.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41- That loneliness, was that really bad?- It was lonely, definitely.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46Loneliness. That kind of loneliness, it carries on and carries on.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06By the time I got to the Royal Ballet,
0:23:06 > 0:23:08Carlos was an established star.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13He always had this melancholy for Cuba
0:23:13 > 0:23:16and I always laughed at him because I know Cuba well.
0:23:16 > 0:23:22I thought it was a reinterpretation of the reality of Cuba
0:23:22 > 0:23:24that he had in his mind, but what can you do?
0:23:24 > 0:23:26It is your homeland and your family is there,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29of course you are going to have this nostalgia for it.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37There were lots of things about England,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40full stop, that were so different from what
0:23:40 > 0:23:44he had been brought up with and...
0:23:44 > 0:23:47He was also the only black principal in the company.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56When I joined the Royal Ballet, we only were two black people
0:23:56 > 0:23:58in a crowd of 80.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02When you are nine, ten, you don't think about these things.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05When you are 20, you say, "Hang on a minute."
0:24:08 > 0:24:11For me, I was on my own.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15On my own learning English, adapting to a different environment.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20It give me something that I think is the most important thing.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23It is, like, "No-one is going to do it for me."
0:24:26 > 0:24:30I had to do it for myself.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33You either fall making your choices or raise up.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40Maybe it took time for him to realise that he was really changing
0:24:40 > 0:24:43and maybe thought about classical ballet.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51BALLET TEACHER SPEAKS SPANISH
0:25:01 > 0:25:04When was the moment that you decided that ballet was for you,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07this was going to be something you cared about,
0:25:07 > 0:25:08you were passionate about?
0:25:08 > 0:25:12Well, the school in Pinar del Rio wanted to organise
0:25:12 > 0:25:15a trip to see the National Ballet of Cuba for the first time,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18so I was dragged along with everybody else.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23But I saw this guy called Alberto Terrero
0:25:23 > 0:25:26and he was jumping and the way he was built,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30tremendous muscular leg and everything, and the smile...
0:25:30 > 0:25:34This ballet was commanding the stage.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37When I was 13 years old, I said,
0:25:37 > 0:25:42"Wow. This is like sports people, Pele... This is a cool thing."
0:25:42 > 0:25:44It's not what I thought it was.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50I was in my mind saying, "Perhaps I'll really give a chance.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52"I can jump like that."
0:25:52 > 0:25:54So it began from that point. It was a turning point.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14Tell me, Maestra, do you remember your first encounter with Carlos
0:26:14 > 0:26:17when he came here, to the National Ballet School?
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Chery was my second mother.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17She was what I had, what I needed next to me.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20When she took me under her wing, she was my mother.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23She absolutely filled that gap.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25With nearly 3,000 students,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Ramona "Chery" De Saa
0:27:27 > 0:27:30presides over the largest ballet school in the world.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41This is an amazing place. It is all, much of it, thanks to you,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45so what is it that keeps the pulse of this place going?
0:28:45 > 0:28:50The Cuban school developed mainly from the Russian tradition,
0:28:50 > 0:28:53but then they were able to adapt it to the Cuban physiognomy
0:28:53 > 0:28:55and the Cuban nature.
0:28:55 > 0:29:00So it is a combination of really fantastic strong masculine
0:29:00 > 0:29:07technique, and passion and warmth and sense of humour and sexiness
0:29:07 > 0:29:09that is the Cuban nature.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13Those things combined makes explosive male dancers.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56What was special about Chery as a teacher?
0:29:56 > 0:29:58I think what was special about her -
0:29:58 > 0:30:02there are many things that made her special - but her commitment.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04Her passion was contagious.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08It is very, very important to teach...
0:30:08 > 0:30:12to translate that passion and that joy.
0:30:12 > 0:30:17And, to me, the happiest thing is that she would just say,
0:30:17 > 0:30:20"That... That's all right."
0:30:21 > 0:30:23That meant the world to me.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00Such was Ramona's belief in Carlos's ability,
0:31:00 > 0:31:03she entered him into the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07a revered international ballet competition that aims to find
0:31:07 > 0:31:09the best young dancers in the world.
0:31:28 > 0:31:34In Lausanne, it was... I mean, the good thing is that, to me,
0:31:34 > 0:31:36Chery's words were the Bible for me,
0:31:36 > 0:31:40and if she said that I could do something good, it meant...
0:31:40 > 0:31:43If Chery said that, it's because I can...
0:31:43 > 0:31:48It was that blindly. You just wanted to do it make her proud.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52And so, when I passed into the finals,
0:31:52 > 0:31:55I knew - this is it.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26APPLAUSE
0:32:33 > 0:32:35- PRESENTER:- Acosta, Carlos, au Cuba.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Do you still think you have the palette of Havana in your head?
0:33:12 > 0:33:15You know, whether it's the cars or the buildings,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18the greens and yellows and the blues.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21That must be something, if you grow up with it,
0:33:21 > 0:33:25- you don't get that anywhere else, really.- Hmm.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28And this is why, um...perfect.
0:33:28 > 0:33:29Yeah.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31It's very grand, touristically,
0:33:31 > 0:33:35- and a lot of it decaying.- Yes.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38There is also beauty in that, somehow, you know?
0:33:38 > 0:33:43It's sad, but it could be very atmospheric,
0:33:43 > 0:33:47- it could be, almost, artistic.- Yeah.
0:33:49 > 0:33:54- It is scary, you know, how much work all this place needs.- Absolutely.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56It's like, "Wow. Where to begin?"
0:33:56 > 0:33:58- Where do you start? - Where do you start? Yeah.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01But it's got to start soon, or it'll all be...
0:34:01 > 0:34:03Every time there's a rainstorm,
0:34:03 > 0:34:09the buildings deteriorate and decay more and more, don't they?
0:34:10 > 0:34:12Yeah. There used to be a huge house here.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14All these places have collapsed...
0:34:14 > 0:34:17wherever you see a hole, or something.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22They are all, like, treasured.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46A crucial step in Carlos's master plan for the future
0:34:46 > 0:34:49is to cast his new dance company
0:34:49 > 0:34:52and he's holding the first series of auditions
0:34:52 > 0:34:55for a thoroughly Cuban-flavoured adventure.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59I want to have a company that it will be a legacy.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03I want to work with the dancers and pass everything I can.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06I will bring choreographers to work for this company.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08I will choreograph myself
0:35:08 > 0:35:11when I have a cool idea that I think is worth it.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16It's not about me and my ego, it's about that the company lasts.
0:35:18 > 0:35:23I think every dancer that has come here comes with the hope
0:35:23 > 0:35:25to be chosen.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29If he is so good, his company has to be also good.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43What Carlos is trying to do is to create a new company,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46a small company, where he can continue to choreograph
0:35:46 > 0:35:50and obviously direct it, that he can also take on tour around the world.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55So, all of these are Cuban dancers?
0:35:55 > 0:35:58- They are all Cuban dancers. - Amazing.- All of them, yeah.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00From different backgrounds of dance,
0:36:00 > 0:36:04some are contemporary, some are classical-based...
0:36:08 > 0:36:10How much preparation have they had for this,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13in terms of what they're going to have to do?
0:36:13 > 0:36:16It is a class, it is a standard classical ballet class,
0:36:16 > 0:36:19and a standard contemporary class,
0:36:19 > 0:36:21and they all have to pass a test.
0:36:21 > 0:36:28And then you try to see how they move, the quality of movement,
0:36:28 > 0:36:30whether they are musical or not,
0:36:30 > 0:36:34and what they do with their exercise combination,
0:36:34 > 0:36:38the imprint that they managed to put into the exercise.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58DRUMS PLAY
0:37:00 > 0:37:06And how much is it to do with personality as well as movement?
0:37:06 > 0:37:10I mean, I am not looking for Baryshnikov, you know?
0:37:10 > 0:37:14I am looking for a subject that I can work with
0:37:14 > 0:37:18and turn it into one, you know, so they are all very young,
0:37:18 > 0:37:21you know, and so I am looking for potential.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25And then, on top of that potential, we will direct them.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28Eventually, personality,
0:37:28 > 0:37:32it plays a big, big role,
0:37:32 > 0:37:36because it is a performance, performance and personality,
0:37:36 > 0:37:38but you can work on that, as well.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH
0:37:48 > 0:37:52So, how long before they get to know whether you love them or not?
0:37:52 > 0:37:54Now we selected a few,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56so that they could come...
0:37:56 > 0:37:59Those who have passed this round,
0:37:59 > 0:38:05we come back again with some more groups, and then we'll see.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13But it is a process, so...
0:38:31 > 0:38:34Wow, this is excellent.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36- These details.- Yeah.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39I mean, that's the red. That's quite a good...
0:38:39 > 0:38:42- Ignore all of that, but that would work well, wouldn't it?- Yeah.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46- I like that red very much.- There were some other drawings somewhere.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48The whole designing, what we are aiming for,
0:38:48 > 0:38:50is simplicity, but powerful.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54So, a lot of element of the Spanish for glory, for instance,
0:38:54 > 0:38:58and that reflects across the whole design
0:38:58 > 0:39:00but also into the music as well.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03- And so Carmen again? - Carmen, again, is here.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06What do you think? The red... The red...
0:39:06 > 0:39:08I think it's a combination of red and black.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10This kind of tone is great.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12The skin coming through...
0:39:12 > 0:39:16There is a circle in which she dances - that circle is red.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18You know? It is danger.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20Carmen is somebody who...
0:39:20 > 0:39:22She's always looking for trouble, you know,
0:39:22 > 0:39:27and seduction. This is her main motive.
0:39:27 > 0:39:34You're going to have a corset/dress that, in the fight,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37they're going to rip it off and, from that point,
0:39:37 > 0:39:41you get, like, into a corset, almost like you get in your underwear
0:39:41 > 0:39:44kind of stuff, and then you go to jail...in underwear!
0:39:44 > 0:39:46THEY LAUGH
0:39:46 > 0:39:47As you do!
0:39:47 > 0:39:49That's all that is.
0:39:49 > 0:39:56And then you've got, like, you know, um, two more changes after that.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00He's running away from the ballet cliche.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04Nobody has ever seen you like that and it's true, you know.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06I am going to look, literally, totally different.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09I'm thinking of my dad in Argentina going, in the cinema,
0:40:09 > 0:40:11"What happened to my daughter?!"
0:40:11 > 0:40:13I can see it! I can so see it!
0:40:13 > 0:40:17# Ba-ba-be, ba-bam, bam! #
0:40:17 > 0:40:20For this new production, Carlos is hotting up
0:40:20 > 0:40:25and honing in on the fatal love triangle between soldier Don Jose,
0:40:25 > 0:40:27flash young toreador Escamillo
0:40:27 > 0:40:30and, of course, the feisty Carmen.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34So they get stripped and then become like a corset.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38- And, for us, it is kind of jeans... - Also, a little underwear!
0:40:38 > 0:40:40A little corset.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43This is us. This is Don Jose.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47Military jacket, green, with a maroon whirl.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49He has a hat as well.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52And then Escamillo.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54The cool dude.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58So, we have buttons on the waistcoat...
0:40:58 > 0:41:04So, in the case of Escamillo, we will go more to a trendy look,
0:41:04 > 0:41:06sexy look...
0:41:06 > 0:41:09Not too cleavage. You're not playing Carmen, Carlos.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12LAUGHTER
0:41:12 > 0:41:15Next time. I'm still thinking about it.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17Never say never.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21But I really want the audience to recognise that this is fresh,
0:41:21 > 0:41:23this is the Royal Ballet now.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27To me, it is very important to bring these kind of new elements to dance.
0:41:32 > 0:41:37Carlos isn't the first Cuban ballet star to find fame abroad
0:41:37 > 0:41:39and return home with grand ambitions.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41WALTZ MUSIC PLAYS
0:41:49 > 0:41:52Meet Alicia Alonso,
0:41:52 > 0:41:56legendary prima ballerina who danced when almost blind.
0:41:56 > 0:42:01Alicia is the all-powerful matriarch of Cuba's national ballet company.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45And then, after the revolution, you got the support of Castro.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20So, what is it that defines the classical Cuban style?
0:43:29 > 0:43:31APPLAUSE
0:43:31 > 0:43:33Well, perhaps not exclusively.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16Despite Castro and the regime actively supporting
0:44:16 > 0:44:20ballet in Cuba, the flamboyance of the ballet school
0:44:20 > 0:44:23he first dreamt up with Che Guevara in the early '60s
0:44:23 > 0:44:26fell foul of an ideological shift
0:44:26 > 0:44:30towards Soviet-style rationalist architecture.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37So, this elegant ruin was never finished,
0:44:37 > 0:44:40and never functioned as a ballet school,
0:44:40 > 0:44:44something Carlos is now looking to put right.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47If I tell you the ambition that I have, I think it is
0:44:47 > 0:44:51a scary one because I am already fighting for this.
0:44:51 > 0:44:57My mission for here is a place that has many functions.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01We have the base for my new company,
0:45:01 > 0:45:05we have a theatre, which would allow us to produce shows,
0:45:05 > 0:45:06to bring foreign companies,
0:45:06 > 0:45:10so that we could become an artistic destination.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12That is one element.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15The most important element, is what I really would like to do,
0:45:15 > 0:45:21is to give everybody who has talent a chance to dance for free.
0:45:21 > 0:45:25I believe in free education. I am a subject of free education.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29Thanks to the free education is I am me, here, now, talking to you,
0:45:29 > 0:45:30and so I believe in that.
0:45:30 > 0:45:34And now that I am in a position, I want to give that back,
0:45:34 > 0:45:36but not just for Cuba alone.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39I really want anybody, you know, kids who have talent,
0:45:39 > 0:45:42who want to give it a shot, to let them know that there is a place,
0:45:42 > 0:45:45here in Havana, that it can launch
0:45:45 > 0:45:47their career if they really fight for it,
0:45:47 > 0:45:49and money is not going to be an issue.
0:45:49 > 0:45:53So we are trying to produce a kind of sustainable scheme here,
0:45:53 > 0:45:56with the theatre, with a pyramid of friends,
0:45:56 > 0:45:58like, I help this dream to come true.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04Swan Lake.
0:46:04 > 0:46:09Five years ago, people would have said this is a mad dream
0:46:09 > 0:46:11but, somehow or other, your timing is good, isn't it?
0:46:11 > 0:46:14I think this could be a moment.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19This opportunity, with Obama and Raul making things happen,
0:46:19 > 0:46:21I think is great.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23It gives a lot of people hope, you know,
0:46:23 > 0:46:25so that is what it is all about.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28And I think it is a time for Cuba to flourish.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30Cuba has a wealth of artists.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34You want singers? Rhythms? This is the place.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36Dancing? This is the place.
0:46:36 > 0:46:41But we need resources and that's what these things will bring.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45# Fiesta Cubana, Cubana, Cubana Cubana, Cubana
0:46:45 > 0:46:47# Cubana... #
0:46:47 > 0:46:51In the meantime, where to begin?
0:46:54 > 0:46:57Something a little more down to earth.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00# Chic chicco chi ca Chic chicco chi ca
0:47:00 > 0:47:01# Cubana
0:47:01 > 0:47:04# Chic chicco chi ca Chic chicco chi ca
0:47:04 > 0:47:05# Cubana
0:47:05 > 0:47:08# That's the time when Havana plays
0:47:08 > 0:47:10# When they dance maybe two, three days
0:47:10 > 0:47:12# Fiesta Cubana
0:47:12 > 0:47:14# Fiesta Cubana
0:47:14 > 0:47:16# The senoras are on the loose
0:47:16 > 0:47:19# The fiesta is their excuse Fiesta Cubana... #
0:47:19 > 0:47:24Temporarily, I've been given the chance to form my company here,
0:47:24 > 0:47:27to have a base, a company base here,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31while the main school is being refurbished,
0:47:31 > 0:47:36so this is where we are going to train and we are going to
0:47:36 > 0:47:39elaborate the repertoire and everything,
0:47:39 > 0:47:43so this is going to be our base for the time being.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47It is, as you see, it is what it is at the moment,
0:47:47 > 0:47:54but, yeah, it's a good space. It's really tall, the whole thing,
0:47:54 > 0:47:58so I think for the size of the company, this will be perfect.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01Let me take you around. Let me take you around.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12So, this is the other place.
0:48:12 > 0:48:13All that...
0:48:13 > 0:48:17All this needs to be re-adapted.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20So that would be another studio,
0:48:20 > 0:48:23and then, maybe, physiotherapy and so on.
0:48:23 > 0:48:29At the moment, I'm just trying to make things happen rapidly,
0:48:29 > 0:48:32make it happen, have a plan.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34We know we are going to start there
0:48:34 > 0:48:36and this has got to be finished here,
0:48:36 > 0:48:38and the floors are coming when,
0:48:38 > 0:48:42so they understand and everybody works towards a deadline,
0:48:42 > 0:48:45but when I fly to London, back to London again,
0:48:45 > 0:48:48you switch, one switch off,
0:48:48 > 0:48:53connect the other, and then Carmen and...you know.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55I've been living like this for a long time,
0:48:55 > 0:49:02so I think I've mastered that kind of switching on and off.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09Morning, company. Make your way to the front of the stalls...
0:49:12 > 0:49:15So they need to...
0:49:15 > 0:49:16It's quite clear. Many of them...
0:49:16 > 0:49:19So, I make it more towards the back.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22'Carlos is under huge pressure, I think,
0:49:22 > 0:49:26'to actually dance two roles, to choreographic it,
0:49:26 > 0:49:30'to have a huge say in the designs, the look, the music,
0:49:30 > 0:49:34'the live musicians. It's huge.'
0:49:39 > 0:49:41'It's particularly hard in this case cos he's on stage,
0:49:41 > 0:49:43'then he's off stage,
0:49:43 > 0:49:47'so finding the time to be objective is really, really tricky.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49'And the schedules are very fast.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52'We don't have very long to rehearse on stage.
0:49:52 > 0:49:54'It is a very, very quick turnaround,
0:49:54 > 0:49:57'so there's not much time to finesse everything.'
0:49:57 > 0:50:00THEY SING
0:50:03 > 0:50:08It is a big challenge to create a more theatrical piece,
0:50:08 > 0:50:11where I invoke the opera, the chorus...
0:50:11 > 0:50:13I sing it,
0:50:13 > 0:50:17so it breaks a little bit with the boundaries of dance.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25But of course, when you have 24 chorus members on the stage,
0:50:25 > 0:50:30you have another 40 dancers on stage, you've got crew
0:50:30 > 0:50:35and all that, it's like... There's no space to dance
0:50:35 > 0:50:40and so that is the problem that I actually wasn't anticipating.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46At the end, also, you also had to perform well,
0:50:46 > 0:50:49so it really is insane.
0:50:49 > 0:50:53I'm surprised you're not a complete neurotic mess.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55I am a neurotic mess!
0:51:00 > 0:51:03I mean, it's definitely a lot to take on,
0:51:03 > 0:51:06but I think he absolutely loves it and you can see how much
0:51:06 > 0:51:09he enjoys it, and it's almost like a drug.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12And the middle bit with the table...
0:51:12 > 0:51:14This is animal fear.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16It's talking, it's singing...
0:51:16 > 0:51:18You've made it even more difficult for yourself
0:51:18 > 0:51:22by playing the two parts, and on different, alternate nights
0:51:22 > 0:51:26you have to put yourself in the Don Jose part and then the other part.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29It's like go out with a bang, right?
0:51:30 > 0:51:32Well, you know, it's...
0:51:32 > 0:51:36Don Jose leads the ballet, but, you know,
0:51:36 > 0:51:38I cannot afford myself
0:51:38 > 0:51:41to not actually dance Escamillo,
0:51:41 > 0:51:44which is the fun character.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50He's the coolest guy in town.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53CHORUS SINGS
0:51:59 > 0:52:01Just stop very quickly.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04Stage left, your placing is brilliant, chorus and dancers.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07Stage right, we've a bit of a block.
0:52:07 > 0:52:15Carmen is about emotion, you know, and anger and passion is within.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17PIANO MUSIC PLAYS
0:52:19 > 0:52:21And not so much about the jumps.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29But when I had to do those jumps, wow.
0:52:33 > 0:52:38I know my body is screaming at me for doing these kind of steps.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41HE GROANS
0:52:41 > 0:52:45And the bottom line is that I don't need to do them any more, really.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47I have done them for many years.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50Coming on with the tables was once the light had come up on Matt.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54- That was the last time we did it. - That's what we're still doing...
0:52:54 > 0:52:56# Stars, they come and go
0:52:56 > 0:52:59# They come fast, they come slow
0:52:59 > 0:53:03# They go like the last light of the sun, all in a blaze
0:53:05 > 0:53:08# All you see is glory
0:53:10 > 0:53:15# But it gets lonely there when there's no-one there to share... #
0:53:15 > 0:53:18There's a vulnerability.
0:53:18 > 0:53:19He's like a little kid.
0:53:21 > 0:53:26Because you want to care for him and you want him to be happy.
0:53:27 > 0:53:31His personality is...is complicated.
0:53:31 > 0:53:36He has lots of layers and, somehow, all of that makes Carlos.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45As we come into the '90s, which was what we call the special period,
0:53:45 > 0:53:48Cuba was completely isolated.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52That was the big exodus, where the situation was so bad here,
0:53:52 > 0:53:57everybody was fleeing in rafts wherever they could get.
0:53:59 > 0:54:04A lot of people died on the sea. I mean, it was just devastating.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06Nevertheless, in the middle of all that,
0:54:06 > 0:54:10I was probably the one guy who wanted to go back, you know?
0:54:10 > 0:54:12Because I miss it.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16My father, he...
0:54:16 > 0:54:21He said, "The only way forward is for you to commit yourself to dance.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24"You forget about us, you forget about everybody.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26"You have to dance.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30"You not only have to dance for you, you have to dance for us,
0:54:30 > 0:54:32"because you owe it to us as well,
0:54:32 > 0:54:36"because we also have to have the peace of mind that knowing that
0:54:36 > 0:54:39"somebody of ours is out there, you know, living the life."
0:54:41 > 0:54:45Tough though it was accepting his father's stern stance,
0:54:45 > 0:54:50Carlos's success overseas meant the world to his family back in Cuba.
0:54:52 > 0:54:58My grandad, he was the most proud person in the family,
0:54:58 > 0:55:01and the same of my grandma.
0:55:03 > 0:55:08I remember, she was going out to the street,
0:55:08 > 0:55:12just going and saying, "Oh, because my son is Carlos Acosta."
0:55:12 > 0:55:16And you say, "Yeah, but that person doesn't need to know that.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18"They don't care!"
0:55:20 > 0:55:24You know, although my father passed away and my mother passed away,
0:55:24 > 0:55:29I am very, very content that they could see the glory
0:55:29 > 0:55:31and they could actually...
0:55:31 > 0:55:36You know, I would be able to provide them with a better life,
0:55:36 > 0:55:40with a better living, and this is something that is wonderful.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44# The latest story that I know
0:55:44 > 0:55:48# Is the one that I'm supposed to go out with
0:55:48 > 0:55:51# And the latest story that I know
0:55:51 > 0:55:54# Is the one that I'm supposed to go out with... #
0:55:54 > 0:55:57It's 17 years at the Royal Opera House.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00In the early years, you had to find your way through it.
0:56:00 > 0:56:05How do you feel now, looking back, close to the end of a chapter?
0:56:05 > 0:56:08I'm feeling really weird at the moment, you know,
0:56:08 > 0:56:12after the 17 years, to be honest, because I have been
0:56:12 > 0:56:16so busy that I haven't actually landed.
0:56:18 > 0:56:22It is... It is a big thing, it is your whole lifestyle.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26A bit stiff today.
0:56:26 > 0:56:27Tense.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34What it is is the anticipation of performing, you know?
0:56:34 > 0:56:36But it goes... You know, sometimes...
0:56:36 > 0:56:40Normally, the opening night is very nerve...
0:56:40 > 0:56:43and then you relax a bit once you crack the rise, you know?
0:56:46 > 0:56:50But tonight is...is special.
0:56:50 > 0:56:56I tried to take it as just another show cos...
0:56:58 > 0:57:03We have, really, not very pleasant consequences
0:57:03 > 0:57:06if I don't think that way.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23Coming to terms that, you know, you're not going to be Romeo
0:57:23 > 0:57:27any more, you're not going to be all these roles any more, you know?
0:57:27 > 0:57:29It's a reason for grieving.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35I always say there are a lot of great dancers, good dancers,
0:57:35 > 0:57:37and they are artists. And, to me, you know,
0:57:37 > 0:57:40I want to turn myself into an artist,
0:57:40 > 0:57:44somebody who experiences the roles deeply.
0:57:51 > 0:57:57Now, I am going to carry on dancing, you know, more contemporary.
0:57:57 > 0:58:03Hopefully I've managed to bring my artistry to this new chapter.
0:58:05 > 0:58:07To me, it is all about evolution.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17Ladies and gentlemen of the Royal Ballet,
0:58:17 > 0:58:19this is you beginners' call, please. Your beginners' call.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28MUSIC STARTS
1:00:51 > 1:00:53APPLAUSE
1:00:56 > 1:00:59CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1:01:22 > 1:01:25CHEERING INTENSIFIES
1:01:41 > 1:01:45So, you're looking forward to the future as a kind of adventure?
1:01:45 > 1:01:48There are so many things about life that
1:01:48 > 1:01:50I am looking forward to experiencing
1:01:50 > 1:01:53because I had so many choices, and it all comes down to what I really
1:01:53 > 1:01:57want or what I really can handle, you know,
1:01:57 > 1:01:59because I'm also a father.
1:01:59 > 1:02:02CHEERING CONTINUES
1:02:25 > 1:02:28Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Carlos...
1:02:29 > 1:02:31..this is a very special moment...
1:02:31 > 1:02:35for us to celebrate your extraordinary career,
1:02:35 > 1:02:37here at the Royal Ballet.
1:02:37 > 1:02:43Over the past 17 years, you have given so many virtuoso performances
1:02:43 > 1:02:49with your vitality, your charisma, and you have inspired us all.
1:02:49 > 1:02:51CHEERING
1:03:03 > 1:03:07And you have been a trailblazer for male dancers, and you have
1:03:07 > 1:03:12been an inspiration to so many young men, who are probably on the stage
1:03:12 > 1:03:16now because of you, and so we thank you with all our hearts for that.
1:03:19 > 1:03:21CHEERING
1:03:29 > 1:03:31Well...
1:03:32 > 1:03:37..the reality is that to make... to build a career like that,
1:03:37 > 1:03:41you need the help of the audience, of course,
1:03:41 > 1:03:47the help of these wonderful people that you have got here.
1:03:47 > 1:03:49They are like a family...
1:03:49 > 1:03:51to me,
1:03:51 > 1:03:55the help of all the wonderful people who are inside right now,
1:03:55 > 1:03:58perhaps hiding in the wings, which are the crew members,
1:03:58 > 1:04:01and all the lot of wonderful people in the offices
1:04:01 > 1:04:05and in the physiotherapy room, so...
1:04:05 > 1:04:07LAUGHTER
1:04:07 > 1:04:12As you can see, it is a collective art. Particularly...
1:04:12 > 1:04:15I'd like to thank my ballerinas, ladies and gentlemen.
1:04:15 > 1:04:19They have been wonderful and gave me really wonderful
1:04:19 > 1:04:23memories on this stage that I will never forget, so they...
1:04:23 > 1:04:26APPLAUSE
1:04:28 > 1:04:31And very important, my wife Charlotte,
1:04:31 > 1:04:35who gave me so much love and support every single day at home,
1:04:35 > 1:04:39you know, so that I could come here and perform for you,
1:04:39 > 1:04:42so let's hear a big...
1:04:49 > 1:04:52Look at that, look at that. Isn't she beautiful?
1:04:52 > 1:04:54Unbelievable.
1:04:54 > 1:04:57And I want to say something to the new generation of dancers, actually.
1:04:57 > 1:04:58My advice for you is...
1:05:00 > 1:05:03..allow yourself the freedom to commit mistakes.
1:05:03 > 1:05:05There is no such a thing as failure
1:05:05 > 1:05:09because life is an eternal learning process.
1:05:09 > 1:05:14You are always learning, so be curious and enjoy, enjoy,
1:05:14 > 1:05:16enjoy, because one day you blink
1:05:16 > 1:05:21and you realise that 17 years have gone by and it is over,
1:05:21 > 1:05:24and I know that too well.
1:05:24 > 1:05:26So thank you very much.
1:05:26 > 1:05:29CHEERING AND WHISTLING
1:06:19 > 1:06:21So, this is where you, what, lie down and do nothing?
1:06:21 > 1:06:25That's it. They go, "Thank you for saving the school.
1:06:25 > 1:06:28"Now I am just going to lie down and do nothing."