Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story opens in cinemas: A celebration of his dance career in pictures

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Zoe Paskett9 April 2019

The story of Carlos Acosta’s journey from Havana to becoming one of history’s greatest dancers has been crying out for a film — and now we’ve got one.

Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story comes to cinemas on April 12. Interspersed with real footage of the dancer, we learn the story of Acosta’s first reluctant steps into ballet. The youngest of 11 children in an impoverished family, his father took a firm hand in making him take ballet classes as a way to stay out of trouble.

Despite an unenthusiastic start, Acosta trained at the Cuban National Ballet School before joining the English National Ballet and eventually the Royal Ballet, where he was principal dancer for 17 years. He left to set up his own company Acosta Danza in Cuba, and is now director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

From Romeo to Don Quixote, he has taken on the most coveted roles choreographed for male dancers and become revered for his powerful leaps and graceful form.

To mark the film’s release, we’ve drawn together some pictures from across the dancer’s remarkable career.

YULI Official Trailer (2018)