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Birmingham Royal Ballet’s new production of the classic Don Quixote will put a smile on faces and bring a touch of summer sunshine promises Company director Carlos Acosta. Here he tells us a bit more of why it's must-see ballet classic in an interview with Diane Parkes.
The show, which will be touring theatres in February/March 2022 is a firm favourite of Carlos’s and he is convinced it will also be hugely popular with audiences. Created by one of history’s most renowned choreographers Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus, it was premiered in 1869 and has been a key part of the world ballet repertoire ever since.
“Don Quixote is the best ballet to attend if you are not a ballet connoisseur,” Carlos says. “If you don’t know anything about ballet this is a great chance to learn something about it by watching Don Quixote. It appeals to family audiences, it is great for children because the story is easy to follow.
“It’s very sunny and people will laugh a lot. The world of ballet is so full of tragedies, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet etcetera, they are all tragedies but in Don Quixote nobody dies, it’s a happy tale.
The ballet is based on Spain’s most famous novel – Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote which follows the adventures of the knight Don Quixote and his trusty servant Sancho Panza. The ballet focuses on one of the tales in the book – that of the young lovers Kitri and Basilio whose hopes to marry risk being thwarted by Kitri’s father who has other plans. But with Don Quixote a firm believer in true love, maybe he can help the young couple find happiness.
For Carlos, Don Quixote has always been a special work. He performed an excerpt from the ballet to win the Gold Medal at the prestigious Prix de Lausanne at the age of 16. Success at the international dance competition catapulted the Cuban teenager onto the world stage, launching a career which saw him dance in theatres across the globe.
“The ballet is very exotic, it provides escapism into this amazing world of colour and the music has an amazing Spanish flavour. When it’s raining and cold then you want to come and see Don Quixote because it’s a sunshine ballet. It’s a great show - when you’ve seen it, you leave on a high.”
