Carlos Acosta’s brand-new production Nutcracker in Havana explodes onto its debut UK tour, featuring new choreography by Carlos Acosta CBE performed by more than 20 dancers from his Cuban company, Acosta Danza.
Set to an exuberant Cuban newly-commissioned version of the magnificent Tchaikovsky score, arranged by Cuban composer Pepe Gavilondo, the timeless story is brought to life with ballet at its core, enriched with Acosta Danza’s unique style and with Cuban dance traditions beautifully woven throughout the much-loved and joyful family tale.
Join Clara in her humble home in Havana, getting ready to celebrate Christmas with her family. The beer cans are on the tree and Cuba is suitably hot. When Clara is gifted a Nutcracker doll she embarks on the journey of a lifetime, to defeat the Rat King and travel into the world of the Sugar Plum Fairy accompanied by her Nutcracker Prince.
With spectacular video projection and set design by Nina Dunn (9to5 Musical, Bonnie and Clyde, BRB’s Don Quixote), Cuba collides with the Land of Sweets, bringing snow to Havana. With lighting by Andrew Exeter (Oti Mabuse: I Am Here, The Full Monty UK Tour, Johannes Radebe: House of JoJo) and costumes by Angelo Alberto (costume designer for Goyo Montero’s ‘Imponderable’ and Raul Reinoso’s ‘Satori’ with Acosta Danza) Nutcracker in Havana is a visually stunning spectacular treat for all.
For dance fans around the globe, Carlos is an international superstar of the classical ballet world. Born in Havana and trained at the National School of Ballet in Cuba, he went on to dance professionally with the world’s most prestigious companies, with London’s Royal Ballet becoming his home. Having tackled huge titles throughout his career, from Carmen to Don Quixote, Nutcracker in Havana is an opportunity for Acosta to fuse this festive treat with a little Havana heat.
“Welcome to my Nutcracker in Havana. I am so excited to be bringing this new production to life. Nutcracker is a ballet beloved by so many, it is a Winter tradition, not only for dance lovers but also for dancers. It is many dancers’ dream to perform the various roles of the Nutcracker and I am lucky to have done just that throughout my career.
“Nutcracker has always been a special show for me. My generation in Cuba grew up without the spirit of Christmas and with this show, I can combine the joy of the Nutcracker with the vibrant Havana culture. I cannot wait to take audiences from the humble settings of Clara’s home through to the beautiful dream sequences passing through the grand and vibrant Havana ballrooms of the 1940s and 50s.
“Infusing the colour, feel and vibrancy of Havana, where I grew up and started my career, with the tradition and beauty of Nutcracker is something I have wanted to do for a long time. With my Cuban company, Acosta Danza, I am proud to be revisiting another major ballet title following on from my Romeo & Juliet and Don Quixote. I am hugely proud to be bringing Acosta Danza to the Nutcracker, telling that story in a new and different way and letting audiences experience a little piece of what tradition is for me.”
Carlos Acosta, Director and Choreographer
Photography features original cast
credit: Johan Persson
To be announced
Carlos Acosta
Director and Choreographer
Born in Havana in 1973, Carlos Acosta trained at The National Ballet School of Havana in Cuba. After winning a succession of awards, including 1990’s Prix De Lausanne, Carlos went on to dance professionally with the world’s most prestigious companies, with London’s Royal Ballet becoming his home. Carlos retired from Classical ballet in 2016, after 28 years, having performed almost every classical role from Spartacus to Romeo. Carlos created many award-winning shows throughout his ballet career including Tocororo, Cuban Fable, and ‘Carlos Acosta and Friends of the Royal Ballet’. He also choreographed the Royal Ballet Productions of Don Quixote and Carmen, plus the latest Guys and Dolls production for the West End. Carlos’s extraordinary contribution to dance continues to this day and was recognised in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in 2014 when he was awarded a CBE. In 2018 Carlos received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award from The Royal Academy of Dance in recognition of his standing as one of the most influential figures in Dance today. His athleticism, the sheer joy of dancing as well as his tremendous ability to convey emotion, inspired a generation of dancers across the globe.
Nina Dunn for PixelLux
Set and Video Designer
Nina is an award-winning designer who has created work for a wide range of shows internationally.
Recent Designs Include: Don Quixote and The Nutcracker, Birmingham Royal Ballet (video design); Lazuli Sky (scenography co-design with Samuel Wyer and video design); The Seven Deadly Sins and Bluebeard’s Castle, Teatro Colón, Argentina (scenography co-design with Samuel Wyer), The Damned United, Red Ladder Theatre (set and video design).
Andrew Exeter
Lighting Designer
Set & Lighting: Oti Mabuse I Am Here – UK Tour (ROYO), Johannes Radebe Freedom, Freedom Unleashed & House of JoJo – UK Tour (ROYO), LIZZIE – UK Tour (Hope Mill Theatre), Police Cops & Oscar @ The Crown (ROYO), Millennials (The Other Palace) & The Bodyguard Musical (Ljubljana Festival Theatre)
Lighting Design: The Way Old Friends Do, Directed by Mark Gatiss – West End & UK Tour (Birmingham REP & James Seabright), Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker in Havana – Southbank & UK Tour (Norwich Theatre Royal), The Full Monty – UK Tour (Mark Goucher Productions), Bleak Expectations – West End (Anthology), Das Spongebob Musical – German International Tour (Show Slot), The Jungle Book, Bleak Expectations & Whistle Down The Wind (The Watermill), West Side Story – Ljubljana (Ljubljana Festival) & Pantomimes for Crossroads Pantomimes.
Set Design: The Creakers (Theatre Royal Plymouth & Southbank Centre London), Lady Chatterley’s Lover - Shaftesbury Theatre (West End) & Pinocchio (Michael Harrison for Crossroads Pantomimes).
Future Designs: A Christmas Carol – Lowry (Hope Mill Productions)The Little Mermaid – Theatre Royal Newcastle (Michael Harrison for Crossroads Pantomimes), Aladdin – Everyman Cheltenham (Mark Goucher Productions).
Angelo Alberto
Costume Designer
Fashion and costume designer Angelo Alberto was born in Curacao. After studying as a tailor at the Holtland College Technical School in Leiden, he studied Fashion design at the Utrecht University of the Arts until 1997. In 1998, Angelo Alberto completed a two-year assistantship for the haute couture collection of Edgar Vos Couture in Amsterdam. Since 2007 he’s worked as a costume designer creating costumes for Ballets like Sleeping Beauty, Romeo & Juliet, Sacre, Cinderella, Carmen, Don Quixote, Eugene Onegin, Othello, Giselle and Satori. Working with Choreographers like, Itzik Galili, Emily Molnar, Kevin O’day, Mauro Bigonzetti, Yaroslav Ivanenko, Goyo Montero, Amilcar Moret Gonzales, Raul Reinoso, to mention a few.
Pepe Gavilondo Peón
Composer/Arranger
José Víctor (Pepe) Gavilondo Peón is a Cuban composer, pianist, keyboard player, improviser, producer, music director and visual creator. His creative catalogue holds over a dozen works for film, twenty for dance and more than 25 contemporary music original pieces, some of which have been performed by famous musicians and ensembles. Since 2014 he has been the main keyboard player at Latin-Grammy-Award-winning band Sintesis.. He is also a Specialist in Classical Music at Havana´s contemporary arts venue, Fábrica de Arte Cubano. He has composed music for award-winning films, documentaries, and short films as well as for seven choreographed works of Acosta Danza.
Yasel Muñoz
Composer/Arranger
Yasel Muñoz is an emerging flutist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and producer base on Havana, Cuba. He is a member of the AHS (Asociación Hermanos Saíz) and ACDAM. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Flute and Ensemble Practices and a Bachelor’s degree in Musical Composition from the University of the Arts (ISA) in Havana. Yasel has led several projects with his music and has collaborated with a grand variety of artists. Including his albums “EIH-Studio Session”, “El Camino del Diamante” under the Colibrí label, in co-production with renowned producer Gloria Ochoa and “Oda al Plagio”.
Declan Matwij
Sound Designer
Declan is an established Sound and Video Designer based in the UK, specialising in Theatre and creative environments, such as festivals, TV, Theme Parks and Attractions.
Recent design credits include: Kisstory London (Festival), Uptown (Festival), Sleeping Beauty (Norwich Theatre), The Land of Might Have Been (Buxton International Festival), High Performance Live (UK Tour), Betty Blue Eyes (Musical, NNOS), Jack and The Beanstalk (Norwich Theatre). Declan is also a member of the Association of Sound Designers.
Jin Ho Kang
Wigs, Hair and Makeup Designer
Originally emanating from South Korea, Jin’s professional career has been based in London since graduating from the London College of Fashon in 2005. After a brief period in the West End, (Wig Master, Daddy Cool (2006/07) and Deputy Wig Master, The Sound of Music (2008)), he joined the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden as a technician in 2008, being promoted to assistant manager Wigs and Makeup in 2018, supervising all Royal Ballets productions. His experience is extensive, and he has worked on everything from classical (Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Manon, Onegin, Alice in Wonderland, Mayerling) to modern (including works by Wayne McGregor, Liam Scarlett, and Christopher Wealdon). In 2024, he supervised Carlos Acosta’s production of Carmen. Jin also lectures on wig-making at the University of Woo-Song, South Korea.
Tyler Forward
Associate Set and Video Designer
Tyler is a Lighting and Video Designer for Stage. He Graduated from Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2020.
As Designer: G (Royal Court Theatre), Dorian The Musical (Southwark Playhouse), Sunday n Park with George (Mack Theatre), Redcliffe (Turbine Theatre), Diana The Musical concert (London’s Eventim Apollo), Trompe L’Oiel (The Other Palace), Loserville (Blackheath Halls), Our House (The Albany), Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City Exhibition (180 The Strand), No Man’s Island (The Big House Company), Silence (Donmar Warehouse & Tara Theatre), Future Shock (180 The Strand), Roles We’ll Never Play (Apollo Theatre), Thoroughly Modern Millie (The Electric Theatre), Nor Woman Neither (Tristan Bates Theatre), Macbeth
(Vanbrugh Theatre), Close Quarter (John Gielgud Theatre), Stoning Mary (George Bernard Shaw Theatre).
As Associate Designer: Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker (UK TOUR), Burlesque The Musical (UK Premiere), Umm Kulthum & The Golden Era (Bahrain National Theatre), Once The Musical Concert (China Tour), Kenneth Branagh’s King Lear (Wyndham Theatre), The House With Chicken Legs (UK tour), The Trials (Marlowe Theatre), Spongebob The Musical (UK Tour).
Neil Kelso
Magic Consultant
Neil Kelso is a writer, director, and consultant specialising in magic, mystery, and making the invisible visible. A member of both the prestigious Magic Circle and Mensa, Neil trained at circus school in Belgium and has performed worldwide, from the London Palladium to luxury cruise ships and the Orient Express. His televised performances in the UK and USA have reached over 600 million viewers, and he has shared his expertise at UNESCO in Paris and the Royal Institution of Great Britain.
Magic Consultancy Credits Include: Magical Honey (Sanskruti Dance Company), PLUE (Joe Garbett & Eli Lewis), Dogs of Europe (Belarus Free Theatre / Barbican), Magic Goes Wrong (Mischief Theatre), Fanny and Alexander (Old Vic), These Trees are Made of Blood (Southwark Playhouse / Arcola), Safety Goggles Required (Greg Foot), Dr Dee’s Curiosity Shop (Wild Rumpus), Wonder (Ben Hart), Bagdad Cafe (Wise Children / Old Vic), Invisible Me (House of Stray Cats), Cinderella (Theatre Royal Winchester), Dynamo: Beyond Belief (Sky One).