Covent Garden Opera, London, 2023
2023.07.28.
Birth of a unique picture – a meeting with Marianela Núñez
and Carlos Acosta
London ballet lovers celebrated Carlos Acosta for five consequtive nights in the Covent Garden Opera. He is considered by citics to be the heir of Rudeolf Nureyev, best dancer of the 20th century. The artist who is praised both as dancer and director returned to the Royal Opera House, the venue of his outstanding successes for a short time to enjoy the love readiated towards him by fans.
Acosta was born in Cuba in 1973 and finished his ballet school in the National Ballet Academy in Havanna. This was the place where strict discipline and educational work turn the teen-aged footbal fan to be a world star dancer. Having won several large international competitions including the most presigiousm the Prix de Lausenne in 1990 he became to be a member of major ballet companies to find his home as a member of the Royal Ballet in London. He finished his career as an active dancer here after twenty eight years in 2016. By that time he presented hinself practically in all major roles starting from Spartacus to Romeo. His last ballet on stage was Carmen coreographed by himself. He danced the major role together with his best friend Marianela Núñez. Núñez, born in Argentine is a world star as well, she has been elected four times. last time in 2022, by the ballet critics to be the best balerina in the world. Their ballet Carmen inspired my when we saw i ton DVD in 2022 to make a picture. I tried to catch with my picture the tense, the mood which was created on the stage by the dancers.
When the picture ws ready we sent its image to Carlos Acosta via email. He answered it quickly saying that would be glad to countersign it.
It is nor easy to organize a meeting with a world star but the London celebrations offerred a great opportunity. Finaly we received an invitation from the Acosta team to the third night of the series and after the ballett he meeting happenned backstage. The two stars, the two friend signed my picture titled Carme á lá Acosta so this picture became to be most probably to be the only art piece in the world which is signed not only by the author but the modell sas well.
We took presents to the meeting too. I handed over to Marianela Núñez my picture Swan Lake which decorated the reception room of the Hungarian Embassy in London for four months prior to this meeting. Carlos Acosta, who is very proud of his Cuban origin received a picture titled Children’s Drawings from Cuba made entirely of stamps issued in Cuba. The received the pictures with joyful surprise and told that they did not know that it was possibly to make collage or montage by using stamps. I explained them that my version for my style is MoCoMo saying that I make college, montage and also mosaics.
All five recitals of this serie consisted of ten ballet pieces danced by Acosta’s friends and collegues. Dancers came from Acosta Danza, a company founded by Acosta himself in 2016, from the Birmingham Royal Ballet whos directir is Carlso Acosta and also from the London Royal Ballet. Acosta himself occurred four time with an age-defying energy and three times Marianela Núñez was his partner. his was, however the first night when then they danced together a bedroom pas-de-deux coreographed to Jules Massenet’s music Manon. The ten pieces presented this evening covered practically the whole ballet history starting from Petipa through Balanchine and Fokine ending with the famous British coreographer Kenneth MacMillan.
You can view several pictures made on the event here:
