Dance Consortium Presents Acosta Danza's EVOLUTION UK Tour Spring 2020

Presented by Dance Consortium, critically acclaimed Cuban dance company Acosta Danza returns to the UK with new spring 2020 tour dates for EVOLUTION. The 2020 tour commences at Mayflower Theatre in Southampton on 3 March with subsequent performances in Cardiff, Inverness, Bradford, Brighton, Canterbury, Salford, Plymouth and Newcastle, and concludes in Nottingham on 11 April.

The 2020 spring performances follow Acosta Danza's Evolution autumn 2019 tour to Norwich Theatre Royal, Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, Birmingham Hippodrome and Sadler's Wells, London.

The tour is an exciting addition to Dance Consortium's 2019 - 2020 performance schedule and continues the organisation's unparalleled commitment to bringing the best international contemporary dance to audiences across the UK. The tour marks Dance Consortium's 46th tour since 2000.

As Cuba opened up to the world, Carlos Acosta launched Acosta Danza in Havana after retiring from The Royal Ballet in 2015. Under his artistic directorship, the company pays tribute to the vibrancy of Cuban culture and features a mixture of the finest ballet and contemporary dancers Cuba has to offer.

Acosta Danza's Evolution bill includes Faun by twice Olivier award-winning Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and Christopher Bruce's Rooster, a celebration of the 1960s and '70s in which Carlos Acosta will make a guest appearance. Completing the programme is Paysage, Soudain, la nuit by visionary Swedish choreographer Pontus Lidberg.

Christopher Bruce is one of Britain's leading choreographers and was appointed a CBE in 1998 for a lifetime's service to dance. Bruce's humorous and energetic Rooster is set to songs recorded by The Rolling Stones: Little Red Rooster; Lady Jane; Not Fade Away; Paint it Black; Ruby Tuesday; Play With Fire; and Sympathy for the Devil. It was originally created for Ballet du Grand Theatre de Geneve in 1991 and received its British premiere performed by London Contemporary Dance Theatre in 1992. Acosta Danza first performed Rooster in Cuba in February 2018.

Flemish-Moroccan Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui is one of the most sought after contemporary choreographers in the world and is known for his dance collaborations with other cultures and styles including award-winning Sutra (with monks from the Shaolin Temple), m¡longa (with tango dancers from Argentina), Dunas (with a flamenco dancer) and zero degrees (with kathak dancer Akram Khan). He has been the artistic director at the Royal Ballet of Flanders since 2015 and choreographed Beyonce's Grammys performance in 2017.

Cherkaoui's Faun was created in 2009 and first premiered at Sadler's Wells. Inspired by Vaslav Nijinsky's L'après midi d'un faune it was originally commissioned by Sadler's Wells for its production In the Spirit of Diaghilev celebrating the centenary of the founding of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.Faun is set to Debussy's original score with additional music by Nitin Sawhney and costumes from Hussein Chalayan.

As part of the first British royal visit to Cuba in March 2019, Acosta and the dancers of Acosta Danza welcomed the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to their Havana studios where they presented a variety of works including part of the duet from Faun.

Pontus Lidberg is as a creative and visionary artist well known for bringing dance and film together. Lidberg approaches Cuban culture in Paysage, Soudain la nuit, through rumba, a genre of traditional Cuban music with African roots. Taking as a starting point the score by acclaimed Cuban composer Leo Brouwer, Lidberg has created a celebration of youth between twilight and dawn, with additional music by Swedish composer Stefan Levin. An artistic installation 'Vientos' (2017) by the Cuban Elizabet Cerviño is used on stage. Created for Acosta Danza, the company performed the world premiere ofPaysage, Soudain la nuit in Havana in 2018.

Lidberg has created more than 40 works for New York City Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Semperoper Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Le Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, BalletBoyz, Beijing Dance Theatre and Morphoses, amongst others. His film Labyrinth Within won best picture at the Dance on Camera Festival in 2012.

The spring 2020 Evolution tour includes seven audio-described performances for blind and visually-impaired patrons. Dance Consortium will work with Sightlines Audio Description Services to deliver the audio-described performances in Southampton, Bradford, Brighton, Canterbury, Salford, Plymouth and Newcastle.

Yuli, the film based on Acosta's autobiography, No Way Home: A Cuban Dancer's Story, received its UK premiere on 12 April 2019. Performances from Acosta Danza were woven throughout the film, which was nominated for five Spanish 'Goya' awards, including best new actor for Acosta, best cinematography and best adapted screenplay.

Earlier this year it was announced Carlos Acosta will be the new Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet. The appointment commences in January 2020.

3 & 4 March at 7.30pm (ON SALE)

Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

Tickets: www.mayflower.org.uk

6 & 7 March at 8pm (ON SALE 5 August)

Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

Tickets: www.wmc.org.uk

10 & 11 March at 7.30pm (ON SALE)

Eden Court, Inverness

Tickets: www.eden-court.co.uk

13 & 14 March at 7.30pm (ON SALE SOON)

Alhambra Theatre, Bradford

Tickets: www.bradford-theatres.co.uk

17 & 18 March at 7.30pm (ON SALE SOON)

Brighton Dome

Tickets: www.brightondome.org

20 & 21 March at 7.30pm (ON SALE 5 August)

The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury

Tickets: www.marlowetheatre.com

24 & 25 March at 7.30pm (ON SALE)

The Lowry, Salford Quays

Tickets: www.thelowry.com

27 & 28 March at 7.30pm (ON SALE 19 July)

Plymouth Theatre Royal

Tickets: www.theatreroyal.com

7 & 8 April at 7.30pm (ON SALE 5 July)

Theatre Royal, Newcastle

Tickets: www.theatreroyal.co.uk

10 & 11 April at 8pm (ON SALE 5 July)

Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham

Tickets: www.trch.co.uk

Running order:

Paysage, Soudain, la nuit - Pontus Lidberg (17 mins)

Faun - Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (15 mins)

INTERVAL (20 mins)

Rooster - Christopher Bruce (27 Minutes)

Running time: 80 minutes (one interval)