Cuban ballet icon Carlos Acosta is set to "make it snow in Havana" in his new version of the perennial Christmas classic, "The Nutcracker," which he announced the news of last Monday, March 4, as per The Guardian.
The forthcoming "Nutcracker in Havana" show will be laced with "a Cuban twist," according to its official website, with Acosta weaving traditional cultural rhythms and dances native to the region with mainstay elements from the famed classical ballet.
As for the music, Tchaikovsky's prototypical masterpiece will be revised by Cuban composer Pepe Gavilondo to better fit Acosta's Latin twist of the classic show.
Behind Acosta's Vision of 'The Nutcracker'
Growing up during Fidel Castro's reign in Havana in the first half of the 1970s, Acosta was unable to celebrate Christmas because of the Marxist-Leninist leader's ban on the holiday.
He was only exposed to it as a 20-year-old in 1993, following his departure from the island nation to join the ranks of Houston Ballet. At the time he was living with the company's director and even recalls getting shocked at his first sighting of a Christmas tree.
Across Acosta's 17 years performing with London's Royal Ballet, however, he was eventually won over by the "jolliest time of the year." Now, he sees Christmas as a time of "bringing everyone together," a message that he wants to spread with his fellow countrymen back in Cuba.
Acosta's version of the classic holiday tale will be retelling the story of Clara, a magically animated Nutcracker doll, and their journey across a fantastical land of dreams through the culturally colorful lens of Cuban heritage.
For one, Clara's quaint wooden hut will be refurbished into a '40s-style Havana ballroom. The iconic Nutcracker character will also be going through a Latin makeover, transforming into a depiction of a mambi, a guerilla independence soldier who fought Spain for Cuba's liberation.
The manner in which the soldier toy springs to life will also be revised, as it takes the form of Yoruba gods and goddesses.
Acosta's show will be borrowing help from new video projection technology and set design by Nina Dunn in his retelling and will populate roles in the 21-strong cast through picks from his Havana-based company, Acosta Danza.
The cross-cultural ballet will hold its premiere at the Norwich Theatre Royal on Nov. 1, ahead of a nationwide tour in the UK.
For more information on the "Nutcracker in Hava" show and its tour dates, click here.
