Cuban dance superstar Carlos Acosta has been presented with the Critics’ Circle Award for Services to the Arts at a special celebration lunch attended by critics from across all fields of the arts.
Widely regarded as once of the greatest dancers of all time, Acosta is only the third person from the field of dance, following Alicia Markova in 2000 and Matthew Bourne in 2016, to receive the prestigious honour.
Presented with his award, an engraved rose bowl, by the president of the Critics’ Circle Mark Shenton, the Havana-born star said he was overwhelmed by the honour and thanked the London critics for supporting his career. “I am very humbled today,” he added.
Commenting on the decision to present the Critics’ Circle’s highest honour to star who is often described as the greatest male dancer of his generation, the chair of the dance section, Graham Watts said: “I doubt that Carlos ever set out to be a trailblazer. But, in almost everything that he has done, Carlos – a man who is himself innately humble – has been a true pioneer.”
The youngest of 11 children born to an impoverished family in Havana, Acosta’s remarkable rise to the top began with the National Ballet School of Cuba. Winning the prestigious Prix de Lausanne at the age of 16, Acosta would go on to celebrate 30 years with many of the world’s leading dance companies including 17 as a principal with the Royal Ballet.
Created in 1988, the Critics’ Circle Award for Services to the Arts is voted for by more than 500 members of the Critics’ Circle across its six sections (Music, Dance, Film, Drama, Visual Arts and Literary criticism). Each section proposes a nominee from its field of the arts and then a final vote is held of all members.
Last year the award was presented to the artist, David Hockney. Previous winners include Maggie Smith, Nicholas Hytner, Richard Eyre, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Tom Stoppard, Alan Bennett, Ken Loach and Stephen Sondheim.
The Critics’ Circle was founded in 1913 and is the oldest critics’ organisation in the world.
Angela Thomas
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