Curated by Carlos: Mixed Bill, Sadler's Wells

The Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta was one of the brightest stars of international ballet and a favourite with British audiences. He retired from the Royal Ballet and full-time dancing four years ago, and has since led his own Havana-based company, Acosta Danza.

Acosta Danza became an overnight success, showcasing the immense talent and commitment of its young Cuban dancers and featuring cameo appearances by Carlos Acosta himself; but now Acosta is about to take on a much bigger task: in January he formally becomes artistic director of Britain’s second ballet company, Birmingham Royal Ballet, BRB.

His very first programme won’t happen until the summer; until then the company will be touring with standard repertoire. In the interim, Acosta is working to ensure he will start with a bang.

He is programming – nay, curating – a festival of dance, Curated by Carlos, which will fill Sadler’s Wells with a variety of dance-related events, the centrepiece of which is a Mixed Bill of ballets, intended to show the company at its best.

The big headline-making draw of this bill will be a guest appearance by one of the great ballerinas of our times, who broke her retirement and returned to the stage, aged 52, just a few years ago: Alessandra Ferri.

Alessandra Ferri Dance Medica LLC by Lucas Chilczuk
As luminous and mesmerising in her 50s as she ever was, Ferri will dance with Acosta in a new pas de deux created for the company by the Spanish choreographer Goyo Montero, whose work has regularly featured in Acosta Danza’s programmes.

Goyo Montero’s new pas de deux is to be incorporated in his work Chacona, which will have its UK premiere as part of this Mixed Bill. It is set to music by Bach, that will be performed live on violin, guitar and piano.

Daniela Cardim, formerly of Dutch National Ballet, contributes a new work about which not much is yet known, except that it will be a collaboration with the Emmy-winning composer Paul Englishby. Cardim’s piece will have its world premiere at Sadler’s Wells.

And the bill concludes with Balanchine’s exhilarating Theme and Variations (pictured top) set to music by Tchaikovsky, which presents a true test of skill and stamina for the corps de ballet.

We have no doubt that BRB’s stupendous dancers will rise to the occasion, accompanied as ever by the company's own live orchestra, The Royal Ballet Symphony.