Acclaimed Cuban ballet star Carlos Acosta has this week been able to return to the stage with the Birmingham Royal Ballet company to perform Lazuli Sky thanks to some socially distanced costumes and strategic social bubbles.
Lazuli Sky is the first one-act ballet commissioned and presented by Acosta as Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet. The production is a collaboration between Acosta, award-winning choreographer Will Tuckett and designer Samuel Wyer. It is described as an “outward looking, hopeful and regenerative ballet” inspired by ideas of social distancing.
The extra-wide tutus have two-metre trains and form part of the set, with images projected onto the skirts during the performance. Acosta said the tutus – which are worn by both male and female performers – are “great in terms of aesthetic and a record of the time we live in.” The company has also formed workplace bubbles for those performers who are not able to adhere to social distancing while they are on stage.
The company performed the world premiere of Lazuli Sky at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre to a socially distanced sold-out live audience on the 22nd October. It will run until the 31st October before being available to watch online from the 1st November.
Words by Talya Honebeek.
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.