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    Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story
    Unavailable
    Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story
    Unavailable
    Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story
    Ebook396 pages7 hours

    Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story

    By Carlos Acosta

    3/5

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    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this ebook

    NOW AN AWARD-WINNING FEATURE FILM STARRING CARLOS ACOSTA

    ‘The dazzling Carlos Acosta is the Cuban Billy Elliot, a poor kid who triumphed over prejudice and humble origins … Frankly, you couldn't make it up.’ Daily Mail

    In 1980, Carlos Acosta was just another Cuban kid of humble origins, the youngest son in a poor family named after the planter who had owned his great-great-grandfather. With few options and an independent spirit, Carlos spent his days on the streets, dreaming of a career in football.

    But even at a young age, Carlos had extraordinary talent. At nine, he was skipping school to win break-dancing competitions as the youngest member of a street-gang for whom dance contests were only a step away from violence. When Carlos’s father enrolled him in ballet school, he hoped not only to nurture his son’s talent, but also to curb his wildness. Years of loneliness, conflict and crippling physical effort followed, but today the Havana street-kid is an international star.

    This magical memoir is about more than Carlos’s rise to stardom, however. It is the story of a childhood where food is scarce but love is abundant, where the soul of Cuba comes alive to influence a dancer’s art. It is also about a man forced to leave behind his homeland and loved ones for a life of self-discipline, displacement and brutal physical hardship. Carlos Acosta makes dance look effortless, but the grace, strength and charm have come at a cost – here, in his own words, is the story of the price he paid.

    Previously published as ‘No Way Home’.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateSep 4, 2008
    ISBN9780007287437
    Unavailable
    Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story
    Author

    Carlos Acosta

    Carlos Acosta was born in Havana in 1973 and is a retired ballet dancer and director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He performed with ballet companies all over the world, predominantly the Royal Ballet in London, England and the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. He choreographed a ballet called Tocororo based on his childhood and his ascent to ballet stardom, which debuted in England in 2003 and has been performed worldwide. No Way Home is his first book.

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    Reviews for Yuli

    3/5

    16 ratings2 reviews

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    • 2/5
      This was not written very well but the events are interesting enough to keep one engaged.
    • 3/5
      I’ve always had a thing for the underdog. I mean, honestly, who hasn’t at one point or another in their lives? I put this book on my TBR list a few years ago, and only recently did the notification pop up that it was available in my library (granted, I wasn’t looking too hard when I was in GA, but I digress…).I’m really torn on this book, because I really, desperately, want to admire what Carlos Acosta, and his family, sacrificed for him to achieve his status in the world today. I think what makes it hard to fully admire this is because the hard work is so downplayed in this memoir, and instead, the delinquency, the disrespect for his parents, the disregard for the world of ballet is brought to the forefront, cheapening the effect of what could have been a very, very powerful story.So, rather than focus on the work, on detailing the hours of sweat, speaking of the performances and the struggles within the world of ballet, Carlos Acosta instead, focuses solely on the struggles in his outer world. Now, granted, they were struggles no one should have to deal with. His family frequently was in need of food, and Cuba is definitely not a paradise on earth. His descriptions of his hometown, and the nature surrounding it were lush and I felt like I could envision what he was trying to paint for me … but then he would move back to these, semi-dramatic moments that just distracted from the story.The other issue I had with the story is the massive rise of ego – from virtually nothing at the beginning until I felt like I was being choked with it at the end. That could be his youth (he was only 25 at the time of this memoir), but it left me with a distaste for the person he’d become.I’d only recommend this book if you are a fan, or a ballet enthusiast. Otherwise, pass this memoir by and go read his Wikipedia entry.