Is Carlos Acosta dancing too much? It’s a question you couldn’t avoid as the Cuban star pushed himself through three strenuous ballets that would have tested him 10 years ago. A dancer’s career is short, and at 36 Acosta understandably wants to make hay.

However, performing Apollo, A Suite Of Dances, and Afternoon Of A Faun in one go is asking for injury. No ballet company would let him perform so much in one evening yet he’s doing all three every day for five days.

But Acosta is a huge star, selling more seats than everyone else put together. The ringing cash register means no one will say no, despite his having long looked in need of a rest.

The evening began well, with an able orchestra accompanying Acosta’s clear interpretation of Jerome Robbins’s Afternoon Of A Faun.

After a forgettable duet for two English National Ballet dancers, Acosta was back with A Suite Of Dances during which his natural exuberance began to wane despite still having Apollo to dance.
All three ballets are demanding. Suite was made by Jerome Robbins for Mikhail Baryshnikov, probably the best male dancer of the past 50 years. It is a witty, sweet, airy dialogue on dancing and dancers, and Acosta has the physical and emotional generosity to make it his own. Instead, he was visibly economising, paring the energy required for each step so he could make it to the next.

Anyone who has seen Acosta dance Apollo with The Royal Ballet will know him capable of authentic nobility in Balanchine’s great neo-classical work. Last night he looked harried and careless, and that was after the interval when he had the chance to recoup his energy.

More ENB dancers joined Acosta for Apollo which closed the mixed bill exploring the male muse in ballet. It’s a fascinating topic. We still tend to think of ballet as feminine, almost unmanly, yet Acosta has proved it supremely masculine. However, if he doesn’t pace himself, he’ll be remembered for exhausting his gorgeous talent long before its inevitable natural decline.
 
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