Carlos Acosta - Margaret E. Willis

Carlos Acosta grew up in a shantytown in Fidel Castro's politically isolated Cuba. Like many boys, he'd skip school to play football or breakdance with his friends. His father's solution to his unruly behaviour was to send him to ballet school where he would be disciplined, trained and fed - for free. It was many years before Carlos came to accept a pursuit he saw as 'sissy'. Today he is one of the world's most stunning classical ballet dancers, admired internationally for his magnetic presence on stage. This is his story.