No Way Home - by Carlos Acosta (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Carlos Acosta, the Cuban dancer considered to be one of the world's greatest performers, fearlessly depicts his journey from adolescent troublemaker to international superstar in his captivating memoir, No Way Home.

Carlos was just another kid from the slums of Havana; the youngest son of a truck driver and a housewife, he ditched school with his friends and dreamed of becoming Cuba's best soccer player. Exasperated by his son's delinquent behavior, Carlos's father enrolled him in ballet school, subjecting him to grueling days that started at five thirty in the morning and ended long after sunset.

The path from student to star was not an easy one. Even as he won dance competitions and wowed critics around the world, Carlos was homesick for Cuba, crippled by loneliness and self-doubt. As he traveled the world, Carlos struggled to overcome popular stereotypes and misconceptions; to maintain a relationship with his family; and, most of all, to find a place he could call home.

This impassioned memoir is about more than Carlos's rise to stardom. It is about a young man forced to leave his homeland and loved ones for a life of self-discipline, displacement, and physical hardship. It is also about how the heart and soul of a country can touch the heart and soul of one of its citizens. With candor and humor, Carlos vividly depicts daily life in communist Cuba, his feelings about ballet -- an art form he both lovesand hates -- and his complex relationship with his father. Carlos Acosta makes dance look effortless, but the grace, strength, and charisma we see onstage have come at a cost. Here, in his own words, is the story of the price he paid.

Review Quotes

"A debut memoir noteworthy for its candor, energy and colorful sketches of life in Cuba...A fresh, authentic account of art, adversity and family. -- Kirkus

"Acosta is that rare breed: a superstar whose appeal reaches beyond the rarefied confines of the ballet world. It is not just for his talent that audiences love him, but for the inspiration of his personal history." -- The Observer, London

"An eloquent portrait of an artist as well as a tribute to the flawed but committed parents who wanted a better life for him." -- Publishers Weekly

"Carlos Acosta is the best thing in ballet since Nureyev. What's clear from his candid and moving memoir is that the rich rhythms and climate of his birthplace in Cuba are behind every step he takes." -- Daily Express, London

"Carlos Acosta's trajectory from street urchin to superstar is another astonishing example of the transcendent power of dance. In this brutally honest account of his struggle to reconcile two conflicting worlds, we discover the source of inner conflict that has alchemized into passionate intensity onstage and made him one of ballet's most thrillingly charismatic performers." -- Julie Kavanagh, author of Nureyev: The Life

"The dazzling Carlos Acosta is the Cuban Billy Elliot, a poor kid who triumphed over prejudice and humble origins.... his fascinating recollections suggest that [he] is a tormented genius." - Daily Mail, London

"The life of ballet dancer Carlos Acosta has all the hallmarks of a bestseller: rags to riches, romance, family tragedy, and a unique insight into growing up poor in Cuba in the 1980s. In No Way Home, Acosta's voice is instantly likeable." - Financial Times, London

"The smell and feel of Havana, the joys and dangers of the slums where Carlos Acosta grew up, are among the dominant tastes to be found in this tale. Love of family and love of country -- along with an adolescent loathing of ballet -- are the anthems running through Acosta's autobiography." -- Time Out London

About the Author

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.