But it didnt work out that way. He achieved the fame & fortune that he always dreamed about but in a very different profession. He became a ballet dancer. Today Carlos Acosta is one of the worlds most stunning classical ballet dancers admired internationally for his firecracker yet refined technique for his riveting acting & for his magnetic presence on stage. He is considered a national treasure in his own country & a matinee idol to global dance goers. His life-story reads like a fairy-tale: from pauper to prince from neer-do-well to dance-deity. Carlos grew up in a shantytown in Fidel Castros politically isolated Cuba knowing poverty hardship & family tragedies. Hed play truant from school to kick a football around or break-dance to a boom box & suffered his fathers wrath when found out. The solution for his unruly behaviour was to send him to ballet school where he would be disciplined trained for a career & fed
- for free. It was many years before the young lad would accept the strict demands of a pursuit he saw as sissy. But finally through many hard lessons perseverance & natural talent he has soared to international recognition.