#TBT: Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta in "Romeo and Juliet" (2007)
Carlos Acosta
and Tamara Rojo both took The Royal Ballet by storm when they arrived at the company in 1998 and 2000, respectively. Virtuosic, enigmatic performers, the two forged a storied partnership over the course of their next decade together at The Royal. Now they’ve both gone on to lead the next generation of ballet dancers in England: Rojo has been the artistic director of English National Ballet since 2012, and Acosta will take the helm of Birmingham Royal Ballet in January. With this 2007 clip of their balcony scene from Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, it’s easy to see why they are already the stuff of ballet legend.
The scene opens on the two lovers in a breathless trance, but soon they are swept away in the music, falling over and over into each others’ arms as they fall in love. The tempo is brisk, yet Rojo and Acosta soar with abandon in turns and expansive extensions. They make MacMillan’s unusual lifts and transitions seem like second nature. Most moving is the way they bring out the humanity in each others’ performance. Acosta is boyishly uninhibited, Rojo, delicate and almost dizzy with adrenaline. As the two prepare to part, they seal the scene with a passionate, Hollywood-worthy kiss. Happy #ThrowbackThursday!
