Superstar ballet dancer praises royal visit to Cuba

The Prince of Wales’ visit to Cuba is a boost to Britain’s post-Brexit ambitions of finding new markets, the country’s superstar ballet dancer has said.

Carlos Acosta, who is artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, said that as the Communist country of his birth continued to open up culturally and economically, it was time for the UK to also build bridges as it left the EU.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt described the visit as “a great example of bold & pragmatic UK diplomacy” in a tweet.

Carlos Acosta met Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall after they began their historic trip to Cuba by touring the old quarter of Havana, where they were mobbed by press and the public in chaotic scenes.

Charles played the tourist when they stopped to listen to a traditional band and dropped a coin in their collection hat, while Camilla’s visit to the capital was sealed with a kiss – a peck on the hand from a street performer.

Acosta welcomed Charles and Camilla to his dance company, which is helping disadvantaged young people from across the region fulfil their potential.

“From an artistic point of view, well for me it’s really wonderful that these two nations that are very important for my career and my life are coming together.”

Acosta was principal guest dancer for seventeen years with the Royal Ballet and performed many times in front of the prince.

“I think Cuba has been open now consistently for a long time, it’s not happening with the rapidity most people like, but compare ten years ago to where we are now, there’s a sense of evolving – at a Cuban pace, but we’re getting there.”

Charles’s visit offers an opportunity for the UK and Cuban governments to forge closer ties in the wake of the soft diplomacy employed by members of the royal family, who use it to make friends and build bridges during foreign tours.

During the day the prince visited a boxing gym and joked with fighters about Cuba’s prowess in the ring, which has seen the island punch above its weight for decades.

“I suppose you enjoy beating our British boxers?” Charles joked, feigning raising gloves during his visit to the Rafael Trejo gym.

By 1959, Cuba had six professional world champions who were considered to be the founding fathers of boxing as well national heroes of Cuba.

The royal couple were joined during the day by Antony Stokes, Britain’s ambassador to Cuba, who said: “There are some interesting signs in Cuba right now.

“Suddenly there is a social media environment in Cuba. That gives us an opportunity to talk about freedom of expression.

“By engaging at a high level, we can have a interchange about how we see the advantages of freedom of expression, and what the government might do here to improve its human rights record.”