Renowned Cuban dancer and Royal Ballet guest principal, Carlos Acosta, began auditions to choose dancers for the company he will establish in the Cuban capital shortly.

The ensemble is set to be a Havana Dance Center company, made up of 16 dancers, eight women and eight men, all of them with a strong training in both classical and contemporary dance technique. Auditions are taking place at the Fernando Alonso Ballet School. Acosta would like his ensemble to become a platform to launch Cuban talented dancers and choreographers.

According to the Royal Ballet star, the strengths of his dancers in both techniques will be vital for outstanding international choreographers whom he will invite to choreograph for his ensemble, which will be receive further training in different dance modalities, folk and contact dance.

At the age of 42, Acosta is preparing to retire from the Royal Ballet, where he’s had a successful career for a number of years, with the premier of his version of Carmen. A Cuban National Dance Award laureate, Acosta was presented with the Commander of the British Empire Tile 2014.