lacerates the air with shapes so clear and sharp they seem to throw off sparks". Awards 1990 : Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne 1990 : Grand Prix at the 4th biennial Concours International de Danse de Paris 1990 : Vignale Danza Prize in Italy 1990 : Frédéric Chopin Prize, awarded by the Polish Artistic Corporation 1991 : Prize for Merit in the Young Talent Competition, Positano, Italy 1991 : Osimodanza Prize, Italy 1991 : Grand Prix at Cuba's prestigious Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC) competition 1995 : Dance Fellowship from the Princess Grace Foundation, United States 2004 : Nominated for an Olivier Award 2008 : Prix Benois de la Danse 2014: Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to ballet 2023: Prix de Lausanne Life Time Achievement Award Companies and roles From 1989 to 1991 Acosta performed throughout the world, guesting with many companies including the Compagnia Teatro Nuovo di Torino in Italy, where he danced alongside Luciana Savignano, and the Teatro Teresa Carreño in Venezuela. English National Ballet At the invitation of Ivan Nagy, Acosta danced with the English National Ballet in London during the 1991/92 season. He made his debut in the Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor and also appeared in Cinderella, partnering Eva Evdokimova and Ludmila Semenyaka, Le Spectre de la Rose, Les Sylphides and as the Prince in Ben Stevenson's The Nutcracker. National Ballet of Cuba In 1992 and 1993 he was a member of the National Ballet of Cuba under the artistic director Alicia Alonso, rising to principal dancer in 1994. In October 1993 and September 1994 he toured with the company to Madrid, where he danced various roles including Albrecht in Giselle, Basilio in Don Quixote and Siegfried in Swan Lake. Houston Ballet In November 1993 he was invited by Ben Stevenson, the artistic director of Houston Ballet, to join the company as a principal dancer, and he made his American stage debut as the Prince in The Nutcracker. Following this, his repertory included: Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Solor in La Bayadère, Basilio in Don Quixote, Stevenson's Britten Pas de Deux, the male lead in Harald Lander's Etudes, Jiri Kylian's Symphony in D, the Chosen One in The Rite of Spring. In 1997 he created the role of Frederick in Stevenson's Dracula and in 1998 he added the role of Misgir in the première of Stevenson's ballet