Director and dancer Carlos Acosta admits he once hated ballet as he launches the London run of his new Cuban-inspired version of Tchaikovsky's festive ballet "The Nutcracker". Rather than the usual setting of a small town in Germany in the 1820s,

Each of Britain’s five leading ballet companies has its own Nutcracker...

Best and Worst is a regular series in which acclaimed British names and faces reflect on the highs and lows that shaped their lives. This week, Carlos Acosta tells of his favourite thing about living in the UK and his worst moment on stage.

Carlos Acosta found inspiration for just such a reimagining in his Cuban roots, where Christmas was banned by Fidel Castro during his childhood, but, as is the case with forbidden fruit, now tastes all the sweeter as a transgressive delight.