Last month, we profiled the 86-minute documentary “Unfinished Spaces,” which chronicles the ups and down of the former Havana golf club that became Cuba’s Instituto Superior de Arte (see CubaNews, September 2012, page 15).

At least some efforts to secure funding to finish restoration of one these schools are starting to bear fruit.

On Sep. 19, a group of high-profile British and foreign donors staged a dinner and ballet performance at London’s Royal Opera House benefit Havana’s School of Ballet, designed by Italian architect Vittorio Garatti.

Organized by entrepreneur Sir David Tang, attendees included actors Michael Caine and Jude Law, as well as royalty such as the Duchess of York (Sarah Ferguson), Princess Bea-trice, Princess Eugenie, Serena Armstrong-Jones and Lady Helen Taylor.

Also in attendance: British TV personality Michael Parkinson, rocker Jamie Hince, fashion photographer Mario Testino, artist Tracey Emin and Elena Ochoa Foster, wife of Sir Norman Foster.

The guest of honor was Carlos Acosta — Cuba’s most prominent ballet dancer and currently principal guest artist of the Royal Ballet. Acosta was also that night’s main performer, along with Roberta Márquez.

Tang, raising an undisclosed amount for the school, co-founded along with Acosta and British attorney Rupert Rohan the Carlos Acosta International Dance Foundation.

Foster, an architect, will assist in the ballet school’s restoration. “I am pleased to be able to help Carlos Acosta in his ambitious project to transform the lives of young people in Cuba by harnessing the power of dance,” he said.

Tang’s involvement in the project stems is hardly surprising. The Hong Kong-born businessman owns Pacific Cigar Company Ltd., the exclusive distributor of Cuban cigars in Canada, Asia, Australia and the South Pacific. 

Tang, who once called Fidel Castro “one of the politest men I have ever met,” happens to be Cuba’s honorary consul in Hong Kong. Regarding the ballet school charity, he said: “I hope to play a part in lending my full support to this project, for this is not only for Cuba, but for the world.”

Acosta’s plan for the ballet school’s restoration includes a 530-seat auditorium, a rehearsal studio and areas to accommodate visitors, dancers and teachers.

Details: Rupert Rohan, The Carlos Acosta In-ternational Dance Foundation, Aviation House, 1-7 Sussex Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 4DZ, England. Tel: +44 1444 450901. Email: info@carlosacostafoundation.org.