BRB: BOLD BALLET AND MORE

Fusing traditional and contemporary (and heavy metal!), Birmingham Royal Ballet’s new season is causing quite a stir - and for all the right reasons. Between next month and March 2024, audiences will be able to enjoy an eclectic mix of productions - as the Company’s director, Carlos Acosta, explains to What’s On...

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s (BRB) upcoming season features an ambitious programme of dance. Attractions include an exciting triple bill, the first tour by BRB2 - a new company of talented young dancers - much-loved classics and the world premiere of Black Sabbath - The Ballet.

Director Carlos Acosta is keen to blend BRB’s rich tradition of classic and contemporary works with new pieces that give audiences opportunities to see the full range of talent within the company.

“From BRB performing at the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony to Black Sabbath, and with everything in-between, I think people get what we are trying to do,” he says. “We may have raised some eyebrows, but people love that kind of boldness. We want to surprise people, and we want to bring new people in to see ballet.

“We are ambassadors for the city of Birmingham, and whatever we do, we do for the community. Birmingham has a lot of treasures that the world doesn’t always realise are from Birmingham, such as Black Sabbath, so our role is to shine a light on how important this city has been - not only for the UK but for the world as well.”

The next few weeks see BRB taking its place at two of the city’s key events - Birmingham Pride and the Mostly Jazz Festival.

It will be the first time the company has danced on the main stage at Pride, presenting a performance that includes the pas de deux from Interlinked, with principal dancers Brandon Lawrence and Tzu-Chao Cho (on 27 May).

The company is also presenting its first-ever dance performance at the Mostly Jazz Festival (8 & 9 July). Inspired by ‘Still Life’ At The Penguin Café, BRB principal Lachlan Monaghan and artist Rosanna Ely are cochoreographing work with students to create multiple pop-up performances at the event. Looking ahead to the autumn, there’s the world premiere of Black Sabbath - The Ballet, tickets for which sold out almost as soon as they went on sale.

At Christmas, BRB returns with the everpopular Nutcracker, a newly rebuilt version of which premiered in Birmingham last November.

And early in 2024, the company performs Sir Peter Wright’s Sleeping Beauty. Carlos is keen for BRB to continue to showcase its classic works while also developing new pieces.

“Ballets like Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker and Swan Lake show the company at its best. These classics are what the company already has, but I am also bringing a new repertory and a new artistic vision. Hopefully this will cultivate new audiences and the imagination of the public.

“When I joined the company in 2020, we had the pandemic and we weren’t able to look ahead, but now things have changed, so I want to go, go, go!

“There is so much happening for BRB now. I would say: Look out for other exciting announcements, and do come along to the performances and be part of BRB.”

The June triple bill features three very different pieces: former BRB Artistic Director David Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ At The Penguin Café, George Balanchine’s Apollo and Juliano Nunes’ Interlinked.

The programme aims to ensure that there’s something for everyone to enjoy, says BRB Director Carlos Acosta. “It makes a very good package for the audience. I’m trying not to be predictable, so we are offering audiences three different pieces in one evening.

“In the context of this triple bill, there’s what could be seen as the beginning, which is Apollo by George Balanchine. It is a 1928 piece, but it’s still very relevant today, feels very modern, and it’s one of my favourite pieces.”

Carlos was also keen to include Nunes’ Interlinked, which formed part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival last summer.

Birmingham Royal Ballet this spring announced the launch of BRB2, a company of top-class young dancers whose first tour includes Carlos Acosta’s Classical Selection at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.

Aiming to develop the ballet stars of the future, BRB2 has attracted young dancers from around the world. They will train and perform alongside the current professional dancers while also developing their own touring programme.

“Carlos Acosta’s Classical Selection is a gala programme; kind of a greatest hits of ballet,” explains BRB2 Artistic Coordinator Kit Holder. “There will absolutely be more than one piece that everyone will enjoy.

“The programme touches those keystone classics, with an excerpt from Swan Lake and a beautiful piece by Frederick Ashton, the

BLACK SABBATH: THE BALLET

Birmingham Hippodrome, Sat 23 - Sat 30 September

This full-length, three-act production features eight Black Sabbath tracks reorchestrated for the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. “Black Sabbath is probably Birmingham’s biggest export,” says Carlos Acosta. “So I was naturally drawn to the idea of a collaboration between what most people might think are the most unlikely of partners!”

Still Life At The Penguin Cafe

“Interlinked shows the company very well, it’s modern but classically based, and was a great hit with the audience. Its theme of being gender neutral is something that is so much in discussion at the moment, so it’s very inclusive from that perspective. This feels very much that it is showing the company now.”

The triple bill’s finale - ‘Still Life’ At The Penguin Café - features a range of endangered creatures in different guises, including a morris-dancing flea and penguin waiters.

“Penguin Café is more relevant than ever, as it looks at climate change,” says Carlos. “It’s a very popular work, so we are delighted to be bringing it back.” central pas de deux from Rhapsody, which has the amazing music of Rachmaninov’s Paganini. There’s also La Sylphide, which is a stunning piece of choreography and music. In the second half, we go slightly more to the

BRB’s triple bill shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from Thursday 8 to Saturday 10 June.

Selection

contemporary end of ballet. We have a beautiful pas de deux by Ben Stevenson called End Of Time, which is hugely atmospheric, almost hypnotic. There’s some Piazzolla and some chanson with Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel. So musically as well as choreographically there’s a lot of variety in the show.

“I’m sure the majority of our audience will have been to a ballet before, but this is a brilliant programme for people who aren’t familiar with ballet because it’s a lot of short numbers with technical fireworks and virtuosity - and some really beautiful dancing.”

BRB2: Carlos Acosta’s Classical Selection shows at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre on Saturday 24 June

The Nutcracker

Birmingham Hippodrome, Fri 17 November - Sat 9 December

Sir Peter Wright’s production is considered by many to be the finest interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s magnificent and mesmerising score... In true Christmas spirit, the story follows the young Clara as she’s swept up in a fantasy of soldiers, giant rats, snow fairies, magic and mystery, before finally being transformed into a beautiful ballerina.

The Sleeping Beauty

Birmingham Hippodrome, Wed 21 February - Sat 2 March 2024

More magic from Sir Peter Wright, who has here created yet another memorable ballet based on the brilliance and ingenuity of a classic Tchaikovsky score.

Cursed by a wicked fairy, a beautiful princess pricks her finger and falls into a deep sleepa slumber that can only be broken by true love’s kiss...

Dance previews from across the region

Strictly Come Dancing: The Professionals

Helmed by Strictly’s creative director of choreography, Jason Gilkison, this annual extravaganza features the TV series’ professional dancers strutting their stuff to a fabulous soundtrack. Previous incarnations of the show have gone down a treat with Strictly fans, and there’s every

Johannes Radebe: Freedom Unleashed

Malvern Theatres, Thurs 4 May; The Alexandra, Birmingham, Sat 13 May; Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Sat 20 May reason to suppose the 2023 edition will prove equally popular. The 10 participating dancers are Dianne Buswell, Vito Coppola, Carlos Gu, Karen Hauer, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystal and Nancy Xu.

Strictly Come Dancing favourite Johannes Radebe made a major splash with his sell-out debut tour last year. He now returns with what’s being described as a pulsating and jubilant celebration of culture, passion and freedom. The show’s recipe for success involves the bringing together of South African rhythms with huge party anthems. A cheeky dash of ballroom magic further spices up proceedings. Johannes is joined in this latest colourful, high-energy production by a diverse cast of dancers and singers.

Gary Clarke Company: Wasteland

The Rep, Birmingham, Thurs 18 - Fri 19 May Following on from Coal, his show about the 1984/85 Miners Strike, Gary Clarke turns his attention to the early 1990s, a time when the coal industry was in terminal decline. It was also a period when Britain’s illegal rave scene was flourishing...

A raver himself, Gary here brings together the two seemingly unconnected subjects. “Rave was a subculture that came out of oppression,” explains the Barnsley-born choreographer. “The factories, warehouses and mills were now home to new communities. But rather than working, those communities were dancing and playing music.”

Alongside dancers, brass musicians and a community cast of singers, the show also features archive film footage, a rave soundtrack and unique art work.

Rhiannon Faith Company: Drowntown

Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham, Wed 3 May

“The production mirrors our current world crisis, our experiences of isolation and loneliness, and our future of socialeconomical uncertainty...”

Choreographer Rhiannon Faith is talking about Drowntown, the show she’s bringing to Birmingham early this month...

“We meet six strangers, who come to the beach alone, deep in their own personal pain. When they realise they can’t leave, and that the lifeguard has left them to fend for themselves, we visit their inner spaces of suffering.

“There are glimpses of connectedness and support, and we see if hope can pull them together. Or is it just too late…?”

by Richard Barber