Engage with our work though BBonFILM
#BBonFilm is a new and exciting way to showcase our digital work: inspirational dance films, performances, repertoire and on-demand ballet classes. Scroll below to see a few examples of our digital work for film, for dance education & enjoyment and also some inspirational films created by our former dancers and friends.
Arranged & taught by Cira Robinson
Demonstration by Marie-Astrid Mence
Duration: 63 minutes
Streaming: This class has been filmed for web only distribution. 4K quality options to follow soon.
Feel free to adapt any exercise that is too challenging by performing it more slowly, or with low legs or by staying on the whole foot instead of demi pointe. Please also adapt any exercises you need to if your dance space is restrictive.
Health & Safety notice:
These classes are for you to follow along with at home and you do so at your own risk.
Please make sure you have enough space to move your arms and legs without coming into contact with anything.
Wear comfortable clothing that does not restrict your movement.
If you don’t have a barre, use something secure like a countertop or heavy chair.
If you don’t have ballet shoes you can wear socks or dance barefoot.
If you enjoyed our class and would like to make a donation of any size, you can do so using the link below.
Arts Uncovered Series 2 Episode 3: Ballet Black Ballet Black: A series of fascinating shorts taking you deeper into the world of art and the people behind it.
Choreography: William Tuckett
Lighting Design: David Plater
Costume Design: Yukiko Tsukamoto
Poetry: Adrienne Rich (1929-2012)
Director of Poetry: Fiona L Bennett
Poetry recordings: Hafsah Bashir, Natasha Gordon & Michael Shaeffer
Is it necessary for me to write obliquely about the situation? Is that what you would have me do?
Then Or Now, poetry by Adrienne Rich
Dark Fields of the Republic, Poems: 1991-1995
We are living through times where every action we take – responding to a call to arms, deciding to remain passive – has become a political act. Small or large, personal or public, our actions seem to hold more weight than before. Creating work for Ballet Black in this climate felt very different to previous collaborations; still exciting, but with great responsibility. Whose story should the dancers be telling in a time of such political and social change?
Having worked with poetry as a ‘spoken score’ for a while, I asked Fiona’s help in finding a poet whose work spoke to this narrative conundrum. On reading Adrienne Rich’s Dark Fields of The Republic, I was (and remain), overwhelmed by her ability to call the reader to action; her rejection of apathy, injustice and oppression; her reasoning that love is all – be it romantic, social or political. Specific yet open, Rich provides space for both the reader and the dancer.
In parallel, I had been listening to Daniel’s recording of the Von Biber Passacaglia, and thinking its ‘slippy’ structure, which makes it feel in the moment and improvised, would be wonderful to create to. Daniel later revealed that Biber did indeed intend the player to be actively involved in the piece; to improvise and bring themselves to it as an artist.
Finally, combining the poems, Daniel, and the voices of Natasha, Hafsah and Michael, our sound engineer Ian created a structure and soundtrack, that enabled me to make this piece with Yuki and David.
I remain immensely grateful to this hugely creative, creative team, Ballet Black, and particularly the Adrienne Rich Estate for their wholehearted support of this project.
Will Tuckett
From the Director of Poetry
We go to poetry because we believe it has something to do with us. We also go to poetry to experience the not me, enter a field of vision we could not otherwise apprehend… Someone writing a poem believes in, depends on, a delicate vibrating range of difference, that an ‘I’ can become a ‘we’ without extinguishing others, that a partly common language exists to which strangers can bring their own heartbeat, memories, images. A language that itself has learned from the heartbeat, memories, images of strangers.
Adrienne Rich, from What is Found There, Notebooks On Poetry And Politics, 1994
Adrienne Rich is one of the greatest modern poets of our time. She was born in Baltimore USA in May 1929 and during her lifetime published over 20 volumes of poetry and 8 books of non-fiction prose. A scholar, activist and a writer whose work established new forms, she received numerous awards, fellowships and prizes including The National Book Award and The Lannan Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. She was a tireless activist and ambassador for human rights olarly and artistic integrity make her a highly relevant and vital source of inspiration for our time. She died in 2012 and her legacy is a defining force in the ongoing development of poetry.
When Will invited me to suggest poetry for a new piece with Ballet Black to explore ideas of belonging and home we began looking for poems that would serve this theme and that would also offer an exciting balance of sound, image and story through which to create. We considered the works of many poets, past and present, and exchanged poems over a number of weeks. When I sent Will, What Kind of Times Are These? the opening poem from Dark Fields of the Republic, the question in this title and the sequence of poems as a whole, resonated so strongly with us that we knew we had found our source. As Will began work with the dancers and the collaboration between music, poetry and dance began, these astonishing poems, with their unique balance of tender intimacy and epic provocation, guided, challenged and inspired us all.
Dark Fields of the Republic is published by W. W. Norton and is available to purchase at www.wwnorton.co.uk. You can find out more about the life and work of Adrienne Rich through the Adrienne Rich Literary Trust: adriennerich.net
Fiona L Bennett Director of Poetry, Then Or Now.
LIKE WATER acknowledges the resilience of our ancestors, passed down from generation to generation. A world unkind to our people, yet somehow we survive. A world that that has conditioned us to not see the beauty of our skin, hair, culture and our people. But like water we flow, like water we change shape. We remain resilient.
It is a non-narrative piece, illustrating that with a snap of the fingers everything can change; with this device we were able to cover a range of different styles, from the, “snap your fingers and I’ll come running,” cartoon-like duet, to the dancers’ bodies reacting to the accelerating snaps and clicks of the ending, to the tenderness of the couple who simply “click” together. During the creative process the dancers embraced the quirkiness of my vocabulary whole-heartedly, with the moves in the studio shifting from sharp and groovy to angular and disjointed, to fluid and intertwined.
When costume designer, Yann Seabra, saw the piece he immediately came up with brightly coloured jackets reflecting the snazzy, sharpness these dancers convey so well. The score for CLICK! is a combination of pre-existing music, original composition, and sound design. This is an approach I tend to use in my work in order to create different dynamics throughout the piece. From the likes of Snapping Fingers by Ken Beebe to Two Of A Kind by composer Kenny Inglis, I find using a variety of music allows me to play with the pace and intensity of the work. My finger-snapping time spent creating this piece with Ballet Black dancers was an absolute pleasure. We clicked. Sophie Laplane
Demonstration by Marie-Astrid Mence
Duration: 39 minutes
Streaming: This class has been filmed for web only distribution. 4K quality options to follow soon.
This class is suitable for students of Intermediate Level and above. Feel free to adapt any exercise that is too challenging by performing it more slowly, or by perhaps trying the class in flat ballet shoes or by staying on the whole foot instead of demi pointe. Please also adapt any exercises you need to if your dance space is restrictive.
Health & Safety notice:
These classes are for you to follow along with at home and you do so at your own risk.
Please make sure you have enough space to move your arms and legs without coming into contact with anything.
Wear comfortable clothing that does not restrict your movement.
If you don’t have a barre, use something secure like a countertop or heavy chair.
If you enjoyed our class and would like to make a donation of any size, you can do so using the link below.
Watch a glimpse into our new work ‘NINA: By Whatever Means‘, which premiered at the Barbican, London in March 2023. The work is inspired by the artistry & activism of Nina Simone. November weaves a skilful picture of Simone’s turbulent and influential life to take us on an emotional and empowering journey. The two interviews recorded at right have been kindly provided to us by Afridiziak Theatre News
‘Historic moment in British ballet history’
In October 2018, after 18 months of development, Freed of London have teamed up with Ballet Black founder and artistic director Cassa Pancho MBE and Senior Artist Cira Robinson to create the first skin tone pointe shoes, handmade in the U.K. for black, Asian and mixed race dancers.
After over a year in development, Freed of London has introduced new colours ‘Ballet Bronze’ and ‘Ballet Brown’ to their core collection. The Freed of London ethos has always been to develop shoes to meet the needs of each generation of dancer and these new colours continue to reflect this.
“This wouldn’t of been achievable without the help of everyone involved, especially “Ballet Black” whom we collaborated with to create these beautiful new colours.” – Freed of London
“I am beyond delighted that Freed have launched these two new colours. Although it may seem like a very small change to the outside world, I believe this is an historic moment in British ballet history and another step forward for culturally diverse dancers across the globe who wear the iconic Freed brand of shoe.
I would like to thank Freed for using their platform to help instigate change, and Cira Robinson, Senior Artist at Ballet Black, for her unending dedication to making this possible.”- Cassa Pancho MBE, Founder & Artistic Director
Ballet Black was founded in 2001 with a mission to make a fundamental change in the diversity of mainstream classical ballet – on stage, behind the scenes, and among audiences & participants. We recognise the importance of providing visible, diverse role models of Black and Asian descent in ballet. Our professional ballet company is made up of ten dancers from around the world and we create award-winning new work that is bold and distinctive, both live and on film, that tours the UK and internationally. Our size and scale of production makes it possible for us to perform in large theatres such as London’s Barbican Theatre as well as small scale theatres like DanceXchange, enabling us to take our work to areas that may not otherwise receive high-quality ballet. We have developed a strong reputation as one of the most prolific commissioners of new ballets (over 60) in the UK and are known for nurturing many emerging choreographers who have gone on to enjoy successful careers.
Since 2020 Digital technology has become a vital part of what we do. We are currently developing #BBonFilm as a digital showcase of all things Ballet Black. The development of this initiative has been made possible with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Accelerator Programme. This grant has supported the consolidation of our Digital Producer and their role in both developing this website and in the launch of our mobile screening initiative. The screening service enables us to take our film work to theatres that are unable to accommodate our live performances, plus schools, universities, film festivals and community groups. Our Digital Producer also oversees the creation of our online library of ballet class resources, the development of our future film projects and all licensing and streaming negotiations.
In addition to the release BBonFilm, and with the kind support of The Linbury Trust, we have also busy aggregating and sampling our film and live audiences to better understand the interests and wishes of our audience as a digital customer.
Since 2021 we have won or have received an official selection in over 25 Film Festival awards from around the world. Alongside promoting our existing digital material our ambition is to create further educational resources and one new dance film per year so that digital touring sits alongside live performance touring as a staple of what we do.
We also develop talent at the early stages of ballet through our subsidised Junior School & Junior Associate Programme, providing professionally taught ballet classes led by teachers of diverse heritage to children and young people aged 3 to 18. Our Junior Associate Programme is designed to support and inspire girls and young women aged 12 to 16 during the crucial pre-vocational stage of ballet training. This cements our commitment to reaching a critical mass of young people for whom the artform of ballet has historically been closed and is part of our contribution to diversifying ballet in the UK.
We challenge perceptions in ballet, promote greater inclusion in dance training, and are growing audience diversity for ballet and the wider dance sector across the UK. We are also playing a vital role in advocating wider societal change through our industry-changing collaborations, such as working with Freed of London to create the first UK made pointe shoes for Black, Asian, and culturally diverse dancers.
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