Black British Ballet
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blackbritishballet.com
Black British Ballet website shares the stories of the dance pioneers who blazed a trail through ballet in the last century.
Including filmed interviews with 18 dancers who either trained or worked in the UK in the past century, this rich archive brings the stories of these dance pioneers to a wide audience for the first time.
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Into the Light: Pioneers of Black British Ballet
The untold stories of Britain’s Black ballet dancers are centre stage for the first time in a new exhibition touring libraries until November 2025, with Libraries Connected.
Funded by a £245,500 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the exhibition traces the history of Black British ballet from the 1940s to the present day.
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The Colour Barre
Ballet is often seen as the pinnacle of the dance world, with its intense training and brutal demands on the human body. But what happens when your entry to this art form is blocked, not because of your ability but because of the colour of your skin?
These are the stories of our Black British ballet pioneers.
Film website coming soon!
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Island Movements
Island Movements is a short ballet that tells the story of Windrush and explores the impact of this generation’s experiences on their families, communities and society.
Beginning in WW2, this moving tale follows a Jamaican family through their life in the UK. The show toured libraries and ballet companies through to December 2024.
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Onisere and the Ballet Queen book
‘So what you’re saying is that there have been loads of black ballet dancers…’
Onisere wants to be a ballet dancer but there’s just one problem: she’s black and she’s never seen any other ballet dancers who look like her. Enter, the ballet queen, Simbira, who takes Onisere and her football mad little brother on a fantastical journey through the history of Black British ballet.
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Mentoring the next generation
Our new pilot mentoring scheme brings some of our Black British pioneers to support the next generation of ballet dancers at the major dance schools across England,.
We want to support Black dancers to feel confident in the ballet world, to help make the field as inclusive as possible, and to encourage talented artists to stay in ballet.
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