Award winning dance company, Ballet Black, present a triple bill of bold and inventive choreography at Nottingham Playhouse, on Tuesday 15th October 2019

Ballet Black announces its 2019 season; a popular programme contrasts inventive story telling in a lively showcase of three modern ballets, commissioned especially for Ballet Black: Ingoma (song) by company dancer and choreographer Mthuthuzeli November, is a fusion of ballet, African dance and singing. This world premiere and Barbican co-commission portrays a milestone in South African history and imagines the struggles of black South African miners and their families in 1946 – when 60,000 of them took courageous strike action. The second ballet is a revival of Martin Lawrance’s Pendulum, an intimate duo premiered in 2009, and the choreographer’s first work for the company. CLICK! an original, up-beat piece by Scottish Ballet’s chorographer-in-residence, Sophie Laplane, also a world premiere, completes the triple bill.

“Our 2019 is a particularly exciting one for us, as we are able to re-stage Pendulum by Martin Lawrance and share it with a much wider audience than we had in 2009 when it was first created. We’ve also been able to commission a new work from Sophie Laplane, Choreographer-In-Residence at Scottish Ballet and a rising choreographic talent. In addition, I am really excited that we have been able to offer one of our own dancers, Mthuthuzeli November, a main stage commission. This is an extremely important aspect of Ballet Black: diversifying the world of British ballet – not only in the visible landscape on stage, but throughout the art form, including diverse choreographic voices telling stories from a new perspective.”

Cassa Pancho MBE Founder & Artistic Director

The entirely original repertoire covers a broad spectrum of ballet, from classical work to highly contemporary pieces. Since 2001, they have built a varied repertoire from the best emerging and established choreographers including, Shobana Jeyasingh, Will Tuckett, Richard Alston, Arthur Pita, Christopher Hampson, Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa and Cathy Marston.

Ballet Black has achieved great success and garnered numerous awards, including the 2012 Critics’ Circle

National Dance Award for Best Independent Company, and further nominations in 2014 and 2018. In 2018, the Company was nominated for a UK Theatre Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance, and Artistic Director Cassa Pancho and Senior Artist Cira Robinson collaborated with renowned pointe shoe manufacturer Freed of London to create two new shades of pointe shoes in Ballet Brown and Ballet Bronze. In 2019 they performed with acclaimed grime artist and rapper Stormzy on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.

Dancers: Cira Robinson - Senior Artist, Jose Alves - Senior Artist, Sayaka Ichikawa - Senior Artist, Isabela Coracy - Senior Artist, Mthuthuzeli November - Junior Artist, Marie Astrid Mence - Junior Artist and Ebony Thomas - Apprentice Artist.

For further information: www.balletblack.co.uk