The Black British Ballet is coming to Nottingham for a special performance at the new Central Library.
Dancers will be performing at the library’s monthly music and performance cabaret night on Friday 21 June as part of the Sound At Central programme.
The Black British Ballet project by Oxygen Arts aims to change the way that ballet is seen. The hidden history of black dancers is shared, bringing ballet to new and diverse audiences and encouraging young black dancers to take part.
Black British Ballet will be showcasing its touring show, Island Movements – a short performance telling an epic tale of a family from the Windrush generation.
The story begins with a young Caribbean soldier in Second World War Britain, and the moving tale follows him and his family through their life in the UK up to the current Windrush scandal.
It features original music by Kinetika Bloco, driving the story with a mix of reggae, calypso and contemporary black British music.
Choreographed by Darren Panton, who was the first black British dancer to graduate from the Royal Ballet School and Patrick Williams, who danced at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and the Paris Opera.
The café will be open and serving a small section of food and drink for the evening.
Tickets are £10 per person and available here.
In June, Nottingham Central Library has partnered with FABRIC to deliver Sound At Central events. FABRIC is a strategic dance development organisation and strives to be more ambitious for dance made, produced and nurtured in the Midlands. Its aim is to inspire people through dance, transforming lives, communities and places.
Georgie Dane-Wilding, Library Events Lead at Nottingham City Libraries, said: “We are very excited to have the British Black Ballet here in Nottingham performing at our amazing new Central Library. We can’t wait to see their performance and I would encourage people to get their tickets quickly for this show.
“Nottingham has such vibrant and diverse community, with a strong arts scene. The British Black Ballet is making it more accessible, targeting communities who don’t normally get to experience ballet, especially one that is based on the black British experience.”