Ballet Black

Audiences can’t resist the ‘joyously unpredictable’ (Guardian) programmes danced by Ballet Black, back for another year at the Mercury Theatre.

Led by Artistic Director Cassa Pancho, this company celebrates dancers of black and Asian descent, showcasing technique, precision and grace in specially commissioned pieces.

As part of their latest double bill, Cathy Marston, renowned for her expressive and beautifully crafted work, choreographs a new narrative ballet for the Company. Based on Can Themba’s South African fable The Suit, this is the first dance adaptation of the affecting short story.

Completing the evening is Arthur Pita’s Olivier nominated A Dream Within a Midsummer Night’s Dream, a heady piece of dance-theatre for which Pita also earned a Critics’ Circle and South Bank Award nomination following its premiere in 2014. Described as ‘charming and hilarious’ by Dance Europe magazine, the production mixes the classical and contemporary to distil the essence of Shakespeare’s comedy, unfolding to an eclectic soundtrack that includes Eartha Kitt, Barbra Streisand and Yma Sumac. Performing it, ‘the company have never looked better’ (Independent).

Presented by Ballet Black