Marking its 25th anniversary with a double bill, Ballet Black has provided a platform for talented black and Asian dancers to showcase their elegance and interpretation of classic and contemporary works that challenge a white and elitist cultural canon. And simultaneously, it has played a key role in bringing black and brown audiences to see untold stories that resonate with them.
Opening the first of the double bill, …all towards hope choreographed by Hope Boykin is a UK debut which starts with an ominous drumbeat and a lilting monologue on the importance of moving together towards new chapters imbued with hope. Boykin reflects on the courage required to step away and strengthen community spirit to embed inclusive change that energizes all.
As the dancers pivot and glide across the stage, this fleeting movement-language intersperses with stoic, strong footwork and open arms that illuminate the tenuous to-ing and fro-ing we are experiencing as a society to emerge better, stronger, than what we were. With soft lighting in a spectrum of warm oranges and gold against a black backdrop, this is an eerie performance considering the dystopian news agenda and political strife we are living right now where we are fighting to hope with our full chest. Dressed in a wispy copper dress, senior artist Isabela Coracy, is stunning in this dance landscape that invites the audience to want a better future.
In contrast, Ingoma (2019) brings a different energy that is gritty and demanding of the audience to immerse itself in the struggles of South African miners who went on strike in 2012. Police opened fire, resulting in 34 miners losing their lives. For choreographer Mthuthuzeli November, this production adds another perspective to this tragedy – the impact upon the miners’ wider families who no longer had husbands, brothers, fathers, and sisters. Flashing torchlights and thumping boots on the stage, the male group’s nifty footwork establish their resilience and authority in expressing what it means to provide for their families and create community foundations. Senior artist Ebony Thomas is charismatic as the lead. As the female dancers process the horror of police fire upon their loved ones, their en pointe poses bring home the pressure point of how precarious life is in societies that stifle disenfranchised groups.
Need to know: Ballet Black is at Sadler’s Wells in Angel until Sat 17 Oct 2026 | See listing | Access £20 tickets or use the code AFRIDIZIAK20 when booking
