Back when I was a five-year-old in my first (and last) ballet class, crying because I had to wear ‘flesh’ coloured (read Caucasian) clothing, I couldn’t even conceive of the idea of Britain’s most diverse and daring ballet company that advocates for Black and Asian dancers.
Let alone it reaching the success it has. Yet here I am at the beautiful Hackney Empire for this opening night, celebrating a quarter-century milestone for Ballet Black, the daydream-turned fully-fledged dance company founded by Cassa Pancho OBE. What an achievement, what a celebration. It’s meaningful for so many of us, regardless of whether or not you’re into ballet.
Having seen Ballet Black in 2014 at the Nottingham Playhouse, I am already familiar with the looseness of modern ballet compared with the more traditional style – plus I’m married to someone who was a non-professional grade 8 ballet dancer, which has given me an appreciation of the craft. So when the performance begins powerfully with All Towards Hope as choreographed, written and recorded by Hope Boykin – a spoken word piece accented with heart drum beats and interpretive-style dancing, the fact that there’s a ‘rigidness’ missing from the movement comes as no surprise.
There is however an inconsistency of fabric in the costuming that for me takes away from appreciating the dance craft – it’s harder to fully experience the technical prowess of the modern style. Still, there’s a gentle stirring, a waiting. Twenty minutes in and I’m hypnotised by the intense ASMR-like sonics of this first act, which feels abstract and a little disconnected from the movement in front of me. I think this is intentional. I do want to see more consistency with the way the fabric flows with the movement, or outfits that show off the dancers’ physicality. I don’t get this so much and I’m left wanting more from it.
The lighting, from David Plater, is another intentional yet harmonious juxtaposition; cool blues contrast against the terracotta and millennial dusty pink costume, bringing warmth when it needs to and building to an impressive conclusion towards the end of the first half of the performance. The dress circle seats I am in mean that there’s a light on the right hand side creating a huge distracting amount of glare for me. This is a performance where lighting and sound are critical to the tone, so having such a disruption definitely impacts my enjoyment.
The dancing itself is BEAUTIFUL. Lots of modern, fun sliding and tap as well as some technical classic ballet brilliance to please even the most traditional. This is most apparent in the somewhat heteronormative dancer pairings, but I’m happy to see some clear vogue and ballroom influences, particularly from junior artist Bhugane Mehlomakulu who gives camp and flourish.
Some other clear standouts for me are junior artist Love Kotiya and seniors Acaoa de Castro and Isabela Coracy – the latter delivering the most arresting dancing of the whole performance in the second half with scene dance partner Elijah Peterkin. INGOMA is choreographed by Mthuthuzeli November with costume design by Yann Seabra and original score from Peter Johnson alongside November.
The combination of all these elements really deliver; I get narrative, Black excellence and emotion that doesn’t feel staid or routine. This is what Ballet Black is brilliant in. There is physicality and singing in a language where I don’t understand the words but I feel it and understand through the movement. Muscles, sadness, longing; both classical and modern in its raw emotion. I enjoy this part the most.
The last part of the performance, the sentence-case Ingoma, gets a little too ‘Handmaids Tale’ for my taste. It is on the long and repetitive side, but I get the sense of a community who are washed out, have no choices and have seen much pain. It is loud and sad, there is a sense of death and mourning that feels super intense. Which makes sense considering the topic being depicted – the African mine workers’ strike in Marikana 2012. In fact, I think this last act makes me feel exactly as I was supposed to feel, which is extremely impressive.
Ballet Black, as always, delivers on its legacy and promise to me that I’ll see something very different every time – this is a show that makes me think, feel and celebrate, and I applaud everyone involved for another successful iteration that will continue to inspire.
NEED TO KNOW:
- Access £10 off tickets to see Ballet Black at Hackney Empire
- Ballet Black’s 25th anniversary tour | next stop, Wolverhampton Grand on 9 June 2026
- Jessica Cabassa – interview Ballet Black: HEROES | Double Bill The Waiting Game & If At First UK Tour
- Cassa Pancho – interview Ballet Black: HEROES | Double Bill
- Cassa Pancho’s Ballet Black, season premiere at the Barbican Theatre
