Birmingham Royal Ballet announces 2024-25 season
Birmingham Royal Ballet has announced dates and performances for the 2024-25 season.
The company’s director Carlos Acosta said: “I am so happy to be able to share our plans for the future with everyone. Still riding high from the successes of the autumn/winter 2023 season, we have a lot to celebrate, but we also keep moving forward, keep challenging ourselves and keep aiming high, in terms of our goals and ambitions.
“Everyone at BRB has worked incredibly hard to ensure my vision for this company has been, and continues to be, realised, and I am very proud of our achievements and excited about our plans.
“This Season exemplifies the importance of balancing the creation of platforms for emerging talents to shine, alongside the joy we bring to the classical canon of work that the Company is so proud to perform.”
Fresh from the sell-out success in Birmingham, Plymouth and London, Black Sabbath – The Ballet has had a raft of international interest. The European premiere will be at the Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam, presented by Holland Dance Festival (13 - 15 June) and BRB are already in advanced talks about touring Black Sabbath - The Ballet to the USA in summer 2025.
In summer 2024, the Company will make its first-ever visit to Iceland to perform Carlos Acosta’s Classical Selection in Reykjavik.
The autumn season begins at Birmingham Hippodrome (25 - 28 September) where BRB presents Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée, its Founder Choreographer's most popular ballet. This is the first time La Fille mal gardée has been presented by BRB under the directorship of Carlos Acosta, who, for many, is one of the definitive interpreters of Colas in this sunny, effervescent ballet.
The production will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal (10 - 13 October) and Sadler’s Wells London (24 - 25 October) and is part of the official 2024-28 Ashton Worldwide Festival.
Drawing inspiration from the book Once Upon a Time in Birmingham: Women Who Dare to Dream by Louise Palfreyman, it features an all-female, international creative team, including choreographers Iratxe Ansa (Spain); Wubkje Kuindersma (Netherlands); Seeta Patel (UK); Arielle Smith (UK); Thais Suárez (Cuba); with music composed by Kate Whitley (UK).
The Nutcracker’s Birmingham run begins on 22 November playing through to 14 December. The Royal Albert Hall spectacular presentation of The Nutcracker returns this year (29 - 31 December 2024).
The 2025 Spring UK Tour will be Sir David Bintley’s Cinderella, one of BRB’s most popular ballets. With sumptuous sets and costumes by John MacFarlane, virtuoso dance and some of ballet's most memorable coups de theatre, Cinderella continues to thrill audiences across the world with one of the largest UK touring productions.
One of BRB's most in-demand ballets, Cinderella opens at the Mayflower Southampton (6 - 8 February) before travelling to Birmingham Hippodrome (19 - 29 February), The Lowry Salford (6 - 8 March), Sunderland Empire (13 - 15 March), Bristol Hippodrome (27 - 29 March), and finally Plymouth Theatre Royal (9 - 12 April).
Spring 2025 will see the third BRB2 UK tour, this time featuring an all-new programme, to be announced. BRB2 has attracted a wealth of international talent to the company already. These future stars have already made their mark within the company and, as the 2-year initiative approaches its first conclusion, all eyes are on what these talented young dancers will do next.
Pictured: Javier Rojas and Yaoqian Shang, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Black Sabbath- The Ballet. Photo credit: Johan Persson
