Royal Ballet chosen for digital accelerator scheme

Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) has been chosen as one of the UK arts organisations selected to take part in the Digital Accelerator Programme.

Initially designed to help arts organisations stabilize and thrive in the wake of the pandemic, Bloomberg Philanthropies ' Digital Accelerator Programme supports leadership development and infrastructure improvements that helps cultural organisations to build audiences, increase fundraising, drive revenue and deliver dynamic programming.

The collaboration with Birmingham Royal Ballet will help the company work more efficiently and effectively in support of strategic objectives.

With a significant investment in equipment and by working with industry leading partners BRB will be creating a range of ground-breaking digital and virtual content for a wide range of audiences, both old and new.

Tom Rogers, a former Soloist dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet for over 17 years, retired from stage and became BRB 's creative digital producer. Being naturally inquisitive and drawn to innovation of any form, Tom feels at home working in the ever-changing digital space.

Tom said: “Our inclusion in Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Accelerator Programme will see Birmingham Royal Ballet explore the use and application of immersive technology for the international dance sector. ”

“I am hugely excited by the possibilities this relationship offers us, our inclusion in this programme allows Birmingham Royal Ballet to be at the forefront of content creation for our digital world and I am looking forward to sharing the results of our work with a global audience. ”

The first project will be to create a Swan Lake VR experience. This will form part of an immersive package of content that will be shown within the five special needs schools BRB are working in next academic year. This is designed to bring dance content to an audience who may struggle to enter a live theatre environment.

Pictured: Tom Rogers and Imogen Harvey filming BRB2