Dancing shoes

Birmingham Royal Ballet is one of the world’s great ballet companies. We’re proudly rooted in Birmingham, our home since 1990, and we cherish our connections with the diverse people of our city. At the same time, we tour around the UK and internationally, bringing world-class ballet and live music to the widest range of audiences in our nation and beyond.

We perform everything from grand romantic ballets to breathtaking new dance works inspired by our world today – including many pieces created just for us by the world’s best established and emerging choreographers. We’re bringing new life to the greatest ballet traditions – but under the leadership of Carlos Acosta, our Director, we’re also pushing the art form into electrifying new directions, underpinned by the artistry, creativity and technical excellence for which we’re known around the world. We can trace our origins back to 1931, when Dame Ninette de Valois founded the Vic-Wells Ballet – a precursor to BRB, established under the great Peter Wright in 1990.

But while we’re proud of our history, we’re also passionately committed to the future of ballet – and we’re doing our best to leave it in good hands.

Our inclusive learning and engagement programmes are helping to nurture a new generation of young dancers, making sure they can take forward our great art form through the years and decades to come.

Ballet is a physically demanding profession. On average, BRB stages 150–175 live productions per year for national and international audiences selling between 140,000 and 180,000 tickets.

This demanding performance schedule is physically and mentally challenging for BRB dancers, musicians and touring staff. It is paramount that health and wellbeing is championed to ensure individuals reach their full potential and to reduce the risk of injuries, both during and beyond performance careers.

The performance requirements have changed dramatically over the past 20 years since the inception of the Jerwood Centre. Birmingham Royal Ballet is committed to staging world class productions of classical ballets and innovative contemporary works that push the boundaries of the art form. These new contemporary works involve a different and heightened level of physicality and artistry from BRB dancers as the choreography incorporates new movement styles such as complex floor work and male dancers performing on pointe. Alongside the demand of new contemporary productions, the classical repertoire has evolved requiring a higher level of technique from performers, and audience expectations are at an all-time high.

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s pioneering Jerwood Centre is a world leader in dance medicine and science. Opened in 2002, the Jerwood Centre is the first of its kind in the UK, supported by a capital grant from the Jerwood Foundation. Led by Dr Nick Allen and his team the Jerwood Centre encompasses clinical service, education and research, and state of the art medical and rehabilitation facilities.

The Jerwood Centre offers ongoing support to dancers as well as musicians and technical staff, as well as administration staff with a firm belief that everyone in company needs to be in strong physical and mental health to deliver BRB’s mission. We regularly partner with universities, health professionals, referral partners and research projects to inform our work and strengthen the delivery of our Jerwood service and ensure prevention and treatment of injuries for our dancers. This includes pain management and support for the whole dancer’s wellbeing.

The Jerwood Centre. Photo: Andrew Ross

Preparing for rehearsal at the Jerwood Centre. Photo: Andrew Ross