New Exhibition Celebrates Ballet’s Black Pioneers
The previously unrecognised contributions of Britain’s Black ballet dancers is being showcased publicly for the first time in a new touring exhibition. Supported by a grant of £245,500 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Into the Light: Pioneers of Black British Ballet will utilise archival photographs, film footage, newspaper articles, and posters, complemented by contemporary video and audio interviews, to explore the history of Black British ballet from the 1940s to the present day.
Marsha Lowe, Director of Oxygen Arts
This exhibition is an important step in giving our Black British pioneers the recognition they deserve, bringing their challenges and achievements to a much wider audience. But we want to go further, to change the perception of ballet by diversifying ballet audiences and encouraging the next generation of young black dancers to see ballet as ‘for them
A distinguished collaboration between Oxygen Arts and Libraries Connected, the official membership organisation for public libraries, will facilitate an exhibition tour across twenty-five library venues. The tour will commence in Stockport and Redbridge this October and is scheduled to continue until February 2026.
Highlights include an interview with a member of Europe’s first Black dance company Les Ballets Nègres, formed by Jamaicans Berto Pasuka and Richard Riley in 1946. Other prominent dancers featured include Brenda Garratt-Glassman, the first Black British student at the Royal Ballet Upper School, and Darren Panton, the first Black British student at the Royal Ballet boarding school.
The exhibition will be accompanied by performances of Island Movements, an original Windrush-themed ballet. Additionally, the programme will feature dance, writing, and photography workshops, alongside engaging talks and panel discussions. There will also be a virtual exhibition curated by Birmingham Open Media, which will showcase a motion capture ballet performance.
I am pleased to hear that the historically overlooked contributions of Britain’s Black ballet dancers are now being publicly recognised through a new touring exhibition. This initiative will provide greater opportunity for the community to engage with and appreciate this important aspect of cultural heritage. Heritage plays a vital role in fostering community pride and supporting local economic development, and this project serves as an excellent example of those objectives.
I had the privilege of attending and photographing Black British Ballet’s inspiring performance of “Island Movements” at Bewick Hall, Newcastle City Library, on 9th October 2023. I was able to capture a series of exceptional images that reflect the calibre of the presentation.
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