![]() ![]() He danced in a South African production of West Side Story before joining Ballet Black as First Year Apprentice in September 2015 and was promoted to Junior Artist in 2016 where he created roles in Arthur Pita’s Cristaux and Christopher Hampson’s Storyville. In 2015 he travelled to the UK to dance with Central School of Ballet’s third year touring company, Ballet Central, performing all over the country. Mthuthu created his debut choreographic work in 2014 on the Cape Dance Company Junior Company. He has worked with Cape Dance Company under the direction of Debbie Turner, with choreographers including Bradley Shelver and Christopher Huggins. Mthuthu won a gold medal in the Contemporary category in the South Africa International Ballet Competition as a Junior in 2012, and a Senior in 2014. In 2011 he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Cape Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA), where he graduated with a Distinction. Mthuthuzeli November Senior Artist & choreographer of Nina: By Whatever Means.īorn in Cape Town, South Africa, Mthuthu started dancing at the age of 15 with the outreach programme, Dance For All. She teaches regularly for the BB Junior School in Shepherd’s Bush, West London and has a degree from Durham University. She has commissioned over 40 choreographers, to create over 60 new ballets for the Company. This production won Best Dance Production at the 2022 Black British Theatre Awards. In 2022, Cassa collaborated with the Ballet Black CompanyĪrtists to create Say It Loud, a ballet to commemorate the Company’s 20th anniversary. Cassa also works as a consultant in EDI for several British dance organisations, including National Youth Ballet and the Elmhurst School of Ballet. She is a Board Member of Scottishīallet, and serves on their Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee. In 2020, she authored a guide for improving equity and access in ballet for dance schools and companies that has been widely shared in the arts world. In 2018, Cassa was awarded the Freedom of the City of London. In 2017, Cassa and former BB dancer, Cira Robinson, collaborated with renowned British ballet shoe manufacturer, Freed of London, to create two brand new pointe shoe colours to enable dancers of Black and Asian descent to buy skin-tone pointe shoes ready-made. She is a Patron of Central School of Ballet and a vice president of The London Ballet Circle. Cassa was awarded an MBE in the 2013 New Years’ Honours List for Services to Classical Ballet and has served as a judge on the panels of both the Kenneth Macmillan Choreographic and BBC Young Dancer competitions and the Arts Foundation Futures Dance Jury in 2022. Ballet Black has won both the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Company in 2009, Best Independent Company in 2012 and Best Mid-Scale Company in 2022. Since starting the Company, she has commissioned work from a wide range of choreographers, including Liam Scarlett, Richard Alston, Sophie Laplane, Javier de Frutos, Annabelle Lopez- Ochoa, Shobana Jeyasingh, Henri Oguike, Arthur Pita, William Tuckett and Mthuthuzeli November. Cassa is a graduate of the 2009 National Theatre cultural leadership programme, Step Change. A year later, she opened the BB Junior School in Shepherd’s Bush. Her initial goal was to provide role models to young, aspiring Black and Asian dancers. In his “love letter” to Simone, choreographer and director Mthuthuzeli November paints a skillful portrait of her turbulent and influential life to take us on a challenging yet moving journey.įounder & Artistic Director of Trinidadian and British parents, Cassa founded Ballet Black in 2001 after graduating from professional dance training and was one of the first dancers and choreographers in the Company. Nina: By Whatever Means is inspired by the art and activism of Nina Simone. Nina: By Whatever Means, choreographed by Mthuthuzeli November Beautiful solos, seductive duets and dynamic, unique ensemble numbers compose this sophisticated and emotional piece. Then Or Now, choreographed by William TuckettĬhoreographer William Tuckett combines classical ballet, music and the poetry of feminist Adrienne Rich to explore our notion of home and our sense of belonging. ![]() Since 2001, Ballet Black has been transforming the dance landscape by providing a platform for Black and Asian artists, as well as emerging and established choreographic voices whose unexpected stories and themes go straight to the audience’s heart. ![]() The UK’s Cassa Pancho’s Ballet Black makes its North American debut on our stage with Pioneers, a double bill rich in beautiful movement and lyrical contrasts. ![]()
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