Ballet Black Marks 25 Years with a Landmark Return to the Linbury Theatre
Cassa Pancho’s Ballet Black celebrates its 25th anniversary at the Linbury Theatre with an award-winning revival and a bold new commission, reaffirming its place at the heart of British ballet.
From 3 to 7 March 2026, Ballet Black returns to the Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House with a mixed programme that looks backward and forward in equal measure. It is both celebration and statement.
Founded in 2001 by Cassa Pancho OBE, Ballet Black was built on a clear premise: to change the face of classical ballet by championing dancers and creatives of Black and Asian descent. A quarter of a century later, that mission no longer feels radical in theory. In practice, it still matters.
The programme anchors itself in Ingoma (2019), the choreographic debut of former company dancer Mthuthuzeli November. Inspired by the 1946 South African miners’ strike, a pivotal precursor to the anti-apartheid movement, the work brings political history to the ballet stage without softening its edges. It traces the suffering and resilience of Black miners and their communities through muscular, grounded choreography that feels closer to lived experience than decorative spectacle.
The response to Ingoma was emphatic. It won the Olivier Award and the Black British Theatre Award for Best Dance Production in 2020. Its return now feels earned rather than nostalgic, a reminder of a work that expanded what British ballet could hold.
Alongside it comes something new. Hope Boykin, a two-time Bessie Award winner best known for her long association with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, makes her UK choreographic debut with …all towards hope. Created especially for Ballet Black’s 25th anniversary, the piece is described as celebratory but forward-looking. Boykin’s choreography has always drawn deeply from personal and lived experience, and here that instinct meets a company built on collective change.
Over the past 25 years, the company has performed in more than 100 venues and cultivated one of the most diverse audiences for classical ballet in the UK. Its repertory has ranged widely, tackling subjects from ancestry and identity to serial killers and the state of the world today.
Ballet Black runs at the Linbury Theatre from 3 to 7 March 2026. Tickets start at £15.
Ballet Black
Linbury Theatre
3–7 March 2026
Ingoma
Choreography Mthuthuzeli November
Composer Peter Johnson
Costume Designer Yann Seabra
Lighting Designer David Plater
…all towards hope.
Choreography Hope Boykin
Composer Bill Laurance
Costume Designer Jessica Cabassa
Lighting Designer David Plater
Featured image: Ballet Black Company. From top centre,clockwise:Love Kotiya,AcaoãDe Castro,Bhungane Mehlomakulu, Mikayla Issacs,Megan Chiu, Ruby Runham,Ebony Thomas,Isabela Coracy,Helga Paris Morales, Elijah Peterkin & Taraja Hudson. Phtography by ASH
Elena Leo is the Culture & Lifestyle Editor of Ikon London Magazine.
