Black British Ballet events and exhibition touring Suffolk Community Libraries in October

By James Powell | September 18, 2025

Suffolk Community Libraries are delighted to welcome the Black British Ballet project this October.

The Black British Ballet project by Oxygen Arts aims to fundamentally change the way that ballet is seen and operates in Britain. Oxygen Arts is a social enterprise that specialises in targeting and working with diverse communities. Black British Ballet aims to share the hidden history of black dancers in British ballet, bringing ballet to new and diverse audiences and driving change in the industry.

Oxygen Arts are bringing the following events to libraries in Suffolk:

Into the Light exhibition at Ipswich County Library from 3-28 October

This exhibition will include almost 30 images, posters and news articles from the past 60 years including video clips of dancer’s stories.

Onisere and the Ballet Queen

Join Oxygen Arts for fun filled sessions of dance and storytelling to find out more about the Black dancers who blazed a trail through British ballet! ​Suitable for ​children aged 4-8 years.

Sessions take place as follows:

• Ipswich County Library – Tuesday 28 October, 11:00 – 12:30
• Gainsborough Community Library – Tuesday 28 October, 14:00 – 15:30
• Lowestoft Library – Wednesday 29 October, 11:00 – 12:30
• Beccles Library – Wednesday 29 October, 14:00 – 15:30
• Bury St Edmunds Library – Friday 31 October, 11:00 – 12:30.

Dance Workshops

Join dance workshops at Ipswich County Library and Gainsborough Community Library, led by a professional dancer from Oxygen Arts. The workshops will explore ballet mixed with contemporary, African and Caribbean dance, followed by an informal Q&A with the dance instructor. Suitable for ages 7+. Children ​must be accompanied by an adult. No dance experience necessary – just come along and join the fun!

• Ipswich County Library – Thursday 29 October from 11:00 – 12:30
• Gainsborough Community Library – Thursday 29 October from 14:00 – 15:30.

Dance Photography Workshop

Ipswich County Library on Saturday 18 October, 11:00 – 13:00.

Come along to a practical group session at Ipswich County Library for budding photographers who want to learn more about movement and dance photography. Sony mirrorless cameras are provided, or participants can bring their own. We’ll also have a professional dancer on hand to practise with! Suitable for ages 14+

BOM Media VR Workshop

Online on Tuesday 7 October, 18:30 – 19:30.

An engaging and accessible online talk presented by BOM (Birmingham Open Media) which will show you the process of making the Black British Ballet virtual reality experience. Come along to find out how to create a VR experience and talk to the experts!

What is the Black British Ballet project?

The untold stories of Britain’s black ballet dancers will be put centre stage for the first time in a new touring exhibition.

Funded by a £245,500 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Into the Light: Pioneers of Black British Ballet will bring together archive photography, film, newspaper articles and posters alongside new video and audio interviews to trace the history of black British ballet from the 1940s to the present day.

A unique partnership between creative agency Oxygen Arts and Libraries Connected, will see the exhibition tour 25 libraries, starting in Stockport and Redbridge this October and continuing until November 2025.

Based on the PhD studies of Dr Sandie Bourne, the Black British Ballet project by Oxygen Arts includes this website showcase, a children’s book, a Windrush themed ballet show, a feature length documentary and a touring exhibition.

Dr Sandie Bourne, PhD, said:

“Black British dance professionals are still significantly underrepresented in every area of the industry. Their absence inevitably reinforces the perception of those with little or no relationship to ballet, that this art form is not ‘for them’. The Black British Ballet project aims to create a range of resource to tackle this situation on every level, in diverse communities, in ballet academies, in dance companies and in universities.”

Black dancers have been present in British ballet from at least the 1940s. Among the first to do so were Jamaicans Berto Pasuka and Richard Riley, who trained with well-known classical ballet teachers before founding Britain’s first black dance company Les Ballets Nègres in 1946. However, the presence and contribution of these pioneers has been largely ignored in Britain.

When black British dancers started to train in mainstream ballet institutions in the 1970s, students like Brenda Garratt-Glassman and Julie Felix were bluntly told by UK institutions that they would not be hired because they were Black. They, and almost everyone else who trained during this period, were forced to seek work abroad, most notably at Dance Theatre of Harlem.

The Black British Ballet project by Oxygen Arts makes an important contribution to this work by highlighting and reinserting the experiences of black people in British ballet, diversifying ballet audiences and encouraging young black dancers to see ballet as ‘for them’.

The project is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Arts Council England, Black Funding Network and Do the Right Thing Fund by Utopia.