Swanage is getting a visit from the Black British Ballet this autumn, and it comes with something for the younger ones too. The company is known for blending classical ballet with African, Caribbean and contemporary styles, and they are bringing that mix to the South West with a special performance in Swanage, plus a run of dance workshops at Dorset Libraries.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Bournemouth and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
The workshops are free and aimed at families. The first two land in Wimborne on Tuesday 27 October: a 10am session at Wimborne Library for children aged 3 to 5, followed by a second dance workshop at midday. The Swanage leg comes on Friday 30 October at 10.30am at Swanage Library, where the Family Ballet Workshop is open to children from age seven upwards. It pulls together ballet, contemporary, African and Caribbean dance, led by a dancer from the Black British Ballet project, so it is a proper introduction to the styles the company works with. Swanage Library sits at 30-32 High Street, BH19 2NU, and it is worth knowing its opening hours before you head down: Monday and Tuesday 10am to 5pm, Wednesday 12pm to 6pm, Friday 10am to 5pm and Saturday 10am to 1pm, with Thursday and Sunday closed. For the Swanage session, the number to call is 01929 423485.
It helps to know who is behind it. Ballet Black is a professional neoclassical company for dancers of Black and Asian descent, set up by Cassa Pancho OBE in 2001 because there were so few professional Black and Asian ballet dancers in the UK. Its motto is "Change Not Trend", and it has since performed in more than 100 venues and built what it describes as the most diverse audience for classical ballet in the country. Pancho has personally commissioned over 70 new works, with a focus on supporting female choreographers from the start of their careers, and the company is the first and only one in the UK to have won all three of the Critics' Circle company awards.
The influence goes beyond the stage. Ballet Black worked with Freed of London to develop the UK's first skin-tone pointe shoes, and Freed has since added "Ballet Bronze" and "Ballet Brown" to its range, which are now used across the sector. In 2002, Pancho set up the Ballet Black Junior School to keep the pipeline going, teaching children aged three to eighteen across several London sites with Black and brown role models at the front of the room. The school's first alumna, Ruby Runham, joined the professional company in 2025.
On the awards front, the company has picked up the Grishko Award for Best Independent Company and nods at the National Dance Awards for both male and female classical performance and choreography. Senior artists from the company have gone on to teach at The Royal Ballet School, choreograph for the Royal Ballet & Opera, and even dance as part of Stormzy's headlining act on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury in 2019. Cassa Pancho herself was appointed OBE in the 2026 New Year Honours for services to ballet. With the workshops free and the performance close at hand, it is a good excuse to catch a company that has spent twenty-five years quietly changing what a ballet company looks like.
Published Date
17 October 2026
