Our new pilot mentoring scheme brings some of our Black British pioneers to support the next generation of ballet dancers.

Working with the major dance schools across England, we’ve paired their students with dancers from the project who have had successful careers in the industry and worked with the major ballet companies across the UK.

From our research and work to date, Black ballet dancers are often trying to navigate in an environment which they may find challenging or isolating due to the historical nature of the practice.

We want to support Black dancers to feel confident in the ballet world, to help make the field as inclusive as possible, and to encourage talented artists to stay in ballet so that the industry truly reflects the talent on offer across all cultures in the UK.

We are delighted to announce our mentors for this pilot are Vincent Hantam, Brenda Garratt-Glassman, Denzil Bailey, Shevelle Dynott and Monique Jonas.

This amazing group of dancers have been matched with students from Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet School, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Elmhurst Ballet School, Central School of Ballet and Northern Ballet School.

The pilot will run to the end of April next year and is generously funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the MSN Fund.