Skip to content
Black British Ballet

Vincent Hantam

Ethnic heritage: South African

Year of birth: 1956

Training: Royal Ballet Upper School

Ballet career: Vincent Hantam was born in Cape Town, South Africa during apartheid. From the age of 12, he attended ballet classes with his teacher Miss MacDonald and at the age of 16 he moved to London to join the Royal Ballet School.

In 1975, aged 19 years old, Hantam joined the Scottish Ballet Company in Glasgow where he successfully performed many roles, until he left in 1986 to explore alternative opportunities. He worked with various companies both nationally and internationally including: Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet Company, London City Ballet, Kansas City Ballet Company, Hong Kong Ballet Company, NAPAC & PACT Ballet in South Africa, Northern Ballet, and Royal New Zealand Ballet Company.

Hantam has worked as a dancer, choreographer, producer, and teacher nationally and internationally and he still teaches and performs today. His legacy as a black dancer from South Africa should be celebrated among the contributors of Black British ballet dancer’s early history.

Never give up! Treat every class like an audition and every rehearsal like a performance.
- Vincent Hantam