Announcing the 2025 Ballet Central Tour
1 April 2025
Written by Katherine Camps Kilgour
Ballet Central are back on tour this summer with an exciting programme showcasing the extraordinary talent of Central School of Ballet’s graduating class of 2025, the future stars of dance. This year’s company is made up of 38 young dancers, many of whom will make their debut on a professional stage.
Bringing fresh dance to national audiences for over 40 years, the tour will open at the Corn Exchange as part of Newbury Spring Festival on Thursday 22 May before playing a further eight venues around the country. Tickets for all venues are on sale now. Visit our Book Tickets page to discover all venues on the tour and secure your tickets.
The Ballet Central Tour is the perfect introduction to dance for audiences of all ages, with repertoire this year that sees heritage meet cutting edge. The mixed programme has been expertly commissioned by Kate Coyne, Artistic Director of the world-class ballet school.
The Ballet Central Tour 2025 will feature Frederick Ashton’s majestic Foyer de danse, reconstructed and staged by Ursula Hageli, on behalf of The Frederick Ashton Foundation. Staged for the first time in over 90 years, Ashton’s ballet brings Edgar Degas paintings and pastels of Paris Opera Ballet dancers to life.
In contrast, Ballet Central presents two newly commissioned contemporary works from Dickson Mbi and creative duo Thick & Tight. Vastly energetic, Dickson Mbi’s piece Rise explores the practices of ritual and shared human experience, striving to shine a light on what is next to come. Presenting a new generation of dancers in this fast-evolving artistic world, Dickson Mbi’s piece depicts the energetic ambition and perseverance required to pave new pathways in dance theatre and performance.
Thick & Tight’s theatrical work Keeping Up with the Apocalypse – set to John Adam’s Nixon In China – combines dance, theatre and mime, whilst adopting a humorous commentary on social and political affairs. Set years ahead in the future of planet Earth only one species remains, thriving in a desolate post-apocalyptic landscape. The Kardashians! Famous for being famous and living on money alone, they dominate a decimated planet.
The fourth piece in this vibrant programme is Kristen McNally’s modern ballet FEAST with a glorious new musical composition by Central’s Tabor Music Director, Philip Feeney. Principal Character Artist of the Royal Ballet, McNally’s vibrant piece allows the audience to catch a glimpse of a colourful community where conversation is punctuated and interactions explode with character.
Ballet Central was created in 1984 as the touring company of Central School of Ballet to give Central’s graduating students the opportunity of professional performance experience. The programme is formed around Ballet Central’s relationships with leading choreographers and provides the opportunity for students to experience performance in front of a ticket-buying audience.
Central School of Ballet is the only professional dance training school in the UK providing touring experience on such a scale.
Populated by the final year students of the BA (Hons) Professional Dance & Performance degree, joining the Ballet Central company forms a core part of the degree course and, most importantly, supports graduate employment. Meet this year’s company here.
Ballet Central graduates go on to dance in companies including English National Ballet, Northern Ballet, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, Scottish Ballet, Ballet Black and Rambert Dance Company, as well as international dance companies across the globe.
