Birmingham Royal Ballet: Dancing With Pride

Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) are returning to this year's Birmingham Pride during May Bank Holiday weekend with two separate performances in support of the city's vibrant LGBTQ+ community. On Friday 23rd May, as Birmingham Pride opens festivities at the Big Free Community Event, BRB's new dance production El Amor es amor will receive its world premiere. Then on Saturday 24th May, BRB’s world class dancers will return to the main stage at the Smithfield site for a performance ahead of the company's international tour. Staff and dancers from the company will also join Birmingham’s Pride parade on Saturday afternoon from 12pm.

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Learning, Engagement, Access and Participation Department (LEAP), in partnership with Performers College Birmingham, will present El amor es amor at this year’s Birmingham Pride.

El amor es amor is inspired by BRB Director Carlos Acosta’s explosive revival of the full-length ballet Don Quixote which returns to Birmingham Hippodrome stage in spring 2026 and is reimagined to reflect the values and vibrancy of Birmingham Pride.

Hannah MacGregor, LEAP’s Access and Inclusion Officer commented “In the original story, Don Quixote sets out on a quest to find love, and in our performance the narrative focuses on a same sex love story. El amor es amor, which means love is love in Spanish, is set in 1977 in La Ramblas, Barcelona, where the first Gay Pride in Spain took place. In addition to the same sex love story, the piece also reflects the protestors standing up for equality and celebrates individuality.”

El amor es amor will be performed on Friday 23rd May at 7.05pm as part of Birmingham Pride’s Big Free Community Event, on the main stage at Smithfield Live. The event features Pride’s annual candlelit vigil, keynote speakers, live performances and music including a line-up of local queer talent, as well as community and food stalls. The event is free, but tickets need to be booked online: www.birminghampride.com/tickets/

This new piece will be performed by 10, first and second year students, aged 18-22 currently studying for a BA (Hons) in Musical Theatre and Dance, and marks the fourth year of the partnership with BRB.

Working with professional choreographer Patsy Browne-Hope, with artistic support from BRB Principal Dancer Lachlan Monaghan, the partnership enables BRB to continue to support dancers of the future providing opportunities to co-create and choreograph new work alongside BRB’s world class dancers.

Those attending the Main Stage line up on Saturday 24th May at 4pm will also have the chance to see BRB’s final UK performance before heading to the USA with the acclaimed Black Sabbath – The Ballet and to Japan with Sir David Bintley’s stunning production of Cinderella.

BRB2 Scheherazade Andrea Riolo and Ixan Llorca Ferrer - credit Tristam Kenton

The performance will feature excerpts from three ballet productions. The performance includes Hostess Solo danced by Artist Sophie Walters and the pas de deux danced by Artists Ellyne Knol and Noah Cosgriff from the ballet Les Biches; Scheherazade pas de deux danced by Artists Andrea Riolo and Ixan Llorca Ferrer and the beautiful pas de deux from Sir Peter’s Wright’s The Nutcracker danced by Soloist Reina Fuchigami and Artist Shuailun Wu.