Birmingham Royal Ballet dancing with pride

New dance production El amor es amor to receive its world premiere at Birmingham Pride’s Big Free Community Event.

BRB’s world class dancers return to perform live on the Main Stage ahead of the company’s international tours.

BRB staff and dancers to join Birmingham Pride Parade.

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Learning, Engagement, Access and Participation Department (LEAP), in partnership with Performers College Birmingham, present El amor es amor a brand-new dance production which will receive its world premiere 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.”

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

El amor es amor will be performed on Friday 23 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, live music, community stalls, food stalls and queer local artists. The event is free, but tickets still need to be booked via www.birminghampride.com/tickets/

In addition, showing the company’s continued support for the LGBTQIA+ community in the city, the students will join BRB dancers and staff for the Birmingham Pride Parade starting at Centenary Square from 12 noon on Saturday 24 May.

Finally, those attending the Main Stage line up on Saturday 24 May at 4pm are in for a special treat as BRB’s dancers once again return to perform live at Birmingham Pride. This is the company’s final UK performance before taking the name of Birmingham across the pond to the USA with the acclaimed Black Sabbath – The Ballet and to Japan with Sir David Bintley’s stunning production of Cinderella.

 The Birmingham Pride performance, featuring excerpts from three ballet productions, will showcase the international stars of the future from BRB’s newest company BRB2, freshly back from their third UK tour, alongside dancers from the main BRB company. 

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. Tickets can be purchased at www.birminghampride.com/tickets/

Birmingham Pride runs across Bank Holiday weekend on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May. www.birminghampride.com

For further information on Birmingham Royal Ballet’s 2025/26 season and to book tickets please go to www.brb.org.uk