Ballet Futures: The Pipeline Project

Ballet Futures: The Pipeline Project is a children’s training programme that encourages and incentivises more dancers from traditionally underrepresented groups in ballet (African Diaspora, Caribbean, South Asian and South East Asian heritage) to participate in sustained professional ballet training from the earliest possible point.

Run in association with dance schools nationwide, this platform provides gifted and talented young dancers aged 8 and above the training and space to grow into their potential as young artists.

Following a successful audition, dancers invited to join Ballet Futures receive:

• free weekly ballet training at their local Ballet Futures-associated dance school
• financial support towards the cost of ballet shoes and uniform
• backstage access to English National Ballet’s home in London, the Mulryan Centre for Dance, as part of Experience Days (with subsidised travel)
• the opportunity to work with English National Ballet artists and teachers alongside industry representatives who will visit participating schools twice a year to offer class, coaching, repertoire and ballet history sessions, host Q&As and share feedback and support
• invitations to watch English National Ballet perform at world-class venues
• the chance to join a growing community of dancers that we hope will change the landscape of classical ballet in terms of diversity and inclusivity.

“It is imperative that we enable and support the underrepresented youth of today by providing training and opportunities, combined with being holistically nurtured, enabling them to flourish and fly”

Sarah Kundi, former First Artist and previously a founding member of the Ballet Futures Leadership Team

Ballet Futures: The Pipeline Project is run in association with Adagio School of Dance in Brentwood, Dupont Dance Stage School in Leicester, Spotlight Stage School in Birmingham, Viv’Art Movement Academy in east London and West London School of Dance.

Auditions

Auditions for 2024/25 have now closed. Information about future auditions will be announced in 2025.

“We all know representation has a huge effect especially on the younger minds. We have a duty to make them aware they are capable of anything they put their mind to, with support and encouragement of the elders around them”

Shevelle Dynott, former Artist of the Company and facilitator on the Ballet Futures programme

With the aim of addressing inequalities around diversity within the workforce in classical ballet, we hope this project will impact young dancers, schools, our company, the art form, and our communities at large.