Ballet Black x Freed of London – This Year So Far
Theatre Shows Over the Years
September 13, 2019
Freed of London Open Day
October 3, 2019
Recently, Freed of London collaborated with the British Ballet company Ballet Black, and last year we saw the official release of our new pointe shoe colours Ballet Brown and Ballet Bronze. Previously, pointe shoes were available in the traditional ‘Ballet Pink’ colour only.
Since the collaborative release of these ground-breaking shoes, we have received an overwhelmingly positive response all over the world, it has been a very exciting year.
“They’re a huge leap forward for inclusion in the ballet world.” – The Guardian
“Ballet Shoes for Black and Asian Dancers Released in UK for First Time.” – The Independent
“For Dancers of Color” – The New York Times
The response we have received from renowned and respected news sources such as these, over the past year made it hit home just how impactful our Ballet Brown and Ballet Bronze pointe shoes have been in not only the ballet community but in modern culture as a whole.
Our Ballet Brown and Ballet Bronze pointe shoes were even featured on BBC news, where Ballet Black dancers Cira Robinson and Marie Astrid Pence were featured talking about their experiences prior to the launch and their excitement since the release of the newly available pointe colours.
It has become so much more than a pair of shoes, our collaborative efforts with Ballet Black has become a movement, it even saw traditional ballet become intertwined with pop culture this year. London born grime artist Stormzy incorporated Ballet Black ballet dancers as part of his set at Glastonbury 2019. We were very excited to see dancers Cira Robinson and Mthuthuzeli November performing to Stormzy’s “Don’t Cry for Me” (see below to watch!) in our Ballet Brown pointes. The text behind Stormzy read “Ballet shoe have not traditionally been made to match black skin tones. Until now.” This truly inspirational performance was just one of the highlights of a truly magnificent year.
The Ballet Black collaboration inspired us to extend the new colours into our range of Royal Academy of Dance approved Aspire ballet shoes, which are also now exclusively available in Ballet Brown and Ballet Bronze in addition to our classic Ballet Pink.
We are extremely proud to have been part of such a movement, and what a wonderful year it has been since the launch of our Ballet Brown and Ballet Bronze pointe shoes.
The Freed of London ethos has always been to create shoes that meet the needs of every dancer, which we feel we have achieved and we can’t wait to see what else the future holds for the world of dance.
Photographer: Tyrone Singleton
Dancers: Cira Robinson, Sayaka Ichikawa & Marie Astrid Mence from Ballet Black
Costume Designer: Jean-Marc Puissant
