Partnership agreement will strengthen global advocacy and opportunities in the arts, education and research for both organisations.
Alexandra Manuel, Artist of Birmingham Royal Ballet. © Johan Persson
The University of Birmingham and Birmingham Royal Ballet have announced a new strategic partnership, formalising more than two decades of collaboration between two of the city’s leading civic institutions.
The partnership brings together academic expertise and artistic excellence to expand joint work across research, education, talent development and public engagement. It also reinforces a shared commitment to improving public health, supporting the creative industries, and increasing cultural impact locally, nationally and globally.
Professor Deborah Longworth, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) and the University sponsor for the collaboration, said:
“This partnership brings together two civic institutions with a shared responsibility to contribute to the cultural, social and economic life of the city. By connecting academic research with artistic practice, we can turn insight into action — supporting public health, developing talent and strengthening the creative industries in Birmingham and beyond. It is a partnership rooted in place, but global in its ambition.”
Building on longstanding collaboration, the partnership applies the rigour of sports science and health research to ballet. Working closely with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s specialist Jerwood Centre for the Prevention and Treatment of Dance Injuries, University academics are exploring dancer wellbeing, including research into safeguarding, bone health, nutrition and mental resilience. Insights gained from this work are relevant beyond the studio, informing wider public health and wellbeing.
Collaboration has always been central to how Birmingham Royal Ballet works — with artists, audiences and the city we call home. We have always enjoyed a vibrant relationship with University of Birmingham, and this partnership allows us to build and expand on that foundation.
Carlos Acosta CBE, Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, said:
“Collaboration has always been central to how Birmingham Royal Ballet works — with artists, audiences and the city we call home. We have always enjoyed a vibrant relationship with University of Birmingham, and this partnership allows us to build and expand on that foundation. Formalising our partnership allows us to go further in supporting dancers’ wellbeing, creating opportunities for young people, and ensuring the art we make continues to be informed, ambitious and relevant at both a local and international level.”
Carlos Acosta was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Birmingham during its 125th anniversary celebrations, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the arts and his commitment to the region.
Birmingham Royal Ballet has also informed scholarships in other areas of the University. Birmingham Business School has introduced a module, Understanding Consumer Behaviour Through Dance, for postgraduate marketing students, based on the idea that learning occurs not only in the mind but also in the body. The module points to new ways of thinking about audience engagement and supports the growth of the cultural economy.
Building on the University’s and Birmingham Royal Ballet’s previous postgraduate programmes – which saw 22 University of Birmingham alumni go on to work with the ballet – education and talent development are central to the partnership. Through student placements, joint research projects and new career pathways, it will support the next generation of creative and cultural professionals, strengthening skills and employment across the region’s creative industries.
(Left to right): Professor Deborah Longworth, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education); Carlos Acosta CBE, Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet; Professor Nick Vaughan-Williams, Provost and Vice-Principal; and Paul James, CEO, Birmingham Royal Ballet. (Photo by Maria Polodeanu)
In 2009, the University partnered with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s tour of China. In 2025, the University of Birmingham partnered with Birmingham Royal Ballet for a reception in the U.S. ahead of a landmark performance of Black Sabbath – The Ballet. Recent and ongoing collaboration includes academic advisory work on new productions, such as The Maiden of Venice, as well as research into audience engagement and performance psychology.
This partnership brings together two civic institutions with a shared responsibility to contribute to the cultural, social and economic life of the city. By connecting academic research with artistic practice, we can turn insight into action — supporting public health, developing talent and strengthening the creative industries in Birmingham and beyond.
The University of Birmingham is a global institution proudly rooted in one of the UK’s most dynamic and diverse cities. In 2025, the university pledged its continued commitment to Birmingham as part of its 125th anniversary. The University also has strategic partnerships with Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Birmingham City Football Club, creating new opportunities in research, education and health. The collaboration with Birmingham Royal Ballet is the latest example of its commitment to civic responsibility, strengthening the connection between research, education and raising aspirations across Birmingham to enhance the city’s reputation.
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The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, educators and more than 40,000 students from over 150 countries.
England’s first civic university, the University of Birmingham is proud to be rooted in one of the most dynamic and diverse cities in the country. A member of the Russell Group and a founding member of the Universitas 21 global network of research universities, the University of Birmingham has been changing the way the world works for more than a century.
The University of Birmingham is committed to achieving operational net zero carbon. It is seeking to change society and the environment positively, and use its research and education to make a major global contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Find out more about our approach to sustainability.
BRB is driven by a mission to deliver Ballet Everywhere, led by the internationally acclaimed Carlos Acosta. A registered charity and cultural powerhouse based here in Birmingham, we believe everyone, everywhere should have the chance to experience and participate in the joy of ballet, including those from underrepresented communities. In an average year we perform between 150-175 live shows, reaching 140,000-180,000 audience members across the UK and the world, acting as a global ambassador for the creative talent of our city. We also deliver exceptional education, outreach and engagement projects to over 20,000 young people in Birmingham and the West Midlands, including over 100 school workshops each year, and our innovative digital content reaches 11 million engagements annually.
We aim to defy the stereotypes that surround ballet and who it is for - from our talent development programmes to discover the next generation of creative talent in our city to celebrating the diversity of our dancers on stage (with 37% coming from global majority backgrounds). When we tour, we are often the only live ballet and music provision that is visiting towns and cities across the UK, and over 38% of our audiences come from the bottom 50% of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation. We produce classical and new ballet works - aiming to ensure the stories we tell on stage are as diverse as the audiences we serve. Birmingham Royal Ballet is a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England.
Professor of English Literature
Biographical and contact information for Professor Deborah Longworth in the Department of English at the University of Birmingham.
