We are delighted to announce that we will be joined by Senior Guest Artist Cira Robinson for the world premiere of Helen Pickett’s The Crucible at the Edinburgh International Festival.

As part of a longstanding collaboration between the two companies, Ballet Black’s Senior Artist Cira Robinson will join us to dance the role of Tituba. Bringing a breadth of experience, Cira will play a vital role in developing this rich and complex character in Arthur Miller’s drama of power and persecution.

Ballet Black is the UK’s professional ballet company for international dancers of black and Asian descent. Their goal is to see a fundamental change in the number of black and Asian dancers in UK ballet companies. By creating a central black female character, rarely seen in the UK outside of Ballet Black repertoire, the two companies aim to openly address the challenges of diverse representation in UK ballet (on and off stage), and particularly the lack of black British female ballet dancers.

Find out more in this discussion between Christopher Hampson, Cira Robinson and Ballet Black’s Artistic Director Cassa Pancho in the video below or read the transcript.

Scottish Ballet CEO/Artistic Director Christopher Hampson is a Board Member of Ballet Black and has choreographed two works for the company. Continuing the creative collaboration, Scottish Ballet’s former dancer and Artist in Residence, choreographer, Sophie Laplane was commissioned by Ballet Black to create her latest work CLICK!, which premiered at the Barbican in March 2019.

I am thrilled to be guesting with Scottish Ballet in their performances of The Crucible at Edinburgh International Festival, and honoured to be given the opportunity to explore this role.

Cira Robinson, Senior Guest Artist

USA Tour

Following the world premiere of The Crucible at Edinburgh International Festival, the production will tour to Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness in autumn 2019, before transferring to the USA in spring 2020.

The Crucible will have its U.S. premiere at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. in May 2020. The company will also return to perform in New York and other U.S. cities in 2020, with full programme to be announced.