Before watching Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Black Sabbath – the Ballet, I was thoroughly intrigued—heavy metal and classical ballet seem like a perfect antithesis. However, the performance pleasantly surprised me, as the show’s story felt cohesive and emotive, despite having such an unusual canvas.
The tripartite structure of the ballet was initially confusing. However, each act had its own focus (the music, the band, the legacy), and it all came together to create a beautiful homage. This was especially pronounced in the final dance, where three groups representing each act danced on stage together. Each group wore a different outfit despite performing together: they were a unit with several separate parts, just as the band would never be what it was without its members, their music and, of course, the fans.
At points the show felt confused as to whether it was a concert or a ballet performance, a fact which was only exacerbated by the guitarist running between the dancers during the first and second acts. However, the dancers largely complemented each other, especially when veering from classical ballet into contemporary/lyrical styles during the second and third acts, demonstrating the breadth of talent and versatility of the music. Of course, much of the credit goes to Carlos Acosta as director for his innovative vision for the show—however, Christopher Austin, Sun Keting, Marko Nyberg and Joshua Hickin also deserve significant praise for the Black Sabbath Arrangement throughout the performance.
I especially enjoyed the choice to have a male dancer perform en pointe during Iron Man, given that this is traditionally unheard of in classical ballet.
It goes without saying that the show was also a beautiful homage to Ozzy Osbourne following his death in July this year. The mix of genres—inevitable given the clash of heavy metal and ballet—brought out the beauty and true art within not only the music but also Black Sabbath’s story, and for that it was an honour to watch this show.
Image by David Polston, presented as press material.