BRB's Award-Winning Digital Adventures!

News & Stories 13 Feb 2024

News Story

BRB has been awarded the One Dance UK Bob Lockyer Award for Digital Innovation in Dance!

We are honoured to have received this fantastic recognition of our digital work and are excited to see what the future holds for these projects.

'We are immensely grateful for having received the Bob Lockyer Award for digital innovation in dance.


A significant thank you is owed to Bloomberg Philanthropies and our various collaborators for their dedication and expertise, with a special mention to Ian Ravenscroft, our technical advisor throughout the Bloomberg Digital Accelerator Program. The support of our Virtual Stage program from all those within BRB has been both humbling and inspiring as we embark on this exciting new chapter for organisation.'


Tom Rogers, Creative Digital Producer Birmingham Royal Ballet

Tom Rogers on a purple-lit stage receiving the Bob Lockyer Award for Digital Innovation in dance. Tom is standing, holding a microphone and looking out to the audience. Tom has short dark hair and is wearing a blue suit jacket, white patterned shirt, grey trousers and brown boots. There is a presenter standing next to Tom, looking towards Tom. The presenter has a shaven head, medium-length beard and is wearing a black suit with chunky black shoes. In front of the pair is a music stand and a microphone stand. Behind the pair on a wall is a purple screen which in white writing reads ‘The Bob Lockyer Award for Digital Innovation in dance, goes to, Birmingham Royal Ballet.’ In the foreground there is an audience member in shadow.
Credit: Caroline Miller 2024

We've rounded up a few highlights from our recent digital projects - check them out below!

A complicated camera is the centre focus of the image, light shining off it’s matt black components. The camera is being held by a camera tripod and supported by Clive Booth’s left hand resting on the rig. The camera has various coiled wires coming out of it, antenna at the front, a dual lens and a spherical microphone sat on the top. Clive is facing away from the image, looking into the background. Clive has short brown hair, is wearing glasses and a black fleece. George Wood is standing in the background out of focus. George has shaved hair, a dark trimmed beard, is wearing beige trousers, a black t-shirt and grey over-shirt. There are two out of focus people in the background in conversation. A light is shining behind George and in the far background, balconies of the theatre can be seen. Image credit: Mark Spencer.

A Swan Story

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The image is of a hand holding a phone up to the main concourse in New Street station, which is dotted with members of the public. On the phone you can see the AR projection of Harlequin's box, a prop from The Nutcracker, apparently placed into the station space.

12 Days of NutcrackAR

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Six members of the Freefall Dance Company are performing in a dance studio. The performers, wearing black t-shirts with a white Birmingham Royal Ballet logo on the front left, and a larger white logo at the rear, with ‘Freefall Dance Company’ on are biased towards the left of the image in various poses. The dancers are lit by the sun streaming in from the two large dark red framed windows on the rear wall. The foremost performer is standing with their left arm raised, and right arm pointing towards the floor whilst looking off into the distance as the sun shines from behind them, their shadow is being cast onto the floor. Towards the back of the room there is a ballet barre, a glossy black baby grand piano, and some stacked black chairs. The studio has large rectangular light panels in the ceiling, with half wooden panelled and half white walls. The floor is a matt grey with scuffs on it. Credit Andy Ford.

Launching our Virtual Stage

Introducing a new way to experience ballet, through augmented and virtual reality!

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Carlos Acosta is seen sitting on a wall, arms stretched wide and smiling, with a panorama of the Birmingham skyline behind him
Credit: Drew Tommons 2022

“I am absolutely thrilled that we have launched Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Virtual Stage, becoming one of the first ballet companies in the world to embrace immersive technology and unlock the potential it holds.

“I am particularly excited about the possibilities this work has for reaching younger and new audiences across the globe, bringing them up close to classical ballet in a way that, until recently, has not been possible.

“Virtual Stage is another example of BRB’s commitment to pushing boundaries and keeping ballet fresh and relevant for future generations.”

Carlos Acosta, Artistic Director Birmingham Royal Ballet

We want to share a huge thanks to the Bloomberg Philanthropies' Digital Accelerator Programme, without which, these digital projects wouldn't have been possible!

These projects were developed with the help of Bloomberg Philanthropies' Digital Accelerator Programme for Arts and Culture. Launched in 2021, the programme was designed to help arts organisations stabilise and thrive in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic through strategic improvements to technology infrastructure. The programme supports leadership development and infrastructure investment that builds audiences, increases fundraising, drives revenue, delivers dynamic programming, and helps us work more efficiently and effectively in support of our strategic objectives. The programme supports the development of best practices to share across a network of non-profit cultural organisations.

To the left of the photo, two people are can be seen from the chest up, one in front of the other, looking to the left. They are wearing black teeshirts with indistinguishable white logos and white VR headsets. The person in front is in sharp focus; she has her brown hair in a ponytail. The person behind is in soft focus; he has a beard. They are members of the Freefall Dance Company. They are sitting in a light-filled ballet studio, with a window and the ballet barre visible behind them. Light is pouring in through the window creating rays that are reflecting off the person at the front’s headset. George Wood from Canon is out of camera focus, standing behind them, wearing a grey overshirt and jeans. George has a shaven head and trimmed dark stubble. The studio walls are white, and there is a wooden ballet barre on the back wall. Image Credit: Andy Ford.

Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Digital Accelerator Programme

These projects were developed with the help of Bloomberg Philanthropies' Digital Accelerator Programme for Arts and Culture.

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