Elmhurst Ballet Company present Odyssey: a mixed bill of dance in Birmingham and London.
Elmhurst Ballet Company, the graduate performance company of Elmhurst Ballet School, presents Odyssey at Elmhurst Studio Theatre, Birmingham on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 March, and at the Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on Saturday 14 March.
Now in its eighth year, Elmhurst Ballet Company is an initiative designed to prepare students for life beyond training. In their final year, dancers work intensively as a company: taking daily ballet class, collaborating with leading choreographers and artists, and delivering outreach activity in schools, mirroring the demands and opportunities of a professional dance career.
Odyssey invites audiences on a journey through stories old and new, celebrating each dancer’s progression from student to artist. The programme explores the power of narrative through reimagined classics and contemporary perspectives, giving performers space to discover their own artistic voice. Across the evening, moments of discovery, courage, reflection and transformation chart the dancers’ individual paths of discipline, creativity and self-expression.
To bring Odyssey to the stage, a range of eminent individuals and organisations have passed their dance experience and knowledge on to the 20-strong company.
Central to the programme is Entity by Sir Wayne McGregor, which the students have rehearsed with Company Wayne McGregor artists Eileih Muir and Davide Di Pretoro. Since its premiere in 2008, Entity has captivated audiences worldwide. Technically dazzling, emotionally uncompromising and fiercely contemporary, the work defies easy categorisation. Created alongside an international research project exploring choreography and artificial intelligence, Entity is a striking fusion of movement, light, technology and film, set to an electrifying score by Jon Hopkins - known for his work with Coldplay and Massive Attack - and award-winning composer Joby Talbot. This project marks the eighth collaboration between Elmhurst Ballet School and Studio Wayne McGregor, a long-standing partnership that gives students rare insight into the company’s cutting-edge creative process.
The programme also features excerpts from two beloved works by Danish choreographer August Bournonville: the exuberant Napoli and the elegant ballet Le Conservatoire. A cornerstone of the Danish repertoire, Napoli celebrates pure classical technique and joyful storytelling, while Le Conservatoire exemplifies refined musicality and understated French elegance.
New work includes Ascension, a jazz piece by award-winning choreographer and international dance teacher Dane Bates; Ek.sta.sis, created by Miguel Altunaga for this cohort and premiered in July 2025; and Everyone’s Busy by Elmhurst Ballet Company artist Alicia Wong, completing a richly varied programme.
Elmhurst Ballet Company members for 2026 are: Daisy Cumpson, Amelia Edson, Maisie Fletcher, Salvo Infurna, Charlotte Lowndes, Athena Mouzouri, Ted Peng, Danika Prien, Holly Pryke-Smith, Olivia Rickard, Josie Robinson, Ada Story, Lea Ellul Sullivan, Caitlin Walls, Isabelle Washbrooke, Yuno Watarai, André-Michael Weller, Molly Williams, Alicia Wong, and Mao Yatsugi.
To find out more and book your tickets for Odyssey, follow this link.
