Elmhurst Ballet Company, the graduate performance company of Elmhurst Ballet School, brings its new show, Odyssey, to Birmingham this 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.

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.

The programme also features excerpts from two beloved works by Danish choreographer August Bournonville: the exuberant Napoli and the elegant ballet Le Conservatoire.

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’s Odyssey comes to the Elmhurst Studio Theatre on Fri 6 Mar – Sat 6 Mar. Book tickets below.

Featured image credit: Magda Hoffman