City of a Thousand Trades is a love letter to Birmingham, commissioned by Birmingham Royal Ballet's director Carlos Acosta and celebrating the city's richly diverse cultural and industrial heritage. Birmingham became known as the City of a Thousand Trades at the height of the Industrial Revolution when skilled workers migrated to the city from throughout the Commonwealth, creating a melting pot of cultures. The ballet is brought to stage by Havana-born choreographer Miguel Altunaga, and dramaturg and co-director Madeleine Kludje from Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with music by Mathias Coppens, inspired by the City’s soundscape, including its legacy as the birthplace of Heavy Metal.

City of a Thousand Trades is a new Ballet Now Commission and part of our triple bill, Curated by Carlos.

With many thanks to Dan Löwenstein and House of Create