The partnership brings together academic expertise and artistic excellence to expand joint work across research, education, talent development and public engagement.

It also reinforces a shared commitment to improving public health, supporting the creative industries, and increasing cultural impact locally, nationally and globally.

Professor Deborah Longworth, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) and the University sponsor for the collaboration, said: “This partnership brings together two civic institutions with a shared responsibility to contribute to the cultural, social and economic life of the city. By connecting academic research with artistic practice, we can turn insight into action — supporting public health, developing talent and strengthening the creative industries in Birmingham and beyond. It is a partnership rooted in place, but global in its ambition.”

Building on longstanding collaboration, the partnership applies the rigour of sports science and health research to ballet.

Working closely with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s specialist Jerwood Centre for the Prevention and Treatment of Dance Injuries, University academics are exploring dancer wellbeing, including research into safeguarding, bone health, nutrition and mental resilience.

Insights gained from this work are relevant beyond the studio, informing wider public health and wellbeing.

Carlos Acosta CBE, director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, said: “Collaboration has always been central to how Birmingham Royal Ballet works — with artists, audiences and the city we call home.

“We have always enjoyed a vibrant relationship with University of Birmingham, and this partnership allows us to build and expand on that foundation.

“Formalising our partnership allows us to go further in supporting dancers’ wellbeing, creating opportunities for young people, and ensuring the art we make continues to be informed, ambitious and relevant at both a local and international level.”

Carlos Acosta was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Birmingham during its 125th anniversary celebrations, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the arts and his commitment to the region.

Birmingham Royal Ballet has also informed scholarships in other areas of the University.

Birmingham Business School has introduced a module, Understanding Consumer Behaviour Through Dance, for postgraduate marketing students, based on the idea that learning occurs not only in the mind but also in the body.

The module points to new ways of thinking about audience engagement and supports the growth of the cultural economy.

Building on the University’s and Birmingham Royal Ballet’s previous postgraduate programmes – which saw 22 University of Birmingham alumni go on to work with the ballet – education and talent development are central to the partnership.

Through student placements, joint research projects and new career pathways, it will support the next generation of creative and cultural professionals, strengthening skills and employment across the region’s creative industries.

In 2009, the University partnered with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s tour of China.

In 2025, the University of Birmingham partnered with Birmingham Royal Ballet for a reception in the U.S. ahead of a landmark performance of Black Sabbath – The Ballet.

Recent and ongoing collaboration includes academic advisory work on new productions, such as The Maiden of Venice, as well as research into audience engagement and performance psychology.

The University of Birmingham is a global institution proudly rooted in one of the UK’s most dynamic and diverse cities. In 2025, the university pledged its continued commitment to Birmingham as part of its 125th anniversary.