CALL IT NUTS, crackers, daft and a variety of other adjectives, but Black Sabbath are getting their very own ballet. Hosted in the band’s home city of Birmingham, the project is the brainchild of Birmingham Royal Ballet company director Carlos Acosta, who is working with an extended creative team of choreographers, composers and designers – alongside a collection of dancers and musicians – to bring the music of Black Sabbath to life like never before.
“We’re here to celebrate the legacy of Black Sabbath as a band and the world of rock,” Acosta explains, addressing an audience of ballet patrons and press attending the first public showcase of the project at Birmingham’s Hippodrome Theatre. “I wanted to celebrate all the things this city has brought to the world, to have something that could represent Birmingham and open new doors for us.”
The project has plenty of supporters, including Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi, who has worked closely with the team and given his seal of approval. “It’s exciting, isn’t it? We’re still breaking boundaries all these years later,” he tells Classic Rock delightedly, sitting in the dance studio later that afternoon having watched some rehearsal performances.
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