“It’s the easiest rider we’ve ever done,” says the Ministry of Sound’s Mahit Anam. “Normally it’s five bottles of Patrón, four bottles of vodka … ” And this time? Water, bananas and protein bars. It’s not your usual green room at the south London superclub, because this is not your usual show: the dancefloor is about to be taken over by professionals. Ballet Nights – a monthly production usually held in a Canary Wharf theatre and featuring the country’s top ballet stars and rising choreographers – is moving into clubland. So now amid the speaker stacks and DJ decks you’ll see Royal Ballet dancer Joshua Junker and work from Olivier award-winning choreographer James Cousins. It’s a whole different kind of podium dancing.
“Everything’s got too formulaic, too samey, and that’s why we want to do this stuff,” says Anam. “Pushing boundaries is something we should always be doing.” Ballet Nights was hatched by former Scottish Ballet soloist and choreographer Jamiel Devernay-Laurence in 2023. The idea was to give audiences an up-close view of big-name ballet dancers like Steven McRae and Matthew Ball as well as nurturing a stable of young artists. But he was itching to expand, and eager to attract younger audiences, people who are the same age as the dancers who perform. Devernay-Laurence had met with all sorts of venues – theatres, concert halls – and it was always a “let’s talk again in the future” situation. But when he walked into Ministry of Sound: “They had open arms, they were so excited. We walked out the same day with an agreement and a date.”
Standing in the main bar, with haze filling the room and the undulating lighting rig changing colour like an LED northern lights, I’m getting a taste of the atmosphere. There will be acts performing in the club’s two main spaces (on a specially erected stage), including magic mover Kennedy Junior Muntanga and ex-Wayne McGregor dancers James Pett and Travis Clausen-Knight, to music that includes Ben Frost and a new score by Floating Points. Acrobatic dancer Seirian Griffiths is going to dance and then DJ (“I didn’t realise how many dancers are DJs,” says Devernay-Laurence). The mood is more contemporary than classical for this show, not a tutu in sight, but lots of pushing the body to its limits and seeking new ways to move. Ticket-holders can then stay for the club night afterwards – on the opening show it’s Spanish techno DJ Danny Avila. The organisers are expecting it to appeal to younger audiences, but the first person to buy a ticket was 84.
This is not completely new territory for Devernay-Laurence, who was a teenage club promoter while he was training at Central School of Ballet, “I used to bring all my ballet associates to various clubs around London.” He may even have done some pirouettes on the dancefloor – “There are some videos out there” – but nevertheless, “I thought I’d let go of that part of my life,” he says.
Not so. Devernay-Laurence never lost his business sense either, and much more than putting on this single event, he wants to offer dance an alternative to the standard Arts Council-funded model. After all, music, film and theatre can work to differing degrees as commercial enterprises. “You’ve got the highest population of graduates ever, and the lowest number of jobs and they’re all chasing the same jobs. Now what happens if we create new jobs?”
The crew at Ministry couldn’t be more enthusiastic. They already have the hugely successful Ministry of Sound Classical series, where you can hear Ibiza anthems played by a full orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. “We should be opening up different cultural experiences to as many people as possible,” says Anam. “It’s about hitting different audiences, pushing different genres but it’s all about the same thing: how it makes you feel.”
Part of the appeal of the regular Ballet Nights shows is mingling with the dancers in the bar afterwards. This time you can watch dancers perform precision moves on stage and then, should you so wish, join them on the dancefloor till 5am. “Getting caught up in the music,” as Devernay-Laurence puts it. “We should talk about those podiums,” he says to Anam. “I’ve got a couple more ideas … ”
Ballet Nights is at Ministry of Sound, London, on 31 May
