Update: Due to high demand we have now filled the audition capacity. You can sign up to be on the reserves list here. We will contact in order of sign ups to offer audition places should they become available. 

Birmingham Hippodrome and Dance Consortium have partnered with New York based world-famous dance company, Ailey 2 to bring a brand-new performance opportunity to Midlands-based young people.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s second company is returning to the Hippodrome this October and we’re looking for experienced dancers (aged 14-23) to audition for a curtain raiser performance, which will be performed on our main stage just before the Ailey 2 show on Wed 4 Oct.

The performance will be created by former Ailey dancer and professional choreographer, Marcus Willis, over five rehearsals. The selected dancers will be provided with costume and/or t-shirts. Dancers will also have the chance to meet company members from Ailey 2 and watch the show after their performance.

Availability

If you would like to audition for this exciting opportunity with Ailey 2, you will need to be available on Sat 29 Jul and attend at least four of the intensive rehearsal days at the Hippodrome. The full programme schedule is below:

  • Sat 29 Jul –11.00am to 6.00pm – Audition slots at Birmingham Hippodrome
  • Sat 16 Sep & Sun 17 Sep – 10.30am to 5.00pm – Intensive rehearsal days
  • Sat 23 Sep & Sun 24 Sep – 10.30am to 5.00pm – Intensive rehearsal days
  • Sat 30 Sep & Sun 1 Oct – 10.30am to 5.00pm – Intensive rehearsal days
  • Wed 4 Oct – from 3.00pm onwards, 7.30pm performance

How to Audition

Due to high demand we have now filled the audition capacity. You can sign up to be on the reserves list here. We will be in touch to let you know your audition time slot by Tue 25 July.

For more information, please email our team at participation@birminghamhippodrome.com.

We look forward to meeting you!

About Ailey 2

Ailey 2, the junior company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, is universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s finest early-career dance talent in the United States with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding and emerging choreographers. Dance Magazine calls Ailey 2 “second to none,” and The New York Times declares “There’s nothing like an evening spent with Ailey 2, the younger version of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.”

For their return to the UK, Ailey 2 brings an exciting repertory featuring Francesca Harper’s futuristic Freedom Series (excerpt), Robert Battle’s thrilling The Hunt, the incredible energy of William Forsythe’s Enemy in the Figure (excerpt), and Alvin Ailey’s beloved masterpiece Revelations.

Founded by Alvin Ailey, the company embodies his pioneering mission to establish an extended cultural community that provides dance performances, training, and community programs for all people. Since its 1974 inception, Ailey 2 has flourished into one of the most popular modern dance companies, combining a rigorous touring schedule with extensive community outreach programs. Today, with new Artistic Director Francesca Harper at the helm, she brings fresh perspectives to Mr. Ailey’s legacy, while nurturing new creative voices and propelling the company forward.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater have worked with some of the biggest artists and companies in the world and have performed on some of the biggest stages in the world. This includes the Olympics, The White House and in Disney’s newest version of The Little Mermaid.

About the choreographer

Marcus Jarrell Willis has performed with RIOULT, Tania Pérez-Salas Compañia de Danza, Ailey II and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Commissions, residencies, and film creations include works for Ailey II, TU Dance, NY Choreographic Institute, with dancers of New York City Ballet, Ballet Cymru, Ballet Memphis, The Big Muddy Dance Company, The Juilliard School, Purchase Conservatory of Dance, The Ailey School, University of Minnesota, New World School of the Arts, Lucia Marthas Institute for the Performing Arts, Rubicon Dance and COCA, among others.

His creation, Sensible Existence, gained him recognition as Best Choreographer in City Pages 2018 Best of the Twin Cities. The evening length expansion of Sensible Existence was commissioned as a TU Dance Project in spring 2022. Willis was the 2018/19 Leverhulme Choreography Fellow at Rambert Dance in London, during which time he completed the evening length solo creation POM/POM, Portrait of Man/ Pieces of Me and created work with selected dancers of Rambert 2.

In 2021, he was appointed the role of Resident Choreographer for Ballet Cymru in Newport, Wales UK. He recently launched the choreography initiative in partnership with Ballet Cymru, WIP (Works in Progress), which aims to bridge gaps between mid-career choreographers and venues in Wales. Synchronously, Willis is continuing the journey of building choreographic works for his independent dance performance project, MJ Willis Project Inc.