Ballet Black - ACE161.10

Silhouettes of couple dancing to calypso beat music. Costumes and foreground frame change from outdoor to indoor. Sky frames in stone doorway. Man’s VO quotes letter from Berto Pasuka: "December 12, 1945. Noon." Worries about news of sailing of "Richard", due to take part in a show booked for April 1946, with rehearsals beginning in January. Talks about other preparations for this event, and of correspondence with Katherine Dunham. Other news. Watercolour paintings of women in carnival costumes. Woman’s VO "May 1st, 1946. Evening Standard, London." Reads article about opening of Ballets Nègres season at Twentieth Century Theatre, Westbourne Grove. Group in public house. One shows another a dance step.
Dance class. Huge luggage label announcing Les Ballet Nègres. Photos of buildings around Piccadilly Circus. Photo of dance troupe in transit. Pub interior – this is a reunion of the Ballet. Photos of Pasuka. VO "I don’t think anyone ever seen him as big as he really was." Photos of Pasuka. Woman’s VO reading press descriptions of his work. Rehearsal for the ballet They Came (1946). Programme for Ballets Nègres production, Market Day (1946). Details from photos of performance.