“Black Sabbath—The Ballet” at the Theatre Royal Plymouth: Arts Intel Report

Billed as “the first true heavy metal ballet experience,” Black Sabbath—The Ballet is a big production commissioned by Carlos Acosta, one of the world’s star male dancers and now the artistic director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. The rock ballet as we know it took off with Twyla Tharp’s Deuce Coupe, choreographed in 1973 for the Joffrey Ballet and set to music by the Beach Boys. We’ve also seen ballets to the songs of Prince, the Beatles, and the Who. Members of the Birmingham band Black Sabbath are actually part of this ballet’s creative team, which includes a dramaturg, Richard Thomas, and a lead choreographer, the cerebral Pontus Lidberg. There’s even a metal curator, Lisa Meyer. It’s into the void with classical dance. —Laura Jacobs