Birmingham Royal Ballet (
BRB) is one of the four major
ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside
The Royal Ballet, the
English National Ballet and the
Scottish Ballet. Founded in 1946 as the
Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company was established under the direction of
John Field, as a sister company to the earlier Sadler's Wells company, which moved to the
Royal Opera House. The new company remained at Sadler's Wells for many years, becoming known as the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet. It also toured the UK and abroad, before relocating to Birmingham in 1990, as the resident ballet company of the
Birmingham Hippodrome. In 1997, the Birmingham Royal Ballet became independent of the Royal Ballet in London. As a resident company, Birmingham Royal Ballet has extensive custom-built facilities, including a suite of dance studios, the
Jerwood Centre for the Prevention and Treatment of Dance Injuries and a studio theatre known as the
Patrick Centre. In 2002, the need for Birmingham Royal Ballet to have its own school led to a new association with
Elmhurst School for Dance, which is now its official ballet school.