For her latest film, Irish director Leonn Ward wanted to push the conventional ballet film outside of its comfort zone. Featuring Precious Adams, a rising star of the English National Ballet, Ward's dynamic portrait of the young First Artist presents a youthful take on the rule-bound etiquette of ballet. Rich in color, the film empowers Adams to tell her own story through dress and movement, while deploying dance in unconventional scenes and spaces.

"When Nowness and the English National Ballet approached me asking if I would like to create a film with Precious Adams, one of the few black rising stars in the world of ballet, I was honoured," explains Ward. "I wanted to create a piece of work that pushes beyond the traditional limitations of ballet. I loved that Precious was a tap dancer before she went onto ballet, so I really wanted to incorporate that into the film and sound. I wanted the film to feel real and honest and reveal Precious in her truest form."

English National Ballet's production of Swan Lake will be in Liverpool Empire November 21-24 2018, The Bristol Hippodrome November 27 - December 1 2018, and London Coliseum January 3-13, 2019.