From working on the front desk in an airport 30 years ago to chief executive of a world-class arts institution, Paul James’s heady ambitions for Birmingham Royal Ballet are limitless 

Paul James has had an eclectic career that has seen him opening a jazz club in Doha and foot spa in Venice among many other wonderfully surprising achievements. A hotelier, predominantly working in marketing and brand development, Paul travelled extensively before landing in Brum and spent eight years developing hotel brands in New York.

Now, immersed in the world of dance and at the helm of Birmingham Royal Ballet, he’s driven to make the already amazing company the best it can be. Paul initially joined BRB just as David Bintley was moving on after 25 brilliant years and Carlos Acosta was joining which represented a fresh chapter in the BRB story.

At the time, the company wanted to rebrand and become more efficient. Cue Paul who was appointed as chief commercial officer. He says: “It was just an extraordinary opportunity. It’s an amazing place. All cities have their challenges and Birmingham’s no different but look what we have – BRB, the Hippodrome, the Rep, IKON, Symphony Hall. It’s culturally amazing.”

HELTER SKELTER

When we chatted to Paul, he was just six weeks into his new permanent role as chief executive which he describes as being a bit of a helter skelter period. Paul had been acting chief executive since December after the sad death of former CEO Caroline Miller.

Essentially, Paul runs the business side of the company and Carlos creates the artistic vision. Paul’s ambition for BRB is a bold one – to be seen everywhere as the world’s finest ballet company. Simple. In terms of innovation and quality, he says they’re unmatched. Lunar and Black Sabbath to name just a couple of stunningly unique productions have pushed boundaries and challenged balletic stereotypes.

HIDDEN CHALLENGES

It’s a challenging business mind you. As a punter, you see the shiny finished article, but the business of running the company is complex. Paul explains: “There are 55 full-time dancers as well as a full orchestra and for every person on stage there’s another backstage. Understanding the scale of that is crucial.”

When Swan Lake is touring, there are eight huge trucks on the road and when The Nutcracker is running, there are 400 people in the building working to make it happen. With those hefty challenges as a backdrop, it’s a tough ask to ensure productions are accessible and affordable, but it’s high on Paul’s list of priorities. Family offers and a proportion of tickets under £30 aim to keep theatres full and attract new audiences.

As well as bums on seats, accessibility is important in terms of nurturing young talent through BRB’s outreach programmes across the city. The company’s Dance Track initiative which launched in 1997 offers free training to children who wouldn’t normally have access to dance. Working with 60 schools the programme has given thousands of youngsters the opportunity to dance, and some have gone on to pursue it as a career.

BRB is a touring company – it’s what they do – so each production is designed with that in mind. Virgina, Washington DC and Japan are regulars as well mainland Europe which requires all kinds of logistical wizardry. Paul joins the company on tour sometimes, so he understands each aspect of the business of touring and what that means for everyone on board.

PINCH ME

Paul loves the way ballet tells stories without language. He says: “There’s an understanding of pure human emotion. A new colleague came in to see The Nutcracker and afterwards they said it wasn’t until the end they realised there were no words. That’s amazing.” His highlights so far include Black Sabbath – the Ballet. Paul says: “I’ll never forget opening night. The way it all sat together – the full house, the electric atmosphere, chatting to Robert Plant in the Patrick Studio. It was a real pinch me moment.” Black Sabbath is back at the end of this month which looks set to be another sell-out.

Our chat was peppered with ‘amazings’ ranging from Birmingham’s cultural offering, ballet specifically, life generally and colleagues including Carlos who he thinks has made a huge difference to the company. If we were choosing someone to head up an organisation, it would be someone with Paul’s infectious positivity and energy. He says he’s got the best job in the world, and we believe him.