Join me for dance troupe Diversity’s new Birmingham studio opening

Last Wednesday I visited Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter for the very first time to attend an event that would have turned my younger self green with envy. As a fan of the dance group Diversity since their impressive Britain’s Got Talent win in 2009, to say I was excited to have early access to their brand new studio in its opening week would be a vast understatement. For this reason, I thought I would share my experience as I got to watch preparations for their open day. 

the group captured the nation’s hearts with their close synchronisation and impressive stunts

Originally formed in 2007, Diversity is a street dance performance group which began as a group of friends, including four sets of brothers from London and Essex. While competing on the British competition show, led and choreographed by Ashley Banjo MBE, the group captured the nation’s hearts with their close synchronisation and impressive stunts.

Since beating the legendary Susan Boyle for the win, they have completed tours, pursued individual television features and opened their first studio in Essex. The new Birmingham venue, Diversity’s second studio, is a beautifully renovated print shop, which has been modernised and now rocks a sleek and minimalist style with colourful lighting, exposed brick and original wooden beams. Upon entering the large studio, along with a number of other keen press writers, we were introduced to Ashley Banjo, leader and frequent TV personality, who took us on a tour of the building himself. As if that wasn’t surreal enough already, he was joined by his brother Jordan Banjo (recognisable for his time in the I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here jungle) and Perri Kiely (deserving winner of his episode of The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off). Their decision to open a second studio in the Jewellery Quarter was outlined by Ashley who told us about an online poll which had requested Birmingham, as well as his search for the right venue across the city. He detailed how extensive this hunt was, having viewed some “beautiful” buildings and some others that he hesitantly, yet politely, described as “not so beautiful”. Eventually, he concluded that the Jewellery Quarter was very accessible, great for families and ultimately “just feels right”. 

Their passion for dance radiated from the whole group and their energy was infectious, with all members of the group having repeatedly expressed great personal pride over the project

They then led us to the upstairs studio, where we were introduced to the remaining Diversity members and teachers to give us a taste of the Diversity dance class experience. Fortunately, a group of younger dancers had been brought over from their original Essex studio to partake in this; a great relief to many of the press representatives who momentarily feared they might be the ones dancing. The atmosphere in the studio was incredibly warm, and the group were clearly close, laughing with one another as they went through some impressively synchronised choreography. The Diversity members were incredibly friendly and approachable, evidently excited about the expansion of their studio to a new location. Ashley was keen to shout out individuals from the group, pointing out who had been there the longest, as well as their youngest performer in the room, aged just 13. Their passion for dance radiated from the whole group and their energy was infectious, with all members of the group having repeatedly expressed great personal pride over the project.

Depending on your level of experience with dance, classes aim to include everybody and range from absolute beginners, through to intermediate as well as advanced groups

Regarding classes, they confirmed that sessions will be taught by talented guest choreographers and by the Diversity members themselves, who will also be training in the venue for their own performances. These classes will encompass a range and variety of street dance styles, where individual teachers will promote their preferred style such as popping, breaking, commercial or contemporary. Depending on your level of experience with dance, classes aim to include everybody and range from absolute beginners, through to intermediate as well as advanced groups. Memberships are required in order to attend these in-person classes, of which a finite number are available to purchase from the Diversity Studio website. For those interested in joining the community from further afield, it may instead be better to opt for an online membership where unlimited recordings and live streamed classes are available. 

If taking part in dancing is not your thing, but you would like to see the professionals doing what they do best, Diversity are embarking on their 2026 UK tour, ‘SOUL’, which will open with five shows at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre from February 11th. The performance will experiment with new technologies to conceptualise “what it truly means to be human within the digital age”, and has a few remaining tickets left for Birmingham audiences keen to be as impressed as I was.