Darius James (1965-). Dancer, choreographer and director

Darius James (originally Darius Williams) was born in Newport, South Wales. He studied at The Royal Ballet School, and danced with Northern Ballet Theatre, Alexander Roy’s London Ballet Theatre, and elsewhere. In 1986 he founded Ballet Cymru (Ballet Wales), originally Independent Ballet Wales, a small-scale company based in Newport that tours extensively, mainly in venues in Wales and England. James has choreographed many works for Ballet Cymru alongside his wife, Amy Doughty. In 2019 James was appointed an OBE for his services to Ballet and Community Dance.