Youth Ballet Company Launch in London

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Danceworks off Oxford Street has always been a lot more than just dance studios.  It is of course an excellent venue as I found for myself when I attended  Hendrick January's class in 2016 but I have also blogged about its Academy, its classes for the over 50s, Michaela DePrince's masterclasses and its workshops for the photographer, Jordan Matter and much, much more.  As I said in If ever I came back to London ................  "I think I'd spend a lot of my time in Danceworks. I doubt if I'd ever get any work done. My long suffering clerk would suck his teeth and lament 'We see less of you now than when you were in Yorkshire, Miss.' Because there is so much happening at that studio."

Its latest initiative is the Youth Ballet Company which will offer young people the chance to learn and perform ballet in London, throughout the UK and even internationally.  The company plans to stage  Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.   Getting on stage under the lights in front of a living, breathing, paying audience is a delicious experience which I tried to express in The Time of My Life 28 June 2014.  It is important for dancers of all ages and abilities because it makes all those pliés and tendus worthwhile. It is theatre. It is the je ne said quoi that distinguishes ballet from keep fit classes or working out in the gym.

If I as a 60 something experienced that delight by appearing on stage, think how much more significant it must be for a talented child or adolescent.  It is one of the reasons why I am doing all in my power to set up Powerhouse Ballet in Yorkshire and Greater Manchester  If I can't pull it off for whatever reason the Youth Ballet Company may be the next best thing for young people in the North.

Anyone who wants to find out more about the Youth Ballet Company should email Katie Bretherick at balletschool@danceworks.net.