Michaela DePrince to return to London

Michaela DePrince in "A Million Kisses to my Skin"

Author Angela Sterling
(c) 2015 Dutch National Ballet, all rights reserved
Licensed with the kind permission of the company

Danceworks has just announced that Michaela DePrince will teach at its studios in London between 23 July and 3 Aug 2018.  According to the studio's press release:

"Michaela will be teaching our young dancers at the Danceworks Ballet Academy Summer Intensive, a two-week programme that offers young dancers from ages 6 up to pre-professional, the chance to be coached by leading ballet stars. Students will perform at the prestigious Lilian Baylis Studios, Sadler's Wells on the final day of the course."

She visited the studios in 2015 and 2016 and on each occasion Lesley Osman sent me some lovely photos of her with her students, including an account by one of them who showed a talent for journalism as well as dance (see Michaela's Masterclass 8 July 2015 and Michaela DePrince revisits Danceworks 7 Aug 2016).  If you or one of your offspring would like to attend one of Michaela DePrince's classes you should email balletschool@danceworks.com for further information.

I first heard about Michaela DePrince when she was still in America.  I was interested to learn that she was born in Sierra Leone because my late spouse and daughter manquée also came from that country.  When she joined the Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet I attended its first performance at the Stadsshouwburg in Amsterdam.   In my review of that performance I described her as  "quite simply the most exciting dancer I have seen for quite a while" (see The Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet - Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam 24 Nov 2013 25 Nov 2013).  Michaela led me to the Junior Company who in turn led me to the mighty Dutch National Ballet which has been a source of great pleasure for me.

If you want to meet Michaela but are too old for her class at Danceworks you might do so at the opening night gala of the 2018/2019 ballet season.  The evening consists of a performance followed by a party in the Stopera and it was at that party that I encountered her (see The best evening I have ever spent at the ballet  13 Sep 2015).   Now there is quite a crowd at that party and I can't guarantee that you will meet Michaela as I did but you would be very unlucky not to make the acquaintance of at least one or two members of that brilliant company. 

Tickets for the gala will be on sale from the beginning of June and they are usually snapped up like hot cakes.  If any of my readers from anywhere in the world would like to join me at the Stopera on opening night do let me know and maybe we can form a party. If there are enough of us we may even be able to get some discounts and so some other fun things like take a day trip to IJsselstein for an adult ballet class at the Jos Dolstra Dance Institute.