 Although
Ballet West is best known for producing excellent classical
dancers, our students are also in demand as jazz dancers with
commercial companies and contemporary dance companies. Students
who specialised in teaching while at the school are now working
in the UK and abroard.
Location
As the school has grown from strength to strength, it has
not lost sight of the qualities of its training that sets
it apart from other ballet schools. The student roll is small
so students receive a great deal of individual attention from
the teachers. Students are accommodated in purpose-built student
houses located only two minutes walk from the studio in the
grounds of Ichrachan House. Each house accommodates six students
with their own private and comfortable study-bedrooms. Students
share a communal living and cooking area.
The school is close to the village of Taynuilt with its shops,
railway station and restaurants and only 12 miles from the
busy town of Oban.
The rural surroundings provide a peaceful and relaxed environment,
free from the distractions and frustrations of city life,
which enables students to focus on their dancing and fulfil
their creative potential.
 One may think that
the school's location would mean that it was isolated from
the rest of the ballet world; nothing could be further from
the truth. The reputation of the school is sufficient to attract
guest teachers such as Frank Freeman, a major examiner and
fellow of the RAD; Noriko Ohara OBE, former principal with
Scottish Ballet, Kenn Burke, former acting artistic director
of Scottish Ballet, Jordi Guitart, a commercial jazz dancer
& teacher from Cambridge and Nick Fogarty, an experience
vocal and singing coach. Nick makes extensive use of the school’s
in-house recording studio when training students, enabling
them to perfect their vocal technique.
The school's location does not prevent the students from
being seen by the wider ballet community. They are actively
encouraged to attend national and international competitions
and events in order to see other dancers and to be seen themselves.
Students have been very successful in the Molly Lake Awards,
Paul Clarke Memorial awards, the Prix de Lausanne, The Phyllis
Bedells bursary and the Adeline Genée awards.
The school is 1½ hour’s drive from Glasgow airport,
which gives easy access to London and other European cities.
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 Course
Ballet West is currently auditioning for places for the
September 2008 intake on the HND Professional Stage Dance.
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Performance
 Students
are given valuable performance experience with the Ballet
West Company who perform full-length ballets on tour. Since
its formation, the company has performed works from the classical
repertoire including “The Nutcracker”, “Coppélia”,
“Cinderella”, “Swan Lake”, “Romeo
and Juliet” & “Sleeping Beauty”. The
company also performs new work specially devised for the company.
Students are not only taught the major solo and pas de deux
repertoire in the studio, but are also given the opportunity
to dance them in a genuine performance context.
The company recently became semi-professional and increased
the number of performances and the breadth of the touring
network with our production of “Sleeping Beauty”.
In six months, the company gave 20 performances throughout
Scotland. In addition, the company also produced “Fame”
for the 2002 season. The show proved so successful, it was
reprised in 2003.
Major productions of “The Nutcracker” and “Swan
Lake” with around 40 annual performances in recent years
has firmly established the company as a major force in ballet
in Scotland.
The school also has numerous contacts with film and television
production companies. Most notably, students have contributed
to the major motion pictures “Rob Roy” and “Mrs
Brown”. The latter starred Billy Connolly the involvement
of the Ballet West students resulted in Billy becoming the
school and company’s patron.
The school has close links with Scottish Ballet and other
major ballet companies. Most notably, with English National
Ballet, who have not only taken several Ballet West graduates,
but also visited the school to audition students for supporting
dancer roles in the UK tour of “Swan Lake”.
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 Staff
Gillian Barton - Principal
Kenn Burke - Artistic Advisor
Frank Freeman FRAD, ARAD (adv)
PDTC (dip) Guest Teacher
Noriko Ohara OBE Guest Teacher
Jordi Guitart - Head of Jazz
Nick Fogarty – Vocal Coach
Sara-Maria Barton
Jonathan Barton
Kelly McCole
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