Ballet West News
VIP Visitor at Ballet West
Photo by Donald MacLeod
Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, launched the Three Year Celebration of Creativity at Ballet West on 27th July.
Ms Hyslop said: "Ballet West is an excellent example of how our culture has a positive impact on our communities and contributes to making Scotland a success. As well as creating touring shows, it is a beautiful place for dancers to come and train and for their families to visit, which supports local businesses and the wider economy.
See the video and press release here »
China Tour 2011
Read More »Ballet West Dancers in Disneyland
Dancers from Ballet West Outreach programmes in Oban and Fort William are taking part in the EFDPA Dance Competition in Disneyland Paris from 7th to 10th October. This international competition will see participants from as far afield as America, Cyprus and Israel dancing together and competing in solo and group categories. Ballet West dancers will be performing a number of dances across all ages and styles, including a routine from the musical Cats.
In addition to the completion, the young dancers will participate in workshops led by leading choreographers including Ian Mills, who has worked with leading pop stars Kylie Minogue and Rachel Stevens.
Ballet West Establishes Ballet School in China
As part of the growing links between Ballet West and China, Ballet West have entered a partnership with a performing arts school in Changsha in the South of China. Changsha is a vibrant and fast developing city with 6 million inhabitants and the performing arts school already provides training to young people in music and drama, with Ballet West adding to their range of classes by teaching ballet and jazz dance.
Two recent graduates of Ballet West are currently living in China and developing the classes. Heather Heyburn is one of the first graduates of the BA Classical Ballet and Dance Performance; Ann Edmonds completed her studies at Ballet West several years ago and after a period of working in Portugal, she has returned to the company to take up this exciting teaching post.
The classes taught by these talented teachers are becoming very popular among the Chinese who are interested in learning ballet as part of the country’s fascination with western culture.
It is hoped that the Changsha school will grow and further links will be made with other schools in other Chinese cities as the association between China and Ballet West is strengthened.
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Photographs of Students are Copyright © Lesley and Harvey Wolfinger
