Elmhurst Ballet Company in ‘LEGACY’ in London and Birmingham this May

Elmhurst Ballet Company, the graduate year performance strand of Elmhurst Ballet School presents Legacy at Sadler’s Wells’ Lilian Baylis Studio, London on 13 May and Elmhurst Studio Theatre, Birmingham on 19 & 20 May 2023.

The Elmhurst Ballet School initiative, now in its fifth iteration, prepares students for life after school. Similar to professional dance companies, members take daily ballet class, work with established artists and deliver outreach sessions in schools in their final year.

To bring Legacy to the stage, a range of distinguished individuals and organisations have passed their dance experience and knowledge on to the 14-strong company.

The students worked collaboratively with Jordan James Bridge, a Company Wayne McGregor artist to create The End is Where We Start. The new work is a gentle nod to the door closing on the students’ time at Elmhurst and another door opening as the dancers move to their next career stage.

The work marks the fifth project between Elmhurst and Studio Wayne McGregor in a relationship that enables students to explore multi award-winning Wayne McGregor’s cutting-edge choreography and creative process.

As Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham continues to celebrate its Centenary, an excerpt from Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering is a fitting addition to the programme. Ashton, Founder Choreographer and later Director of The Royal Ballet, created the work in 1956 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sadler’s Wells Ballet, which that same year received a Royal Charter to become The Royal Ballet.

Another dance milestone is commemorated in Bronislava by Avatâra Ayuso, choreographer and artistic director of Ava Dance Company. Bronislava honours the 1923 Les Noces (The Wedding), the most famous work by Bronislava Nijinska, an innovative choreographer who in the early 20^th century pushed the female ballet technique in directions that no one had done before.

Members of the graduate company will be showcased in Argonauts, an excerpt from David Bintley’s jazz-based The Orpheus Suite, with music by Colin Towns. The theme continues in a new jazz dance Doin’ That Doo-Wah Thing! by choreographer Cris Penfold.

The Argentinian-inspired Malambo by Elmhurst teacher Sonia Fajardo, performed for The Queen Consort on the occasion of Her Majesty’s recent visit to the school and as part of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s An Evening of Music and Dance, and Resonate by Jack Farren, an Elmhurst Ballet Company artist, completes the programme.

Elmhurst Ballet Company members in 2023 are Amelia Cook, William Davolls, Ella Dennehy, Caitlin Edgington, Jack Farren, Florence Fowler, Leo Morad, Kazusa Murayoshi, Léo Rech, Benjamin Spiteri, Isabel Tornqvist, Sophie Walters, Heidi Whiting and Samantha Wong.