Gala for Yorkshire Ballet Summer School

Posted on July 16, 2013

STOP PRESS – Sergei Polunin will also be appearing at the Gala

Anthony Dowell and actor Derek Jacobi will host a gala marking the 40th anniversary of the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School (YBSS), held at Sadler’s Wells on September 29.

YBBS started as the Yorkshire Ballet Seminars, taught in a church hall by ex-Royal Ballet dancer and teacher David Gayle. The aim was to give young Yorkshire dancers the chance to meet ballet professionals and learn about opportunities. Within two years, the seminars had become the first residential ballet course at Ilkley College. The first masterclass was taught by Alicia Markova. Since 2005, YBSS has been directed by Marguerite Porter (pictured), who began teaching at the school in 1990. More than 180 students are expected to attend this year’s course, held at York St John University, with teachers including Dowell, Donald MacLeary, David Pickering, Laurent Novis and more.

Directed by Richard Clifford, the gala will include guest stars BalletBoyz, The Talent 2013, Wayne Sleep, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, dancers from The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Northern Ballet, Rambert and English National Ballet and actors Imelda Staunton, Jim Carter and Samantha Bond. Tickets cost £12 to £85, and are available from www.sadlerswells.com.

Photograph: Sergei Polunin by Dave Morgan/DanceTabs.

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.