Viviana Durante

Director of Dance 

Born in Rome, she trained at The Royal Ballet School from age 11 and joined The Royal Ballet at 17. Two years later she attracted national attention when she took over as Odette/Odile in midperformance, never having been taught the role. Promoted to Principal Dancer at 21, she danced all the major roles, winning equal acclaim in the classics and in dramatic ballets by MacMillan, creating roles in his Winter Dreams and The Judas Tree among many new works. She guested with leading companies worldwide and, after leaving The Royal Ballet in 2000, was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, La Scala Milan and Japan’s K-Ballet while also acting on stage and screen. She has received many international awards and has been named dancer of the year in four countries. Most recently, Viviana has been a regular guest coach for The Royal Ballet and has also coached for ENB and ABT. She holds diplomas in dance teaching from The Royal Ballet School and Trinity College London and has taught internationally. She is a frequent judge at competitions including Lausanne and Beijing and in 2019 opened the Belgrade Festival as guest of honour. She was consultant editor of the 2018 DK book Ballet: The Definitive Illustrated Story. In 2017 she founded Viviana Durante Company to bring both neglected masterpieces and exceptional new work to the stage. The Company made its debut at the Barbican Pit in 2018 with Kenneth MacMillan: Steps Back in Time and the following year presented a Kurt Weill programme at Wilton’s Music Hall, including a new work by Javier de Frutos that saw Viviana return to active performing.

Jon has more than 20 years’ experience in senior management and leadership roles within the dance sector, including Chief Executive at the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD), Interim Deputy Director of Dance UK (now One Dance UK) and most recently Executive Director of South East Dance in Brighton. He has also served on several committees and has recently been asked to Chair an advisory panel for a leading UK Awarding Body for the active leisure, learning and wellbeing sectors.

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Elizabeth Marshall

Head of Studies

Elizabeth trained at London College of Dance and Drama; she was awarded a First Class BA Honours in Dance in Society from the University of Surrey and Distinction in the Master of Teaching from the Institute of Education.

Elizabeth has worked at English National Ballet School since 1996 and is currently employed as Head of Studies and Head of Pastoral Care. She is also External Examiner for the QTS element of the Royal Academy of Dance’s Postgraduate Certificate in Education: Dance Training. She has been a Principal A Level Dance examiner for NEAB/AQA and Chief Examiner for the ISTD History of Western Dance examination.

Elizabeth has written education resources and articles for BBC Education, the Royal Opera House and University of Surrey, The Royal Ballet, the Royal Ballet School, the National Resource Centre for Dance, Adventures in Motion Pictures, Dance Matters and Dancing Times. Elizabeth has also transcribed conference sessions from Following Sir Fred’s Steps, Ashton’s Legacy; Siobhan Davies in Residence Seminar Programme and Ninette de Valois: Adventurous Traditionalist.

Liane trained at the Royal Ballet School and has worked with London City Ballet, English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet. She gained the Academy’s Professional Dancer’s Teaching Diploma in July 2000 with distinction and went on to work at Northern Ballet School and was part of the Scottish Ballet Associate Programme.

Liane then joined the faculty at RAD headquarters in London teaching children’s grades and worked regularly for the RAD conducting Repertoire Workshops and Intensive Courses for Vocational students throughout the UK. Following this Liane completed a two year placement in Dubai, after which she worked as a freelance teacher in London. Her work included being a faculty member of Performers College, the Centre of Advanced Training Scheme, as well as running her own classes.

Liane worked at The Dance School of Scotland and has been a freelance teacher in London the last five years. This has included rehearsing the children of the Royal Ballet School in Nutcracker, teaching Scottish and classes at White Lodge, teaching on the Royal Ballet Schools Advanced Associate Programme and setting up the Royal Ballet Junior Associate Programme in Scotland. She is also a tutor on the Royal Ballet School’s Inspire Programme which is a professional development programme for teachers. She has taught on a number of Royal Ballet School Spring and Summer programmes, RAD Summer Schools worldwide and is a tutor for the Royal Academy of Dance. She also conducts workshops for English National Ballet.

Michael Berkin trained at the Royal Ballet School and danced with Royal New Zealand Ballet, Ballet Ireland, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet. He performed group and soloist roles in a variety of repertoire including works by Mark Baldwin, Javier De Frutos, David Bintley, Christopher Hampson, Cathy Marston, David Nixon, John Cranko, Kenneth Macmillan and George Balanchine.

After performing, Michael undertook his teacher training with The Royal Ballet School and cofounded Professional Dance Experience with his wife, Kimberley. Together they delivered weekly Ballet Associate programmes, Summer, Easter and Christmas ballet courses, the Youth Ballet Theatre and annual Ballet Teacher Seminars. Michael also managed a team of teachers who delivered ballet workshops and masterclasses for over 250 local dance schools across the U.K.

Michael has been a guest teacher at The Royal Ballet School, Elmhurst Ballet School and Northern School of Contemporary Dance. He has also taught on the Professional Graduate Programme at Northern Ballet Academy and has been a guest ballet master at Northern Ballet.

Juan Eymar

2nd Year Men’s Tutor / Ballet

Juan Eymar was born in Madrid where he trained as a dancer with Lola De Ávila and Carmen Roche who took him in to her company as a principal  dancer at the age of 14.

After three years gathering experience on the Spanish stage Mr Eymar continued his professional career  in leading European companies like Zurich Ballet, The Bavarian State Ballet and Dutch National Ballet where he performed group, soloist and principal roles in most classical ballets and works by renowned choreographers such as  Balanchine, Cranko, MacMillan, Van Manen, Ek, Forsythe and Kylián amongst many others . 

In 2012, Mr Eymar ventured into other areas of dance including choreography and injury recovery. He became a certified GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS®  and was awarded the equivalent to a higher education in Dance by the Government of Spain. Before joining English National Ballet School, Mr Eymar worked for 2 years  as a teacher and choreographer at the High Conservatory of Dance in Madrid and was an international guest teacher in various international companies and schools including the Royal Ballet of Flanders, Zurich Ballet and Estonian National Ballet.

Şebnem Önal was born in Ankara, Turkey and began her ballet education at the Dance Academy Tatjana Gsovsky in Berlin. She attended the Ballet Academy Heinz Bosl - Stiftung in Munich 1987 and graduated in 1993.

After her first engagement at the State Theater Gärtnerplatz Munich, her next step in 1997 brought her to The Stuttgart Ballet under the Direction of Reid Anderson where she danced solo parts in classical and contemporary ballets; John Cranko, John Neumeier, Kenneth Mac Millan, Marcia Haydée, Maximilliano Guerra, James Kudelka, George Balanchine, Hans van Manen, JiriKylián, William Forsythe, Uwe Scholz, Christian Spuck, Mauro Bigonzetti, , Marco Goecke, Kevin O’Day, James Sutherland.

Şebnem has toured on several occasions and starred in gala performances in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, in Japan, Korea, China, in Italy and Spain.

In 2004 Vladimir Malakhov engaged her to State Ballet Berlin and promoted her to soloist dancer where she danced numerous of solo roles as like “ Le Papillon” and “ La Vivandiere” by Pierre Lacotte, “Paquita”/ Pad de Trois, “ Rast der Kavallerie” / Pas de Deux, “ The Frescoes” by M. Petipa, “Swan Lake ”/ Pas de Trois and Italian Princess, “ Giselle”, “ Nutcracker” by Patrice Bart, “ Sleeping Beauty”/ Fairy’s and Jewel’s, “La Bajadere”/ solo Shadow and Grand Pas, “ Cinderella”/ Winter, “ La Peri” / Spanish Princess by Vladimir Malakhov, “ The Vertiginous Thrill of Exatitude” by W. Forsythe, “ Tschaikowsky”/ the Girl by Boris. Eifman, “ Ring um den Ring” by M.aurice Bejart, “Sleeping Beauty” Duchesse / Nacho Duato.

Şebnem was dancing as a Soloist with State Ballet Berlin from 2014 until 2017 under the Direction of Nacho Duato.

Two documentary films have been made in Berlin about her life as a dancer.

Şebnem graduated with a Diploma as a Dance Pedagogue from the John Cranko School in Stuttgart and Tanzloft Berlin Certified School for Dance Pedagogy.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, she trained at The Royal Ballet School and graduated into Birmingham Royal Ballet, where she danced most of the company’s soloist repertoire, including notable roles in Agon, In the Upper Room, Pulcinella, Shakespeare Suite, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and Take Five. Since leaving BRB she has attained an honours degree in Psychology and a diploma in vocational training from The Royal Ballet School, going on to guest teach at RBS and other top vocational schools in the UK. Kristen is Ballet Mistress and Répétiteur to the RBS students involved in The Royal Ballet’s repertory. Kristen has also appeared as the female lead, Lise Dassin, in Christopher Wheeldon’s An American in Paris.

David Yow

1st Year Men’s Tutor / Ballet

David was born in Liverpool and trained at both The Royal Ballet Lower and Upper Schools. He graduated into Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet in 1982 and relocated with the company when it became Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1990. He rose to the rank of Principal Dancer, and went on to dance with Cleveland/San Jose and Hong Kong Ballet companies.

He returned to the Royal Ballet School to complete their teaching diploma for professional dancers. He holds a Licentiate qualification (Cecchetti Society Classical Ballet Faculty) from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, a degree in psychology from Goldsmith's College, University of London, and is currently studying for his Cecchetti Fellowship.

He started teaching at English National Ballet School in September 2017 having previously taught at Elmhurst Ballet School, The Royal Ballet School, Central School of Ballet, The Laban Centre, and London Studio Centre. In 2015 he was invited to be a member of the assessment panel at The Danish Royal Ballet School, Copenhagen.

David has also taught for the Hong Kong Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and Michael Clark companies. In addition, he regularly teaches at Easter and summer schools around the world, especially in Japan, and has been a regular member of the jury for the Asian Grand Prix in Hong Kong.

Hannah Cameron

Contemporary Dance

Hannah is a contemporary dance artist, choreographer and teacher based in London. Since graduating with an MA in Dance Performance (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance) Hannah has danced with Nina Kov, Masha Gurina, Nutshell Dance Company, SKADooSH Dance and Daisy Farris Dance Collective amongst others. Hannah also has experience in choreography recently presenting work as part of Resolution! Festival (The Place, London). She has worked as Rehearsal Director for Lizzi Kew Ross and Fred Gehrig and on a number of short dance films including Michael Boucherie’s ‘OneShot’ (Trinity Laban) and Ron Arad’s ‘Curtain Call’ (The Roundhouse, London).

Hannah teaches dance across a range of professional and educational settings. She is part of the Dance Faculty at Trinity Laban lecturing in contemporary technique and delivering on the Learning and Participation programmes (Centre for Advanced Training, Adult Programmes, Dance Summer School and International Visits to the Conservatoire). She has also taught on the BA programme at Bird College and as a freelance dance artist for City Academy, Springs Dance Company and University of Portsmouth.

David Beer

Choreography

David is an East Midlands based dancer, teacher and choreographer, who since graduating from the Laban Centre has danced and taught with companies across the UK and America including Burklyn Ballet Theatre and Kim Robards Dance (where he performed at the Joyce Soho and other American theatres), Secret Cinema, Aegis Live Arts and Gleich Dances. David now works as Assistant Director to Chantry Dance Company; midlands based theatrical contemporary ballet company. 

David teaches many disciplines, including classical and contemporary Ballet, Cunningham, Graham and Release based contemporary techniques, as well as improvisation and choreography.  Whilst in America he taught as part of Kim Robards Dance teaching faculty, in this time guest teaching at Colorado Ballet School. As a freelance teacher he has taught at schools and colleges including, London Studio Centre, Italia Conti, London Boys Ballet, Highgate Ballet School, West London School of Dance and the Cecchetti Society.  He now holds the position of Associate Principal at Chantry School of the Contemporary and Balletic Arts and is a core tutor in contemporary techniques and creative practices.

As a choreographer David founded Collisions Dance Company in the UK in 2008, the company presented work at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for several years, as well as part of Resolutions! Festival (The Place), and at The Actors Church in Covent Garden.  He also collaborated with Lush Cosmetics and Gorilla Perfume, choreographing and creating works that ranged from traditional dance, to multi sensory performance events across the UK. 

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Liesl Dowsett

Liesl began dancing at the age of five and was a Junior Associate at The Royal Ballet School, where she performed with The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet and with The Northern Ballet. Liesl went on to train at The Royal Ballet Upper School, and in her graduate year danced with the Royal Ballet Company in The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella and Don Quixote.

After her graduation Liesl made her professional debut as a Ballet Girl in The Phantom of the Opera in Manchester and a year later premiered the show in Edinburgh. She then joined the London production of Phantom where she also understudied the role of Meg Giry. 

After leaving Phantom Liesl played the part of Susan the Silent in Finian’s Rainbow at the Fortune Theatre and appeared in On Your Toes with Adam Cooper in Japan. Liesl was thrilled to be involved in the filming of Joel Schumacher’s 2004 film version of The Phantom of the Opera creating the roles of a Ballet Girl and Masquerade Dancer. She also danced at the Royal Albert Hall in Phantom's 25th Anniversary production. Liesl most recently was the Dance Captain on the UK tour of the new version of Phantom of the Opera working with Scott Ambler and Matthew Bourne.

In 2015 Liesl qualified as a teacher gaining the Professional Dancers Teaching diploma from the Royal Academy of Dance. 

Rebecca Peters

Rebecca started dancing at the tender age of two and a half at the Carol May School of Dance and Performing Arts, following the RAD ballet syllabus and the ISTD tap and modern syllabus.

Rebecca trained as an Associate of The Royal Ballet School, and then went on to gain a place at White Lodge, The Royal Ballet Lower School.  As a student Rebecca danced with The Royal Ballet in The Nutcracker for three seasons.  She also danced at the opening ceremony of the Royal Opera House in front of Her Majesty The Queen.  Another highlight from her time at White Lodge was dancing in the opening of Mick Jagger’s performing arts school, and being in a BBC television documentary with Jennifer Saunders.

Rebecca continued her training at Elmhurst School in association with The Birmingham Royal Ballet. Here she gained her Trinity College London Diploma in Professional Dance.  As a student Rebecca went on tour with Birmingham Royal Ballet dancing numerous roles. 

Upon graduation, Rebecca successfully auditioned for the Estonian Vanemuine Ballet Company. Rebecca danced as a professional ballet dancer for three years with this company; dancing many roles in a range of classical and neo-classical ballets. Since leaving Estonia, Rebecca has performed with Cork City Ballet and London Ballet Ensemble.

Rebecca gained Distinction in all her RAD exams and achieved the ARAD (Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance) in 2006.  Rebecca has been teaching ballet in London and Surrey for the last 3 years, and has recently completed the Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma (PDTD) with the Royal Academy of Dance gaining her RAD registered teacher status.

Rebecca brings with her a wealth of performance and technical knowledge and looks forward to sharing these attributes with the children of ENBS Juniors.