History of English National Ballet School
The Beginning
When Peter Schaufuss was asked to become Director of the London Festival Ballet in 1984, he agreed subject to the proviso that the company change its name to English National Ballet, and that he be allowed to set up a school to complement it. Four years later, the school opened with twelve students on the register and because costs had to be kept to a minimum, company members initially provided the staff.
In 1987, the school was officially opened by the former Princess of Wales. A well-known ballet-lover, Princess Diana watched talented young dancers performing in the studios at Hortensia Road. A crowd of supporters cheered as the Princess of Wales arrived and unveiled a plaque commemorating the opening of the school. Watch Princess Diana's visit to ENBS here.
The Vision
Peter Schaufuss vision was for an international school, not only to support the company but also to feed companies world-wide. Anticipating having ten graduate students every year he was hindered by the then Board, who, wanting to keep costs to a minimum, stipulated that no extra money would be available. To tackle the problem, he arranged initially for company members to staff the school.
Focusing on ballet training, he introduced a syllabus devoted to academic ballet, in other words to teaching the ballet vocabulary. By embracing a multi-focused approach, he included elements of Bournonville, Cecchetti and Balanchine styles, to produce dancers who would be comfortable in an eclectic range of choreography. Nowhere has this been more evident than in end of year performances which have included works by Frederick Ashton, Auguste Bournonville, George Balanchine, Pina Bausch and new, contemporary works by young choreographers. Equally important were the range of additional lectures focusing on several subjects including dance history, stage design, anatomy and appreciation of music in dance, ensuring the students had a rounded curriculum.
The Artistic Directors
The first director, was Kerrison Cooke. Sadly he died in 1989 and his place was taken by Lucia Truglia. She came from English National Ballet and was highly efficient in getting the school started. After four years, she was succeeded by Kathryn(Katie) Wade in 1996, who had danced with the Royal Ballet, Festival Ballet (now ENB) and taught at the Royal Ballet School. A well-loved and highly respected teacher, she remained for ten years, before giving way to Jane Hackett who had been Director of the Central Ballet School and before that, Education Officer for Birmingham Royal Ballet. These were top flight professionals, who gave their everything to the school, which, by the time Hackett left, had established its reputation as one of the leading ballet schools. Following Hackett were two ex-Royal Ballet choreographers/dancers: Michael Corder, and Samira Saidi. During Saidi’s time, there were tours all over Britain: to, amongst other places, Woking, Oxford, Manchester, Bristol and Aylesbury. These were to show case ‘My First’: Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Swan Lake and Coppelia. After Hackett, the public performances were varied, many coming from the work of Marius Petipa as well as contemporary choreographers. Finally, just before Viviana Durante arrived, Carlos Valcárcel, a dancer from Spain, was in charge for three years. And in 2019, Valcárcel took the final year students to New York. They had been invited to take part in the 20th Anniversary of Youth America Grand Prix where they performed in the David H Koch theatre in the Lincoln Centre.
These were hard acts to follow but, in the five years Vivianna Durante was Artistic Director, her innovative approach took the school to a higher level, with the professional training programme, which she introduced, bringing in dancers from all over the world. She also created links with the Wallace Collection, Royal College of Music and the London School of Fashion to encourage students to choreograph and collaborate with musicians and future fashion designers and to work in unfamiliar spaces.
In examining the repertoire, the focus is on the works Staged by Durante. This is because she broadly covered the earlier repertoire. There was work from Frederick Ashton (Rhapsody, 1980 and Les patineurs, 1937), Auguste Bournonville (La sylphide (1832) George Balanchine (Who Cares, 1970) and Pina Bausch (Tannahäuser-Bacchard, 1972 and Nelken Line, from Nelken,1982). These works demonstrated how the students could move seamlessly across the different styles of each choreographer. This involved shifting between the swooping, bending, darting, curving and rapid footwork of Ashton to the equally difficult cambré, high elevation and intricate, multi-focused floor patterns of Bournonville, and then to the speed and precision of Balanchine. Embracing Bausch's work was challenging and could have been risky. But the students were rehearsed by two dancers from Bausch's company and coped with the challenge of her very sophisticated, adult work.
Rhapsody requires climbing a technical mountain which the students achieved, seemingly effortlessly. Returning to the nineteenth century and Bournonville was not an easy task but, with coaching from Schaufuss, the students demonstrated a further aspect of their dancing skills. Staged by Deborah Wingert from the Balanchine Trust, they performed ensemble numbers from Who Cares with a smooth, refined ease. These works are significantly different and require not only a sound technique but also understanding of style, mime and maturity, these the students achieved with apparent ease.
What now for ENBS?
Dynamic, energetic and innovative, the current director Lynne Charles has introduced 4Pointe, a revolutionary pointe work training system, which she devised to train dancers more effectively for today’s demands . At the same time, she has adapted the curriculum to give the students more dance classes. This will not only strengthen their technique but also bring increased confidence. As Schaufuss initially wished, she has created stronger links with English National Ballet and now third year students take company class once a week as well as occasionally performing corps de ballet roles in some of the main stage productions. Read more about the appointment of Lynne Charles.
2025 Summer Performance
Under the new directorship of Lynne Charles ENBS will showcase the incredible talents and skills of our students as well as the creative work of our artistic staff and guest choreographers.
With beautiful performances by our students in pieces such as “Coppélia” by Ronald Hynd and “Graduation Ball” by David Lichine, we will be celebrating the rich history of the ENB company and school.
For the first time we will feature innovative works like “Ruff Celts” by Maguerite Donlon, “Ebony Concerto” by Massimo Moricone, and “Satie Etudes” by Lynne Charles, which all represent the exciting future of ENBS.
Etudes on a theme of Satie, is a look at the work done in the studio, whether alone or in a group the atmosphere is one of magic, it’s the place where creativity is born and realised through the physical and emotional language of the dancers.
Ruff Celts is choreographed by Marguerite Donlon, a former Demi Soloist with English National Ballet. The piece first premiered in April 2016 with the Visceral Dance Company in Chicago, USA. Noted for its dark humour and dynamic choreography it’s a reflection on Marguerite’s Irish heritage and classical background. It highlights the dancers’ unique personalities, resulting in a high-energy, quirky, and visually stunning performance.
In a full circle moment, a particular highlight will be our graduating class performing in the “Tarantella” from Bournonville’s Napoli, staged by Peter Schaufuss, former ENB director and founder of the English National Ballet School.
