Index

Ballet

Jazz

Special Boys' Classes

Double Work

Ballet-cise for Adults

Musical Stage Dance

and much, much
more!

The Harlow Ballet Association, a democratic organisation that "exists to enable the presentation of dance performances in which those appearing shall principally (though not exclusively) be students of the Harlow Ballet School".

*To contact Harlow Ballet Association, please ring 01279 639170 or write to H. B. A., 7, Home Close, Harlow Essex CM20 3PD

Harlow Ballet School, a legally constituted Partnership that teaches children and adults to dance. The Harlow Ballet School has had its home in The Playhouse, Harlow since it opened in 1971.

*To contact Harlow Ballet School, please ring 01279 639170 or write to H. B. S., c/o The Playhouse Harlow Essex CM20 1LS

The Harlow Ballet Association and Harlow Ballet School join forces from time to time to provide intensive courses culminating in special Gala performances at The Playhouse.

All of the dance teachers at the Harlow Ballet School have a huge variety of experience in peforming in dance and theatre to pass on.

The School is a partnership bewteen Michael Branwell, Henrietta Branwell and Claire Rees, who all teach Classical Ballet. In addition, Claire teaches Body-Conditioning and Pre-Ballet classes, while Michael and Henrietta jointly teach Double Work and Junior Double Work and Hayley Burns teaches Contemporary Dance, Jazz and Classical Ballet. Michael Branwell also teaches an Adult Class in "Balletic Enjoyment" at Central School of Ballet

With the exception of Henrietta Branwell, all the other teachers are former pupils of Leo Kersley, who, with his wife, Janet Sinclair, founded the Harlow Ballet School in 1959 and the Harlow Ballet Club, the predecessor of the HBA, in 1961.

The Philosophy of the School

Performances by students are held at The Playhouse (through the Harlow Ballet Association) and have always formed an important part of the development of the students from beginners (of any age!) to mature, self-assured dancers, able to take their place on any stage in the world with confidence. Examinations and the pressure that they cause to young dancers play no part in the School's curriculum, but every student has the chance to appear in productions both on the Main Stage at the Harlow Playhouse and in The Studio Theatre, where they also have the chance to choreograph for their peers.

A large number of our students just dance for fun. They learn not only the steps and moves but also the self-discipline, confidence, grace and fitness that go with the enjoyment of learning an art form that is as popular today as is was when Janet and Leo Kersley first founded the School. We have now extended that enjoyment to four to six year olds. We now offer two classes a week for adults, who are delighted to have found somewhere where the emphasis is on self-expression and "Balletic Enjoyment", not just "how high can you lift your leg?" As dancers progress, they explore more styles of dance and the more that you can do, the more you enjoy it!

Dancing is Fun!
Part of the HBA Adults' Group in Cinderella 2003

(Cinderella was revived at Easter 2011)

Every year several students audition for places at full-time dance colleges including the Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet School, Central School of Ballet and London Studio Centre. The School has an extremely high success rate in finding places for those who wish to continue their study in a concentrated form with a view to a professional career in dance or dance-related subjects. Harlow Ballet School is accepted as a "feeder" school by many of the major vocational dance schools and, again, a number of dancers obtained places every year to start their training at professional schools. Former pupils are either studying professionally or will be starting professional training at Elmhurst (Birmingham Royal Ballet) School, Central School of Ballet, Millennium Performing Arts, and Northern Ballet School. We wish them every success and expect them to followed each year by more Harlow Ballet School students. The Harlow Ballet School encourages promising students to take part in Associate Classes at professional schools and currently has students attending Associate Classes at the Royal Ballet School and at Central School of Ballet. We wish them all well.

Former pupils of the Harlow Ballet School are currently dancing with English National Ballet, Scottish Dance Theatre, and The Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, among other companies, while others have gone on to careers in Musical Stage Dance (HBS currently has an ex-pupil in "Billy Elliot" in London's West End) or as commercial dancers on TV and on cruise ships.

Timetable

Monday	16.30 - 17.30	Boys' Dance Class
	17.30 - 1830	Junior Double-Work *by special invitation only
	18.30- 20.00	Senior Double-Work *by special invitation only
Tuesday	16.30 - 17.30	Pre-Ballet
	17.30 - 18.30	Mixed Ability Ballet
	18.30 - 19.30	Adults' Ballet-cise
Wednesday
	16.30 - 17.30	Junior / Intermediate Ballet
	17.30 - 18.30	Ballet Repertoire Class
Thursday	16.30 - 17.30	Beginners' Ballet
	17.30 - 18.00	Body Conditioning
	18.00 - 19.30	Senior / Adults' Ballet
Friday	16.30 - 17.30	Junior Ballet
	17.30 - 18.30	Intermediate Ballet
	18.30 - 19.30	Contemporary Dance
Saturday

	11.30 - 13.00	Adults' Balletic Enjoyment Class
	13.00 - 14.00	Senior Ballet Part One (Barre)
	14.00 - 15.00	Jazz Dance Class
	15.00 - 16.00	Junior / Intermediate Ballet
	16.00 - 17.00	Senior Ballet Part Two (Centre)
	17.00 - 18.00	Pointe Work

The Harlow Ballet Association organises the performances in the Harlow Playhouse and other venues. Every Easter the Association performs a major production of a Classical Ballet. The first major ballet produced by the Association was The Sleeping Beauty in 2000 and this was revived very successfully in 2006. The Nutcracker was performed in 2001, 2005 and 2009, Coppélia, mounted by Thelma Litster and based on Cecchetti's 1894 production was shown in 2002 and 2010. Giselle was performed in 2004 and 2012 in a version close not only to the original choreography, but also to the original libretto by the Marquis de Saint Georges and Theophile Gautier. The company's first original full length production was Cinderella, to the glorious and little known music of the Waltz King, Johann Strauss, which Michael Branwell choreographed in 2003, with a revival in 2011. The last was a full length Swan Lake in 2007, with the "white acts" closely following the original choreography of Lev Ivanov.

As part of the Sparks Will Fly celebrations this summer, the Harlow Ballet will be co-operating with the deMerc Choir in some performances of the Requiem by Gabriel Fauré, with the Piè Jesu and Agnus Dei being performed in the Market Square in Harlow on May 27th and the entire Requiem on June 30th at St. Michael's Church, Bishops Stortford. The Piè Jesu and Agnus Dei will then be repeated at The Playhouse on July 19th, as part of the Jack Petchey Harlow Arts Showcase 2012, and then again at the Jackson's Lane Theatre in London on July 21st and 22nd with Chelsea Ballet, celebrating their 45th Birthday and the life and work of their founder, Thelma Litster.

Special dance courses are held during times when school-age pupils are on holiday, giving young dancers the chance to spend all day, every day in a professional theatre, learning to dance in a safe and controlled environment. The next course is to be held at half-term in October 2012 and it is hoped that the Fauré Requiem will again be performed at this time. These courses always culminate in performances, at which the Antony Osborne Shield for choreography is keenly contested. This gives pupils the chance to choreograph from a very young age and this opportunity has enabled more than one dancer to decide to study choreography at a higher level.

Performances

Review from April 2012,

courtesy of Rosemary Caswell :

Giselle

"BALLET SCHOOL YOUNGSTERS CONTINUE TO DELIGHT"

Harlow Ballet Association

Harlow Playhouse

Left: Samuel Whittome as Albrecht and Jessica Gudgeon as Giselle

Thursday night’s splendid performance of Giselle reminded me of an old music hall song sung by my grandfather which began: “Do not trust him, gentle maiden”.

Maybe Berthe, most ably danced and acted by Justine McMahon, should have given Giselle (Jessica Gudgeon), the same advice. Jessica’s performance was charming and fresh right up until the moment when she went convincingly insane and then impaled herself and her unborn child on the point of her lover’s sword.

The Peasant Boy and Girl were danced with a maturity beyond their years by Hannah Mehew and the ever ebullient and accomplished Hamish Scott, and the ever ebullient and accomplished Hamish Scott, and their surprise at the purse of money given to them by the Duke of Courland was delightful and believable.

Giselle’s friends and neighbours looked beautiful and danced splendidly and it would be impossible to single out any one of them for special praise. Stefan Donovan, as Hilarion, put in yet another of his well-crafted performances and was an excellent foil for both Giselle and Albrecht. Samuel Whittome has been steadily growing both in expertise and strength over the few years in which we have been permitted to watch him dance and, as Prince Albrecht, this was another good performance from a young man from whom we now expect nothing less. Cassandra Mason was charming as Bathilde, Albrecht’s aristocratic fiancée and one hoped and prayed that she gave him hell after they were married! The court costumes reminded me of the beautiful drawings of the Graham Johnson sisters and their stately measured dances contrasted well with the exuberance of the peasants.

Then, in Act Two, we came to the ghosts of the girls who died pregnant and unwed and therefore could only be buried in the woods in unconsecrated ground. I missed the cold menace that I felt should have emanated from Holly Gregory as their Queen; it was a workmanlike performance but lacked sparkle and the horror of forcing men to dance themselves to death, however justified, was not present.

However, in watching these performances by Harlow Ballet, we tend to forget that these are, for the most part, children and young adults who are magnificently portraying ideas and emotions beyond their understanding.

Long may they continue to delight and amaze us.

Rosemary Caswell

Membership. The Harlow Ballet Association has a thriving membership base. Members receive a regular newsletter, The Balletomane and advance booking information and they also have the opportunity to participate in social events. The Annual General Meeting of the Association is held in April or May each year, after the major production in the Harlow Playhouse. The HBA is bound by its Articles of Association (see below) and exists primarily to put on performances at The Playhouse. The next AGM of the Harlow Ballet Association will be held at Saturday May 26th at 7pm, at 90 Herons Wood, Harlow, CM20 1RS.

Articles of Association of the HBA. The Harlow Ballet Association shall exist to enable the presentation of dance performances in which those appearing shall principally (though not exclusively) be students of the Harlow Ballet School. The Harlow Ballet Association shall be a non-profit distributing organisation, from which no teacher working at the Harlow Ballet School shall take any remuneration. This will not preclude the Association, at its discretion, from paying fees to professional Guest Artistes, Choreographers, Designers, Stage Technicians and others for services rendered. The members of the Harlow Ballet Association shall be those who pay a subscription as decided from time to time by the Management Committee. The Harlow Ballet Association shall hold an Annual General Meeting to elect a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, Publicity Manager and Technical Manager, who shall, in conjunction with the Partners in the Partnership running the Harlow Ballet School (if not elected to the above posts), form the Management Committee to run the Association. The Management Committee shall appoint an Artistic Director, whose appointment shall only be terminated by resignation or by a two thirds majority vote of the Management Committee. The Management Committee shall have the right to appoint a President and Vice Presidents. These Articles of Association shall only be altered by a two thirds majority of those attending and voting at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting called no sooner than one calendar month after circulation to all members of the Association.

The Harlow Ballet Association does not discriminate, directly or indirectly, on grounds of national or ethnic origins, race, religion, colour, gender, disability, or political persuasion nor, in the case of adults, sexual orientation, marital status or age, in the selection and treatment of choreographers and performers.

For more information please telephone Michael or Henrietta Branwell on 01279 639170 or Claire Rees on 01279 830409.

The Cecchetti Method

All pupils at the Harlow Ballet School learn the Cecchetti method of ballet that was created by the great ballet master Enrico Cecchetti. He was born in a dressing room of a theatre in Rome on 21 June, 1850 and performed with his parents from infancy, becoming a virtuoso dancer. In fact it was Cecchetti who created the roles of Bluebird and Carabosse, dancing both to great acclaim in the original Maryinsky production of Sleeping Beauty in 1890.

While performing in Russia, he was engaged as a Premier Danseur and Maitre de Ballet with the Maryinsky Ballet, teaching at the Imperial Ballet School, a post that he filled from 1887 to 1902. After a brief spell of teaching in Warsaw, he returned to St Petersburg, coaching Anna Pavlova, to whom he referred as "the divine Anna", from 1907 to 1909 and resuming his duties at the Maryinsky Theatre.
When Diaghilev wanted his company, the Ballets Russes, to tour, the dancers refused because they would miss their daily classes with Cecchetti! Diaghilev hired Cecchetti as ballet master and mime and he performed many mime roles that were created especially for him. Cecchetti's presence with the Diaghilev Ballets Russes created the link between the past and the present, contributing to the birth of modern classical ballet. Cecchetti eventually settled in London and established a school that trained a whole generation of dancers who, in turn, went on to found British ballet. Cecchetti returned to Italy in 1923, ostensibly to retire, although he taught at La Scala, thus realising a lifelong dream. He collapsed whilst teaching on November 12th, 1928 and died the following day.
Cecchetti's method of teaching was developed directly from that of the ballet master Carlo Blasis who had codified his teaching methods in the book Traite Elementaire, Technique et Practise de l'Art de la Danse, published in 1820. The Cecchetti Method was, in turn, recorded faithfully by his pupils and friends and published as The Manual. It has gone through several editions and is as much the Cecchetti trained dancer's and teacher's "bible" as An Actor Prepares is for Stanislavsky-trained actors. Cecchetti learned from the masters and assimilated and applied the theories that they taught. He established a daily system of classes that develop the body without undue strain or pressure and evolved a method based on balance and harmony. His influence can be seen in Ashton's choreography and in traditional productions of Coppélia , the only remnants of his choreography to survive.
The Harlow Ballet School is proud to continue that noble tradition, passed on from Maetro Cecchetti, through his pupil Stanislav Idzikovsky to the founder of the Harlow Ballet School, Leo Kersley. Leo Kersley's pupils, Michael Branwell and Claire Rees pass on these tried and trusted methods for safe and effective teaching. The Harlow Ballet Association performed Coppélia with Cecchetti's choreography in April 2002.

The Harlow Ballet Association rehearses and performs at The Playhouse and all the classes of the Harlow Ballet School are held in the theatre

A comprehensive site with information, reviews and news and links to ballet companies and publications

Former Harlow Ballet School pupils Sarah McIlroy, Paul Lewis and Laura Hussey have been Principal Dancers with the company.

Darius James, Artistic Director, is the President of the HBA and former Harlow Ballet School pupil, Keir Briody, is the Principal Dancer

With former Harlow Ballet School pupil James MacGillivray, Rehearsal Director/Dancer

Activ Harlow is the most comprehensive guide to Harlow on the internet. Visit Community Page containing a What's On guide and information on clubs, societies, and organisations including the Harlow Ballet School and Association,

The Artistic Director of Chelsea Ballet, Louise Hudson, is the Vice President of the HBA. The company is based at the Arts Educational School in West London. Michael and Henrietta Branwell will be teaching at the Chelsea Ballet Summer School from August 6th to 10th. The dancers of the Harlow Ballet will be dancing with the Chelsea ballet at the Jackson's Lane theatre on July 21st and 22nd Follow the weblink for full details!

As "Chelsea Ballet", they perform classical ballets twice a year and a number of other performanes with other amateur dance groups. As "Chelsea Ballet Two", they encourage new choreographers.

Welcome to the official Website of the

The Philosophy of the School

The Cecchetti Method