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Central School Of Ballet

Artistic Staff

Artistic Staff

Central School of Ballet teaching staff provide an outstanding faculty, combining professional skills and experience to help fulfil the potential of every student.

Directors

Sara Matthews - Director

Sara has worked with Central for 12 years providing leadership across the organisation including artistic, academic, administration and support services. Sara is passionately committed to the artistic development and education of future generations of dancers through providing an inspiring environment that offers standards of excellence in teaching and student well-fare. Before joining Central, Sara was a dancer with Rambert Dance Company for eleven years. During this time she performed in all of the Company’s most famous repertoire working with, among others, Sir Frederick Ashton, Richard Alston, Christopher Bruce, Merce Cunningham, Siobhan Davies, Jiri Kylian and Ashley Page, as well as performing in works by Anthony Tudor and Glen Tetley. In addition, Sara appeared as a guest artist with the Mark Baldwin Dance Company as well as undertaking professional teaching and choreographic commissions. On leaving Rambert Sara established the post of Dancer - in - Residence at Queens’ College, Cambridge which she held from 1996 – 1998.

Sara’s guest teaching credits include, English National Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, The Royal Opera House, Richard Alston Dance Company, the Cuban National Ballet School and The Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Sara’s choreographic credits include Rambert Dance Company, English National Ballet and Ballet Central.

William Glassman– Artistic Director of Ballet Central

William was chosen by George Balanchine to receive one of the first Ford Foundation Scholarships in 1960 to study at The School of American Ballet. After graduating he danced in the Broadway musical Tovarich, starring Vivien Leigh, before joining American Ballet Theatre. As a soloist and guest artist he created roles in ballets by Jerome Robbins and Agnes DeMille, and also performed leading roles in ballets by Ashton, Lander, Loring and MacMillan.

He was invited in 1979 to become the Graduate Boys Teacher at The Royal Ballet School and during his nineteen years there taught many of today’s British dancers. He was appointed Executive Director of the London Children’s Ballet in 1999 and subsequently joined Elmhurst School for Dance as Senior Male Teacher/Head of Boys. In March of 2004 he joined The Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet (US) as Principal Teacher and Assistant Director and was appointed Artistic Director of Ballet Central in September 2005.

Philip Feeney - Musical Director/Composer

Philip studied composition with Robin Holloway and Hugh Wood at Cambridge, then with Franco Donatoni in Rome where he worked with Teatro-Danza Contemporonea di Roma. His work has been performed throughout Italy and Britain and he has worked with Ballet Central since it began, composing music for more than twenty of the company's ballets.

His scores for Northern Ballet Theatre include the jazz ballet Jazz Concerto, the hugely successful Cinderella and Dracula (available on the Naxos label) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (available on the Black Box label) currently performed by Boston Ballet. Philip's work also includes collaboration with Didy Veldman for her piece Greymatter for Rambert Dance Company and for NBT's new production of A Streetcar named Desire.

Full-time artistic staff

Marta Barahona – Year 2 Ladies' Ballet Tutor

Marta trained at the Maria de Avila Ballet School in Zaragoza and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Dance in Madrid, Spain. After winning the Prix de Lausanne in 1993, she joined English National Ballet and was promoted to Soloist in 1995. She joined The Royal Ballet Company as a soloist in 1998. Over 10 years, Marta performed soloist principal roles in the classical repertoire, as well as contemporary and neoclassical works. In 2003 she faced early retirement due to injury and decided to enter the teaching profession. She gained the Professional Dancers Teaching Diploma at the RAD with honours and a qualification as a Gyrotonic trainer.

Carole Gable – Ballet Central Rehearsal Coach

Carole joined the Royal Ballet Touring Company in 1958 and soon danced soloist roles including the Queen of the Wilis in Giselle and the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty. Her main career was spent at The Royal Ballet in Covent Garden, where she created a number of roles for John Cranko and Kenneth MacMillan, most notably one of the three Harlots in MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet and her portrayal of Helena in Sir Frederick Ashton's The Dream.

On leaving the Company, Carole pursued a freelance career in films and television before retiring from the stage to bring up her two children. After completing the Professional Dancers Teaching Course at the Royal Academy of Dancing she taught for four years at the Bush-Davies School before becoming a founding full-time member of Central School of Ballet faculty in 1982.

Paul Lewis – Year 2 Men’s Ballet Tutor

Paul trained with Leo Kersley, The Legat School and The Royal Ballet School, joining Northern Ballet Theatre in 1984. In 1985 he joined The Royal Ballet of Flanders as a junior soloist. His roles included- Gamache in Nureyev's Don Quixote, The teacher in Flindt's The Lesson and works by Balanchine, Kylian and many others.

Paul returned to Northern Ballet Theatre in 1989 creating many roles for Christopher Gable.

He joined English National Ballet in 1992 and was quickly promoted to soloist. His repertoire includes Dr Coppelius in Hynd's Coppelia, Savoy Suite dancing with Wayne Sleep, Tybalt and Capulet in Nureyev's Romeo and Juliet. He created Rothbart for Deanes 'Albert Hall ' production of Swan Lake and Capulet in Romeo and Juliet.

Since leaving ENB in 1999, Paul has returned many times as a guest character artist and company teacher. Paul teaches Dance Works’ Professional Open Class.

Elia Luyando - Injury Prevention & Recovery

Elia studied at the National Art School, La Habana, Cuba, graduating in 1978. On graduation Elia joined the National Dance Company, Mexico City, dancing the complete Classical and Contemporary Dance repertoire. From 1994-1999 Elia was a soloist with the company and also taught the Limon Technique with Sarah Stackhouse. In 1998 she was invited to stay with Limon's company in New York for 6 months following which Elia became teacher and Director's assistant of the National Dance Company, Mexico and also taught ballet technique to different contemporary dance groups in Mexico.

From 2000- 2002 Elia worked in several schools in Japan, teaching ballet technique and setting up annual classical repertoire. Elia graduated from The University of London with a Certificate in Education for The Performing Arts in 2006.

Sara Gallie - Ballet Mistress, Ballet Central

Sara Gallie trained at the Royal Ballet lower and upper schools, gaining honours in Intermediate, Advanced I & II Cecchetti Ballet and won the Cyril Beaumont Award. She joined the Royal Ballet Company and rose through the ranks to soloist with a diverse repertoire within the Royal Ballet Company, including some principal roles. Sara has worked extensively within The Royal Opera House Education Department presenting lecture demonstrations, dancing, and working with disabled children and adults, including “Chance to Dance” and projects at hospitals and hospices. Since leaving the company Sara has acquired Cecchetti Ballet teaching qualifications and trained with Alan Herdman as a pilates teacher. She joined Central School of Ballet in 2002 as a pilates teacher and is now a ballet mistress for Ballet Central. She has worked for Royal Academy of Dance, Cecchetti Scholars, Associates, and Summer Schools. She also works for Alan Herdman, teaching in his studio, and on his teacher training course.

Linda Moran – Year 1 Ladies' Ballet Tutor

Linda performed with The Royal Ballet Company for eleven years. She danced various roles in the repertoire and had the opportunity to work with many esteemed teachers and choreographers. On retiring as a performer, Linda attended the RAD’s PDTC and graduated with honours. She has since taught in leading vocational schools in England and has frequently taught for the RAD and as a guest teacher, both in the United Kingdom and overseas.

Stephen Williams - Head of Men’s Training and Year 1 Men’s Ballet Tutor

Stephen completed his training at the Rambert School. He then joined Scottish Ballet, where he danced most of the company's repertoire. He had several featured roles in many of Peter Darrell's ballets. Including Hilarion in Giselle, Prince Ceste in Cheri and Tybalt in Cranko's Romeo and Juliet. He joined Central School of Ballet in 1992 to teach the first year boys, after graduating from the Royal Academy of Dance's Professional Dancers' Teaching Course.

His guest teaching engagements include the 1992 Summer School in Alicante, Spain, the Royal Academy of Dance 29th and 31st International Summer School and the 1994 Dance Festival in Joinville, Brazil. Stephen became Head of Boys at Central School of Ballet in 1999. Stephen graduated from The University of London with a Certificate in Education for The Performing Arts in 2006.

Full-time pianists

  • Clinton Cormany
  • Jorge Carrasco
  • Grant Horley
  • Michael Moloney
  • David Walters

Part-time artistic staff

  • Phillip Aiden – Year 2 and 3 Jazz
  • Hilary Clark – RAD Classes
  • Patricia Doyle - Drama
  • Brenda Garatt-Glassman – Junior School
  • Karin Greenhead - Singing, Music and Dalcroze
  • Anna Gregory – Junior School
  • Christopher Holt - Drama
  • Ellen Jakubiel – Junior School
  • Leanne King - Year 1 Contemporary Dance, Year 2 Choreography
  • Patricia Linton - Dance Studies
  • Camile Maalway- Year 2 and 3 Singing
  • Judy Maden – RAD Classes
  • Stephen Pelton – Year 3 Contemporary
  • Nicola Simpson – Pre-Senior and Junior School
  • Hayley Taylor - Junior School
  • Sherill Wexler – Spanish Year 1
  • Christine Woodward – Pre-Senior Programme