Board of Governors and Patrons

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh became Central’s Royal Patron in 2003 and has actively supported the School and its aim to move to a new home in Southwark since that time. In February 2020, Central’s new bespoke premises in Paris Garden in the London Borough of Southwark, part of the South Bank arts community, were named in her honour at a special event she attended for students and staff. The new building is known as “The Countess of Wessex Studios” to reflect her title at the time of the opening of the building. Central continues to be sincerely grateful for the continued interest and support provided by Her Royal Highness for Central’s objectives for the provision of exemplary dance industry training and benefit to the local community. A full-time working member of the Royal Family, The Duchess of Edinburgh splits her time between her work in support of The King and visits to a large number of her own charities and organisations, including Central School of Ballet.

Lady Jennifer Sieff is the President of Central School of Ballet and the former Chair of Central’s Board of Governors (from 2002 to 2008). Lady Sieff was instrumental in setting Central on its path towards finding and securing a new home and she remains closely involved with, and highly supportive of, Central’s move to the Countess of Wessex Studios in London’s South Bank arts community. As Chair of the President’s Circle, Lady Sieff is an ambassador and advocate for Central and its students – the future stars of dance. In addition to Lady Sieff’s love of ballet and opera her other interests include horseracing, tennis and bridge. (The image shows Lady Sieff at a special event with members of Central’s Board of Governors: l-r Stephen Kane, Chairman Ralph Bernard, and Philp Feeney, Central’s Tabor Music Director)

Carole Gable has been a constant in Central School of Ballet’s history. Married to founder Christopher Gable, she was a core part of the determined team to help realise a different approach to professional dance teaching. Along with fellow dance professional Ann Stannard, Christopher believed that student dancers should receive an all-round training on top of core skills in Ballet, to make them more employable in dance companies and in the theatrical world. A former Soloist at the Royal Ballet, Carole became a Ballet teacher in the early days of Central, teaching both First and Second Year students. She was then Rehearsal Coach for the Ballet Central tour, responsible for ensuring that the selected repertoire each year was performed to perfection. Subsequently appointed Ballet Mistress, Carole taught Third Year students and joined the Board of Governors where she helped to drive the ambition for the new premises, The Countess of Wessex Studios, which opened in 2021. Carole maintained her involvement with Central after retirement staying on as Artistic Advisor – Gable Repertoire, before taking up her new title as Founding Patron and Preserver of Christopher Gable’s Legacy and Ethos.