Ballet Central 2026: In Review
4 August 2026
Each year, Ballet Central sets out on a UK-wide tour, bringing dance to both local and large-scale venues. The company is formed of Central School of Ballet’s graduating cohort, so this year saw the Class of 2026 take to the stage.
Ballet Central is programmed each year by Central’s Artistic Director, Kate Coyne. Kate looks at the cohort and curates a programme that works to strengthen and challenge them, whilst displaying their unique artistry and skills. Each programme generally includes a revival, and a balanced mix of classical ballet and contemporary.
If you joined us on the 2026 tour, you were fortunate enough to see Kenneth MacMillan’s Solitaire, a one-act ballet, performed exactly 70 years since its creation. This piece served as the revival part of the programme, offering audiences a non-narrative, expressive work in MacMillan’s signature quirky style. ‘The Girl’ was performed by three of Central’s talented students; Ella Brownlow-Ziirsen, Haruka Kawamura and Sana Omori. We were fortunate enough to have reviewers write fantastic comments on all three dancers. You can read about Ella performing in the Summer Showcase by Dance Europe, Haruka performing in the final Ballet Central performance at the Britten Theatre by Gramilano, and Sana performing at Newbury Spring Festival by Newbury Today and also the Britten Theatre by LiftedLeg.
Ella – “Only two students from Year 3 performed the excerpt from Kenneth MacMillan’s Solitaire but it produced the best dancing of the night. Ella Brownlow-Ziirsen not only looks the part of a fully fledged ballerina but – although there’s still work to be done – has decent technique. “ Dance Europe
Haruka – “Haruka Kawamura brought an enthusiastic adventurousness, humour and a certain poignancy to her excellent portrayal of MacMillan’s sense of expressive theatre through dance.” Gramilano
Sana – “Accompanied by Arnold’s wonderful Eight English Dances, Sana Omori struck a beguiling figure as she travelled inquisitively through the story.
Dressed in a beautiful orange tutu reminiscent of a Busby Berkeley ‘babe’, she threaded her way coquettishly through the performance, as a soloist, partner and observer.” Newbury Today
The Class of 2026 also got to work with established choreographers Ashley Page, Monique Jonas (Jona Dance) and Cameron McMillan, one of Central’s very own MA Choreography graduates. Monique and Cameron created two exciting new works on this year’s company, REPLICA and BOLERO 18 respectively. Both contemporary pieces were technically challenging, musically driven, and well-received by audiences.
The 2026 tour began with production week at The Mack, Mountview, a fellow Southwark-based vocational training institute. Students work throughout production week and the rest of the tour to assist with technical aspects of performing, including lighting, staging and costume. Casting is another intricate element to the Ballet Central tour, as students learn multiple roles in one piece and switch seamlessly between them depending on the performance.
Next on Ballet Central’s Summer tour was Chipping Norton, a familiar favourite in the calendar, and Newbury Spring Festival, where many audience members return year-on-year. Then onto Uppingham and Brighton, before returning to London to perform in Ballet Night’s New Futures, a brand-new platform which presented work from the UK’s leading vocational dance schools. Central School of Ballet presented an excerpt from Solitaire, as well as the joyous Times Square Ballet, an excerpt from Ashley Page’s musical On The Town.
“The best I’ve seen! I’ve been coming for the last 4 years. It’s a wonderful variation of dance, the choreography is amazing. I’ll be here next year.” – Audience member at Newbury Spring Festival
For the second half of the tour, Ballet Central travelled to the North of the UK, making its debut at Darlington Hippodrome. A fantastic opportunity for Central to reach Northern-based dance schools, the students and Ballet Central Lead also delivered a Ballet Central themed workshop. The company then toured to Guildford, Bury St Edmunds and Tonbridge, before returning to London for its final performances.
The Class of 2026 received wonderful reviews on their final performances at the Britten Theatre. LiftedLeg wrote: “Packed with entertaining work by great and interesting creatives, it included two new pieces. Bravo to Central School of Ballet’s Artistic Director, Kate Coyne, for extensively touring such thoughtful programming.” And another fantastic quote from Gramilano: “It is commonplace for dance conservatoires and university-level schools to provide their graduating students with a pre-professional performance experience, and the UK summer is full of such shows, but I doubt that any go quite so far as Central School of Ballet.”
The students have now completed their training, and we are delighted to share that many of them have already secured contracts performing with UK companies such as Northern Ballet and English National Ballet.
“It was a good mixed bill with pieces that showed off the performers to their best, especially BOLERO 18.” – Audience member at Britten Theatre
