Central Announces New Artist-in-Residence as New Students Arrive at the Studios

At the start of the new academic year, Central has announced a new cohort of tutors and dance professionals to join the staff team that deliver training and academic studies to the school’s undergraduate students.

Ballet Central 2023 will be led by a new Artist-in-Residence Hannah Rudd. Hannah brings a wealth of experience having danced with Michael Clark company (2006-08), Scottish Ballet (2008-10) and Rambert Dance Company (2010-2021). Supporting Hannah as Third Year ballet tutor is James Butcher. James trained with Central School of Ballet and The Royal Ballet School. He joined The Royal Ballet Company, Covent Garden following graduation and danced in many classical ballets including the original cast of Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Central’s First Year students will benefit from the expert guidance of Adela Ramirez. Adela was First Soloist at English National Ballet (1998-2020) and has performed all the major roles including Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker; Cinderella in Cinderella; Odette-Odile in Swan Lake; Juliet, Romeo and Juliet (Nureyev) and Odalisques, Le Corsaire to name but a few. First Year students will work with Adela to build strong foundations in classical technique, the core of dance training at Central.

Second Year students will develop their artistry with Jann Esterhuizen. During Jann’s career she worked with Cape Town City Ballet, Joburg Ballet, South African Ballet Theatre, South African National Dance Trust and the Playhouse Dance Company and has been training dancers since 2007. Jann will work with the Second Year students to build on the technique developed throughout First Year, to become accomplished artists ready to join Ballet Central in their Final Year.

““Hannah, James, Adela and Jann complete our Higher Education dance training team and their combined expertise and passion for the professional dance industry will build on Central’s long-established record of producing graduates with highly developed artistry and the skills that the industry requires in top level performance.””

– Kate Coyne, Artistic Director