Summer Term Recap - Central School of Ballet

31 July 2025

Nearly two weeks on from our last day of term, the studios are far from quiet despite students travelling home all around the world. This term has been everything expected and more, delivering a wonderful selection of events. Most importantly, we ended the Ballet Central 2025 tour and said goodbye to our third years, with much sadness and enormous amounts of pride. Below is a recap of the many activities that took place at The Countess of Wessex studios, and beyond, this summer term.

A highlight for many was the visit of Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Edinburgh, to our studios in June. As the Royal Patron of Central School of Ballet, the Duchess last visited back in 2020 when she formally opened The Countess of Wessex Studios. Since that time, many things have grown and changed, and it was a privilege to showcase Central’s development in these last several years.

Mark Osterfield, Executive Director, on the Royal Visit: “Welcoming our Patron, the Duchess was an honour, and a wonderful moment to reflect on the success of our thriving dance community on the Southbank. We are Central! And are having an increasing impact from the schools of Southwark to dance companies in the UK and around the world.”

Read more about the Royal visit here, and view the Royal Family’s recap on Instagram here.

The last term has welcomed hundreds of young dancers into our studios to participate in classes and courses. Back in May, we hosted our series of one day half term courses. These courses deliver a fun and inspiring selection of classes in ballet, jazz, contemporary, pointe, Pilates and more. Guest teachers for the May half term courses included Kanika Carr, Jreena Green, Joseph Poulton and Melanie Teal. We’re now on our second week of the International Summer course, where young aspiring dancers join us for one or two weeks to experience a taste of full-time vocational training. Ballet classes are taught by Central’s degree tutors; Jann Esterhuizen, Christopher Hinton-Lewis, Shaun McLaughlin, Yolandi Adela and Ramirez Moreira.

At the end of each week, the participants take part in a work sharing in our Gable studio theatre, a fantastic opportunity for families to see the work that has taken place on the course. The summer term is filled with in-house performances from many of our programmes. On Saturday 12 July, we had our annual Associate Programme work sharing, which includes all of our Associate and Junior Associate students. Works were presented from each age group in ballet and contemporary, and pas de deux for the pre-seniors. Some of our pre-senior group are now leaving the programme to pursue full-time training. We are thrilled to be welcoming several of these students onto Central’s degree course, and wish all others the best of luck in their next steps.

At the beginning of July, we welcomed 13 schools from the London Borough of Southwark into the studios to experience the magic of dance. The primary age students took part in workshops led by Central’s contemporary tutor Emily Powell, and a costume workshop by Costume Production Manager and Designer, Chloe Ivey-Ray. Students then got to watch a specially curated showcase of Ballet Central, Summer Showcase and graduation solo performances.

Continuing our Widening Participation and Access work, Central also attended the U.Dance National Festival, hosted annually by One Dance UK in a different city each year. This summer, U.Dance took over the brand new Sadler’s Wells East, a stunning dance venue, extending the Sadler’s Wells legacy, over in Stratford. Central took part in the marketplace, an important space that enables young people to find out about HE dance training and routes. Central was proud to present dancers with information on ballet training and to stand alongside other leading HE dance providers (Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Trinity Laban, IRIE! Dance Theatre, National Dance CAT’s University of Salford, Falmouth University, London Contemporary Dance School – The Place, De Montfort University and National Youth Dance Company.)

To close this term, Central took to the Britten stage, welcoming audiences to its annual Summer Showcase performances, the final two performances of Ballet Central, and the incredibly special graduation solo performances and ceremony. This year’s Summer Showcase was a dazzling affair, with a thrilling selection of works. Three pieces featured from our current MA cohort: F/22 Blur by George Liang, Lady C by Kristen McNally and In the Presence of Light by Mikaela Polley. From the Ballet Central programme, an excerpt of Foyer de danse was performed by Ayane Ogino and Theo Shirt, and the full work by Dickson Mbi, Rise, was the final performance before the curtain came down. View the Summer Showcase programme here.

On Thursday, 37 students performed their graduation solos before gathering on stage for Central’s graduation ceremony. A heartwarming event that marks the completion of the student’s studies, it is also an opportunity for the graduating students to thank their tutors, peers and families for the support and encouragement that they have received. We are excited to see where the Class of 2025 go as they begin to forge their careers, we know that they have much to contribute to the dance industry and we look forward to cheering them on.