Behind the Scenes Blog

Ruth Brill, First Artist and Choreographer with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, had her first London stage experience at the Peacock Theatre, playing the sparky and headstrong Pauline in London Children’s Ballet’s original Ballet Shoes production in 2001. As she returns to the company this year to revive this production for a new generation of dancers and ballet lovers, we sat down with Ruth to discuss all things Ballet Shoes! What were you like when you first danced with LCB? I was an energetic …

It’s not every day that a dancer is handpicked by one of ballet’s greats to take on a lead role with one of the top dance companies before they have even graduated.  But that is exactly what has happened to James Lovell, an extraordinarily talented young dancer from Dorset, who is graduating from Elmhurst a year early in order to make his professional debut with Matthew Bourne’s ‘Swan Lake’ in the lead role of The Prince. This is after having been handpicked for auditions by Matthew Bourne hims…

Hi, I’m Jamie. This is my second year with LCB and I am enjoying it just as much as I did last year. Once I walk into the studio I never want to leave, I feel a buzz of excitement. Even if you don’t know any one , there’s always someone there to be your friend.   Being in LCB is so much fun. I love learning new dances and techniques every week and I always look forward to the next rehearsal. This week, we are rehearsing everyday over the Easter holidays, it’s really intense and tiring but so mu…

Rehearsals so far have been so much fun. We have recently had a run through of Act 1 - it's all coming together and I can't wait until the shows! LCB has really helped my confidence - in fact - so much that I decided to audition for the Royal Ballet School's full-time training! I was delighted to be offered a place and I will train there from September. LCB has showed me that being in a ballet company is hard work, but rewarding. I know that without London Children's Ballet I would not have got…

Rehearsals are not just hard work, but a load of fun and excitement!! Making friends, gaining experience and just being part of the LCB family has just been the best thing ever!  Especially when your waiting to get the schedule for the next rehearsal, because there's just so much excitement to see if your called! If I'm having a bad day, looking back through rehearsal selfies with everyone, never fails to cheer me up! I definitely wish that the rehearsals/shows could last forever!  The moment o…

Here in the life of LCB it is so enjoyable but also hard work. Its now less than a month before the first performance and it is getting very exciting but I am also getting a little nervous! In the rehearsals we are learning so much from Jenna and Amy but also from the other amazing dancers. Its incredible to watch older and more experienced dancers such as one of my older friends James who is playing the prince. I hope when I am older I’ll get to perform as a principal character one day because …