What We Do
LCB is a leader in creating original narrative work and introducing new audiences to ballet. LCB creates a new West End ballet each year performed by talented dancers aged 9-16 year old. Outreach work takes ballet into schools, care homes and special needs centres in and around London.
Outreach
-
A core part of LCB’s mission is to enable people to see ballet who normally couldn’t afford it, and to bring ballet into the community for those who are not physically able to access it. LCB’s outreach initiatives impact over 3,000 people’s lives each year through LCB’s programmes, workshops, tour and performances. LCB runs two flagship outreach programmes:
LCB Touring Company, brings abridged versions of the main production into care homes, special needs schools and community centres.
Ballet for £1, provides £1 tickets to disadvantaged and isolated children and adults. Schools also receive a free ballet workshop.
Training
-
To develop talent and support young dancers in their pursuit of excellence, LCB offers a number of training opportunities for children aged 9-16.
LCB runs performance-focused summer schools, for dancers aged 9-14.
Dancers are identified at auditions as having ‘development potential’ and are invited to participate in our new development programme. The idea is to help support young dancers performance development and supplement existing training. It is essential that dancers continue with their exiting classes as these sessions are not designed, nor should, replace existing training. We also include pre and post audition masterclasses. These annual masterclasses focus on audition technique and performance.
Production
-
Each year, LCB selects a children’s story and develops an original scenario to engage a family audience. LCB commissions an emerging composer to write a full narrative score and a choreographer. LCB works with costume, lighting and set designers, to create a new West End production.
A company of 50 talented young dancers, aged 9-14 (boys 9-16) are selected from annual competitive auditions . LCB is free of charge, which not only makes LCB unique but also means there is no barrier to talent. LCB dancers come from every economic, social and ethnic background, united by their passion for ballet. LCB does not only select children who are technically gifted; audition judges look for children who have that special appeal that makes a dancer beautiful to watch.
LCB dancers rehearse every Sunday from February to June, with an intensive period of daily rehearsals over the Easter holidays and half term. In total, they receive over 100 hours of free, specialist ballet tuition and performance experience.
