BALLET CENTRAL ON TOUR 2025
3 April 2025
THE FUTURE OF DANCE
CENTRAL SCHOOL OF BALLET’S GRADUATING CLASS OF 2025
REPERTOIRE BY: FREDERICK ASHTON + DICKSON MBI + THICK & TIGHT + KRISTEN MCNALLY
11 UK PERFORMANCES FROM THURSDAY 22 MAY
BALLET CENTRAL are back on tour this summer with an exciting programme showcasing the extraordinary talent of Central School of Ballet’s graduating class of 2025, the future stars of dance. This year’s company is made up of 38 young dancers, many of whom will make their debut on a professional stage.
Bringing fresh dance to national audiences for over 40 years, the tour will open at the Corn Exchange as part of Newbury Spring Festival on Thursday 22 May before playing a further eight venues around the country. Tickets for all venues are on sale now.
The Ballet Central Tour is the perfect introduction to dance for audiences of all ages.
This year’s repertoire sees heritage meet cutting edge, combining classical ballet from Frederick Ashton with a restaged Foyer de danse, as well as an ultra-contemporary innovative creation from Dickson Mbi, a post-apocalyptic world populated by the Kardashians from Thick & Tight and a new ballet from Kristen McNally.
The mixed programme has been expertly commissioned by Kate Coyne, Artistic Director of the world-renowned ballet school.
The Ballet Central Tour 2025 will feature Frederick Ashton’s majestic Foyer de danse, reconstructed and staged by Ursula Hageli, on behalf of The Frederick Ashton Foundation. Staged for the first time in over 90 years, Ashton’s ballet brings Edgar Degas paintings and pastels of Paris Opera Ballet dancers to life.
In contrast, Ballet Central presents two newly commissioned contemporary works from Dickson Mbi and creative duo Thick & Tight. Vastly energetic, Dickson Mbi’s piece explores the practises of ritual and shared human experience, striving to shine a light on what is next to come. Presenting a new generation of dancers in this fast-evolving artistic world, Dickson Mbi’s piece depicts the energetic ambition and perseverance required to pave new pathways in dance theatre and performance.
Thick & Tight’s theatrical work Keeping Up with the Apocalypse – set to John Adam’s Nixon In China – combines dance, theatre and mime, whilst adopting a humorous commentary on social and political affairs. Set years ahead in the future of planet Earth only one species remains, thriving in a desolate post-apocalyptic landscape. The Kardashians! Famous for being famous and living on money alone, they dominate a decimated planet.
The fourth piece in this vibrant programme is Kristen McNally’s modern ballet FEAST with a glorious new musical composition by Central’s Tabor Music Director, Philip Feeney. Principal Character Artist of the Royal Ballet, McNally’s vibrant piece allows the audience to catch a glimpse of a colourful community where conversation is punctuated and interactions explode with character.
For further information, please contact Katherine Camps Kilgour at Bright Media on 07958 649502 or email katherine@brightmediauk.com
Ballet Central was created in 1984 as the touring company of Central School of Ballet to give Central’s graduating students the opportunity of professional performance experience.
The programme is formed around Ballet Central’s relationships with leading choreographers and provides the opportunity for students to experience performance in front of a ticket-buying audience.
Central School of Ballet is the only professional dance training school in the UK providing touring experience on such a scale.
Populated by the final year students of the BA (Hons) Professional Dance & Performance degree, joining the Ballet Central company forms a core part of the degree course and, most importantly, supports graduate employment.
Ballet Central graduates go on to dance in companies including English National Ballet, Northern Ballet, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, Scottish Ballet, Ballet Black and Rambert Dance Company, as well as international dance companies across the globe.
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For further information, please contact Katherine Camps Kilgour at Bright Media on 07958 649502 or email katherine@brightmediauk.com
BALLET CENTRAL TOUR – SUMMER 2025
Corn Exchange, Newbury: Thursday 22 May
The Theatre, Chipping Norton: Friday 30 May
Playhouse, Salisbury: Wednesday 4 June
Jamie Watton Theatre, Brighton: Friday 6 June
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford: Thursday 12 June
Linbury Theatre RBO, London: Tuesday 17 June
Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds: Thursday 19 June
EM Forster Theatre, Tonbridge: Friday 27 June
Britten Theatre, London: Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 July
Notes to Editors:
Ballet Central aims to make dance accessible by bringing the talent and skills of the next generation of professional dance graduates through performances staged across the country. The company’s diverse repertoire of much-loved classics and original dance pieces created by influential choreographers appeals to first-time audiences and dance enthusiasts alike.
The annual Ballet Central tour offers audiences across the country the chance to see the company’s young and dynamic dancers showcase choreography from current industry professionals alongside newly commissioned work and refreshed classics from the world’s top choreographers. Performing a range of repertoire on tour over three months to ticket-buying audiences is an enriching experience for the students, enhancing their skills and development, making them particularly employable.
The Ballet Central experience also provides young dancers with an understanding of all aspects of creating performance, including the staging of repertoire, costume design and technical aspects of sound and lighting.
The graduating class of 2025 are: Archie Anderson, Yoshe Brooks, Joseph Burdett, Mina Carter, Phoebe Chubb, Amy Crawford, Sophie Curtis, Tara Darlami, Becca Francis, Jemima Gosling, Izzy Graham, Evie Hardman, Olivia Hayes, Anju Irisawa, Florence May Jones, Kaede Kondo, Amelia Lees, Hugh Lewis, Mackenzie Long, Keeva Martin-Casey, Shannen McCormack, Joseph D McKay, Isabella McLachlan, Imogen Meharg, Scott Milne, Tamaki Nakagawa, Hannah Noh, Ayane Ogino, Alice Pritchard, Ulyana Rose, Riko Sakai, Imogen Shewell, Theo Shirt, Emma Squires, Flo Sudborough, Koh Takamoto, Evangeline Terry and Millie Young-Wood.
Ballet Central choreographers have included: Matthew Bourne, Kenneth MacMillan, Wayne McGregor, Frederick Ashton, Thiago Soares, David Bintley, Christopher Bruce, Christopher Hampson, Jenna Lee, David Nixon, Michael Pink, Darshan Singh Bhuller, Mikaela Polley, Malgorzata Dzierzon, Sophie Laplane, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Christopher Gable.
Kate Coyne was appointed Artistic Director and Professional Training Lead at Central School of Ballet in October 2021. Kate joined Central from Michael Clark Company where she was Associate Director.
Kate graduated from The Royal Ballet School and studied for a further year at London Contemporary Dance School; joining London Contemporary Dance Theatre under the directorship of Robert Cohan. Later she joined Rambert Dance Company at the appointment of Christopher Bruce. Following this she pursued a freelance career and worked with several companies including Michael Clark Company, DV8 and Mark Baldwin Dance Company.
In 2009 she won the Critics Circle Award for Best Female Dancer Modern, and was the joint winner of an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance. Kate retired from performing in 2012 and has since worked as Producer for Frieze Projects and as Programme Director at Siobhan Davies Dance.