London Children's Ballet
Encyclopedia
The London Children’s Ballet (LCB) is a registered charitable trust
created in 1994. LCB was formed to give children the experience of performing as part of a company, in a professionally produced, full length ballet at a professional theatre. LCB provides opportunities to dance for children from many diverse backgrounds and the experience is free.
Performances are staged annually at the Peacock Theatre
, in the West End
, London's famous theatre district. These performances include the staging of original productions, which have sold out every year since the company was established. The company is also involved in a number of smaller projects. The "£1 outreach matinees" enable the public to see a ballet at an affordable price and LCB2 is a touring company which visits venues where people are unable to attend the theatre, including hospitals, community centres, hospices and schools.
To dance in a LCB production, children must first attend an audition, designed to assess their suitability to take part. Successful candidates then meet for weekly rehearsals on a Sunday in the lead up to the performance, so that there is no disruption to their academic education.
LCB organise an annual summer school, lasting a week and catering for one hundred children. The summer school consists of a range of workshops, where the children take classes in ballet and other dance forms such as jazz
, and also study choreography
.
The LCB also provides a venue for recently graduated composers, choreographers and designers from the Wimbledon College of Art
.
d by LCB, The Happy Prince, sold out.
Now in its 14th year, the LCB has successfully staged 14 narrative ballets including classic stories such as: Jane Eyre
(music by Ukrainian composer Julia Gomelskaya), A Little Princess
choreographed by Vanessa Fenton , The Secret Garden
, The Canterville Ghost
and The Scarlet Pimpernel
.
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
created in 1994. LCB was formed to give children the experience of performing as part of a company, in a professionally produced, full length ballet at a professional theatre. LCB provides opportunities to dance for children from many diverse backgrounds and the experience is free.
Performances are staged annually at the Peacock Theatre
Peacock Theatre
The Peacock Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Portugal Street, near Aldwych. The 999-seat house is owned by, and comprises part of the London School of Economics and Political Science campus, who utilise the theatre for lectures, public talks, conferences,...
, in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, London's famous theatre district. These performances include the staging of original productions, which have sold out every year since the company was established. The company is also involved in a number of smaller projects. The "£1 outreach matinees" enable the public to see a ballet at an affordable price and LCB2 is a touring company which visits venues where people are unable to attend the theatre, including hospitals, community centres, hospices and schools.
To dance in a LCB production, children must first attend an audition, designed to assess their suitability to take part. Successful candidates then meet for weekly rehearsals on a Sunday in the lead up to the performance, so that there is no disruption to their academic education.
LCB organise an annual summer school, lasting a week and catering for one hundred children. The summer school consists of a range of workshops, where the children take classes in ballet and other dance forms such as jazz
Jazz dance
Jazz dance is a classification shared by a broad range of dance styles. Before the 1950s, jazz dance referred to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular dance. In the 1950s, a new genre of jazz dance—modern jazz dance—emerged, with roots in Caribbean traditional dance...
, and also study choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
.
The LCB also provides a venue for recently graduated composers, choreographers and designers from the Wimbledon College of Art
Wimbledon College of Art
Wimbledon College of Art is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London and is one of London's major art institutions. It is located in Wimbledon and Merton Park, South West London.-History:...
.
History
Lucille Briance founded the LCB in 1994 after her daughter showed an interest in auditioning for dance schools. Lucille felt she was too young to join a proper dance school and thus looked for an alternative. Unfortunately there was no dance company for children that would allow her daughter to perform as well as keep up her academic studies. Lucille therefore decided to create one and the LCB was born. A choreographer was appointed and the auditions for the new company were advertised, successfully attracting children from many different parts of the community. After the first season, a composer was hired, so that the LCB could stage new and interesting works, appealing to the whole family. This was a success — the first new ballet premierePremiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
d by LCB, The Happy Prince, sold out.
Now in its 14th year, the LCB has successfully staged 14 narrative ballets including classic stories such as: Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...
(music by Ukrainian composer Julia Gomelskaya), A Little Princess
A Little Princess
A Little Princess is a 1905 children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It is a revised and expanded version of Burnett's 1888 serialized novel entitled Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's Boarding School, which was published in St. Nicholas Magazine.According to Burnett, she...
choreographed by Vanessa Fenton , The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published in serial format starting in the autumn of 1910, and was first published in its entirety in 1911. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of English children's...
, The Canterville Ghost
The Canterville Ghost
"The Canterville Ghost" is a popular short story by Oscar Wilde, widely adapted for the screen and stage. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in the magazine The Court and Society Review in February 1887. It was later included in a collection of short stories entitled...
and The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution. The story is a precursor to the "disguised superhero" tales such as Zorro and Batman....
.