Elmhurst Ballet Company performances in London and Birmingham

Elmhurst Ballet Company, the graduate year performance strand of Elmhurst Ballet School presented Resonance at Elmhurst Studio Theatre, Birmingham on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th March 2025 and The Shaw Theatre, London on Saturday 5th April 2025. 

The Elmhurst Ballet School initiative, now in its seventh iteration, prepares students for life after school. Like professional dance companies, members take daily ballet class, work with established artists, and deliver outreach sessions in schools in their final year. 

To bring Resonance to the stage, a range of eminent individuals and organisations passed their dance experience and knowledge on to the 26-strong company. 

The students worked collaboratively with Jessica Wright, a Company Wayne McGregor artist on a brand-new work, Paper Plane. Paper Plane explores the interplay between individuality and collective identity, created in dialogue with AI. Using McGregor’s AISOMA- a machine-learning choreographic tool developed with Google Arts and Culture Lab- the dancers built material from the tool while also devising their own algorithms and choreographic codes. The work marked the seventh project between Elmhurst Ballet School and Studio Wayne McGregor in a relationship that enables students to explore the multi award-winning company’s cutting-edge choreography and creative process. 

The Company also performed an excerpt from Laurencia, a landmark ballet that revolutionised male dance through Vakhtang Chabukiani’s innovative choreography. Premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1939, Chabukiani’s fusion of classical ballet and folk elements created a dynamic and athletic movement style that continues to inspire dancers today. 

Members of the graduate company were also showcased in Tangueras by Avatâra Ayuso. In Tangueras, women stepped into a world where the poise of ballet met the fiery intimacy of tango. Avatâra Ayuso explored the intricate tapestry of femininity, resilience, and connection, weaving together the contrasting yet harmonious qualities of these two dance forms. Tangueras was more than a performance- it was a celebration of how dance can transform and unify. It was a call to all women to embrace their passions, their vulnerabilities, and their inner strength, finding intimacy not only in a partner's embrace but also in the shared passion of community. 

Another new piece, Unfading by Birmingham Royal Ballet Principal Dancer Lachlan Monaghan, was poignantly dedicated to Ana Wheeler, a much-missed pianist at Elmhurst Ballet School. Set to Chopin Ballade No. 3, Unfading was connected to the origins of Anait (Ana), and encompassed the meanings of resilience and strength. What’s the Time Where You Are? by Daniel Davidson; Amour Bohème, a new jazz piece by Elmhurst teacher Cris Penfold; and A Line That We Crossed by Spike Frobisher and Tom Wood, two Elmhurst Ballet Company artists, completed the programme. 

Elmhurst Ballet Company members in 2025 are: Cameron Allan, Risa Ando, Lois Barnes, Maddi Calvert, Eva Cartwright, Amber Cook, Andreas Cross, Olivia Cryne, Susannah Forsyth, Spike Frobisher, Alfie-Lee Hall, Sofia Hensley, Thomas Kujawa, Cali Manders, Franics Morgan, Honey Newton, Noah Nixon, Erin Parris, Lucinda Paykel, Chelsea Potter, Harriet Quinn, Charlotte Roberts, Nora Yun Schaefer, Ella Schindler, Gemma Skinner, and Tom Wood.