Hi, I’m Belle, founder and head teacher of Ballet Belles.
I come from a family full of classical ballet dancers, dance teachers and artists.
I was trained by my parents, The Royal Ballet school, Bush Davies ballet School and graduated from London Studio Centre as one of their finest dancers.
Dad, after a full career as a dancer, both classical and contemporary (now 80), has run his extremely successful Royal Academy of Dancing school in Cambridgeshire for 40 years, achieving exemplary exam results. My Mother was a dancer with The Royal Ballet Company and Rambert Ballet Company, she then went on to teach ballet also. Many of their pupils have been encouraged to continue on to vocational schools and have gone on to join dance companies and perform in West end shows.
I would very much be looking to do the same with my pupils.
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Brother Antony, was principal dancer with the Royal Ballet Company, (commonly known to partner the very tall Darcy Bussell, as he is an extremely strong chap!) and then went on to be head of Ballet at English National Ballet school and head repetiteur of the company. He is currently a guest teacher at many of the top vocational dance schools and also travels to Japan regularly to teach ballet master classes. Antony also choreographed the now famous Angelina Ballerina Ballet for English National Ballet Company.
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Whilst at college I was cherry picked to tour with contemporary dance company ‘Extreme Measures’.
Whilst I was training in London, I would travel back to Cambridgeshire to teach at my parents dance school. This was my first experience of teaching and I knew immediately that it was something I should definitely continue in the future. I loved teaching….I still do!!
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I then went onto join the cast of Andrew Lloyd Webbers ‘Cats’ and worked alongside the fabulous Jason Gardiner, Louis Spence, actor Richard Armitage (star of BBC1 Spooks and Feature Film The Hobbit), actor and dancer John Partridge (Eastenders) and ice skating superstar and Olympian Robin Cousins. I played many lead roles as an understudy but mainly played the role of Victoria, the white cat.
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Discovering (whilst in Cats) that I had a strong and versatile voice, I then went onto pursue a career in the music industry and am glad to say that I have been very fortunate to work with some of the worlds greatest artists, writers and musicians… most recently Celine Dion and Robbie Williams. I have performed for major events such as The Royal Wedding 2011 and have sung regularly in London’s most prestigious venues, including Ronnie Scotts and The Grosvenor house hotel, with the UK’s most talented, world class musicians.
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Now that I have two beautiful daughters and a wonderful husband, I want to stop travelling so much and get back to my first love, Ballet!
Following in the footsteps my Mum, Dad and Brother, I am now committed to building up my dance school here in Bromley.
With a true passion and a wealth of ballet and performing experience, I want to bring dance to our local children.
I feel committed to providing an excellent first experience of Ballet to our youngsters and working with them to ensure that each child fulfills their potential.
At Ballet Belles, we learn to dance but very importantly, we also have a lot of fun!
