Silver Swans Easter Course

Sunday 13 April 2025 – Thursday 17 April 2025

Various, GMT

Events Short course Silver Swans Easter Course

Booking Deadline:

Monday 24 March 2025

Event Date:

Sunday 13 April 2025 – Thursday 17 April 2025

Event Time:

Various, GMT

Location:

Available Online?

No

Who’s it for?

Recommended for age 55+

Fee:

£70 – £110 depending on class selected

The Silver Swans Easter Course offers dancers the chance to join us for a week long course during the Easter holidays.

Immerse yourself in an inspiring week of classes that will elevate your technique and deepen your understanding. Throughout the course, you’ll master a piece of repertoire, guided by expert faculty and enriched by the magic of live piano accompaniment.

Also on offer is an open level Pilates class which you can book in combination with a ballet and repertoire class or as a stand alone class. Pilates classes will compliment the ballet classes and support you with exercises designed to build core strength, improve posture and flexibility and maintain your overall well-being.

Class information

There are three different paces of ballet and repertoire classes to choose from.

  • Gentle: A nurturing and welcoming class designed for those who enjoy working at a calm pace with a mindful, low-impact approach.
  • Steady: A class designed for those who enjoy working at a steady and consistent pace, with a focus on building upon a strong foundation in classical ballet.
  • Dynamic: An energetic and invigorating class perfect for those who enjoy working at a faster pace.

Pilates classes are suitable for all levels.

Venue

Royal Academy of Dance
188 York Road
London
SW11 3JZ

Times

Morning classes 11am – 12.30pm

  • Ballet and Repertoire: Gentle
  • Ballet and Repertoire: Steady – SOLD OUT

Pilates class 12.45pm – 1.45pm

Early afternoon classes 2pm – 3.30pm

  • Ballet and Repertoire: Dynamic – SOLD OUT
  • Ballet and Repertoire: Steady

Late afternoon classes 3.45pm – 5.15pm

  • Ballet & Repertoire – Dynamic

If the class you would like to join is sold out, you can join our waiting list by completing the form found here.

Fees

Ballet and Repertoire Classes:

  • Non-members £110
  • Members £100

Pilates Classes:

  • Non-members £78
  • Members £70

Dancers who are members of the RAD will receive a discounted price. Please enter your RAD ID when prompted to do so during the booking process to receive this discount.

Faculty

Kate Swainston (Ballet and Repertoire Gentle morning and Steady afternoon faculty)

International Teacher and Examiner.

Kate is an ex professional dancer, now teacher and examiner for The Royal Academy of Dance.

She trained to teach at The Royal Academy of Dance, where she passed the Professional Dancer’s Teaching Diploma with Distinction. She then went to the Royal Ballet School to study on an Intensive Character Dance Teaching Course.

Kate is a member of the ballet faculty at London Studio Centre. She is a First and Second Year tutor, as well as overseeing the Foundation Year Classical studies. She also taught the Saturday Associate Programme for many years.

In 2019 she joined the faculty of the Royal Ballet School, to teach Character dance as a specialist subject to all year groups at White Lodge, and 1st and 2nd years at Upper School.

She has also taught at the Royal Academy of Dance School, Central School of Ballet, DanceEast (a Centre for Advanced Training), and Pineapple Dance Studios London.

Kate continues to Examine, deliver Repertoire Workshops, Intensive Coaching Courses, and Summer Schools both here in the UK, and internationally. These include, The Royal Ballet School (White Lodge, and Upper School), The Royal Academy of Dance, London Studio Centre, and The Art Centre Gibraltar.

In September Kate will join the faculty at English National Ballet School to deliver Character dance classes on the new Associate Programme.

Wendy Jardine (Pilates faculty)

Since 2009, Wendy has taught Pilates to dancers. She creates and presents courses to ballet teachers in the principles of Pilates, too, so teachers can use the knowledge in their teaching.

Wendy is trained to Master Level and has been teaching Pilates since 2007. She uses Pilates to empower dancers in all of their movement. Pilates gives them the conscious awareness of their strengths and imbalances and equips them with the tools to self-care, rebalance and avoid injury. They enhance and improve their strength, mobility and flexibility, by knowing how and where every muscle is, and why each muscle group makes a move, big or small, or is a deep stabilising muscle. By isolating, engaging and feeling, which muscles are creating what, the dancers can consciously call upon them in their training and performance, which takes their work to another level. Within these sessions, which flow from one move to another, the dancers learn how to use their breath to stabilise, connect and relax. This tool enriches life skills, exam technique and is deeply calming.

When Wendy is not at the Academy, she teaches in West Dulwich and currently many sessions over Zoom. She has a forever growing online library of over a hundred sessions www.pilates-instructor.net

Victoria Allport (Ballet and Repertoire Steady morning and Dynamic afternoon faculty)

Vikki Allport

RADRTS
RAD Teaching Diploma. (Distinction)
RAD Examiner & CPD/CDT Tutor

Originally from the northeast of England, Victoria’s love affair with dance commenced at the tender age of 5, working diligently through her RAD grades and vocational exams. After embarking on the Student Teaching Certificate of the RAD at 16, the passion and determination to perform led to a successful career as a professional dancer and choreographer, working both in the UK and abroad. Settling in Mexico, Victoria founded and nurtured a highly successful dance school. Fuelled by an unwavering passion for ballet, she spearheaded the formation of ‘Acadancers,’ a company that staged seasonal classical ballets in collaboration with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Acapulco, all the while finding time to choreograph shows for Mexican pop artistes, perform in music videos, and complete the RAD’s Teaching Diploma, Her contributions to culture in Mexico were recognized by the state government, which honoured her with a special award and ceremony.

Returning to the UK, Victoria assumed the mantle of Head of Ballet at a prestigious Independent School, concurrently embarking on her role as an examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance. A recent accolade includes the prestigious choreographic prize in the Phyllis Bedells Bursary, a collaborative creation with her student Anya Mercer, a 2019 Genee finalist and ENB graduate.

In addition to her teaching roles, Victoria is an invaluable trustee of the Royal Academy of Dance, lending her expertise and vision to the strategic direction of the institution. Her involvement extends further as an artistic sub-committee member, contributing insights and guidance to elevate the artistic standards within the dance community.

A Life member the RAD, Victoria’s commitment to continuous learning within the dance community is evident through her role as a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) tutor. Her dedication to adult ballet instruction led her to become a Silver Swans® tutor in 2017, along with tutoring on the new CDT course and previous teaching contributions to the CBTS since 2011.

Victoria’s indelible mark on the dance world reverberates through the achievements of her former students, many of whom have blossomed into professional dancers in Mexico, while others have pursued careers as RAD Teaching Members following their completion of the Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies.

Faculty for the Silver Swans Easter Course will be announced here in due course.

Booking process

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