26 March 2019 09:48

Phyllis Bedells Bursary winner announced!

The Phyllis Bedells Bursary has been awarded to 16-year-old British dancer Olivia Chang Clarke (front row, 2nd right) trained by Denise Whiteman at Elmhurst Ballet School.

The Phyllis Bedells Bursary is an annual event established to encourage talented young dancers to further their career in classical ballet. Olivia’s winning performance was for the Swanhilda variation from Act I of Coppélia and a self-choreographed variation entitled Enigma.

Dancer’s Own

As part of Phyllis Bedells Bursary, candidates performed Dancers’ Own, a variation of their own creation or one designed by their teacher or a peer. This year’s choreographic award was presented to Edward Truelove (back row, centre), also 16-years-old, for his self-choreographed piece Vagabond Soul. Edward was trained by the Dance Faculty at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts.

Judges

Candidates were judged on their performance in a non-syllabus ballet class, classical repertoire and Dancer’s Own by Valerie Aitken ARAD PDTC dip, and Joseph Caley, Lead Principal at English National Ballet (also a Genée silver medallist and former Phyllis Bedells Bursary candidate).

Gerard Charles, Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dance, said: “It was inspiring to see so many young talents at the Phyllis Bedells Bursary. It is wonderful to be able to provide an opportunity to nurture creativity in young dancers and I was impressed by the calibre of work on the day.”