Ballet Boost is a forward-thinking ballet school for gifted dancers aged 8+. We offer UK-wide vocational ballet training on Sundays through our Associates Programme, a vocational alternative to Lower School through the Academy of Balletic Arts, plus private tuition, school holiday classes, refresher classes, and supplementary skills courses from our London base at Pineapple Dance Studios.
About Us
Artistry, Musicality and Technique are incorporated into all aspects of Ballet Boost training. Our goal is to develop well-rounded, well-grounded dancers. This approach combined with our supportive learning environment provides our students with a real opportunity to shine in this crowded industry.
We strongly believe that a child’s true potential can only be realised when they feel happy, motivated and confident about their learning environment. We want our students to enjoy exploring their possibilities and feel confident to ask questions and engage with their tutors. The results achieved from the Ballet Boost approach to teaching have been quite amazing with proven student success that is now recognised by vocational schools across London.
Welcome to Ballet Boost – here’s a little background on our Founder and Director, Emma Northmore.
Emma was born in Devon and trained at Elmhurst Ballet School and then English National Ballet School.
She performed professionally for 12 years, including 8 years with English National Ballet Company where she was promoted twice to First artist.
Amongst every corps de ballet role you can imagine, Emma also danced soloist and principal roles in her last few years with highlights being Clara (nutcracker), Finger Fairy (Sleeping Beauty), a Principal role in Drink to me (Mark Morris), Cygnets (Swanlake), Lead peasant and Lead Czardas (Swanlake), Coppelia friends & Juliet Friends.
Emma was best known in the company for having the ability to be thrown in to a new role/position with 5 minutes to spare and managing to pull it off without looking like a rabbit in headlights. An entirely useful skill it seems for many big companies – so remember, dancers, it’s not all about who performs the most pirouettes or who has the highest extensions. There is so much more to succeeding as a professional dancer and this leads neatly on to why Emma set up Ballet Boost.
After many years teaching as a freelancer across the London industry including hours of private coaching and listening parents – there was clearly a void. A void in necessary information as part of the essential training for dancers today as well as a void in supporting parents/guardians along this crazy ballet journey too! Each family dedicates so much time to helping their young dancers strive for their dreams – yet so little information and feedback is shared.
And so; Ballet Boost was ‘born’ in 2015, out of a desire to support and nurture both the dancers and their families, but also to enhance the offering of ballet training in the UK to reflect the changing needs within the industry and keep up with international standards.
Information is key.
A thinking dancer makes astounding progress.
A confident dancer achieves beyond expectation.
A supportive environment breeds success.
Never say; ‘No, you can’t be a ballet dancer’. Instead, be honest with the hurdles, offer every insight possible and these young talented dancers will surprise you over and over again.
I am delighted to say that after 15 years of teaching those dancers with tricky physiques for ballet can still surprise me in the best possible way. Those that would have been turned away after being given all the vocational knowledge and insights can astound you with their achievements. And this is what drives me.
To see the utter delight for the dancer and their families when they achieve their dreams is everything.
~ Emma, 2023
It might helpful to note that Emma was also told she could not become a Ballet Dancer as she was “too short”. However, our Director went on to not only have a successful ballet career but also is a much-loved ballet teacher from student to professional achieving profound results. She is dedicated in her mission to support and nurture the next generation and will always be on hand to answer your questions and guide you.
Previous teaching experience
Ballet mistress and Rehearsal Director for Ballet Black.
Company class teacher for Mathew Bourne (current)
Guest teacher – The Australian Ballet Company & BalletBoyz.
Cover Teacher – English National Ballet School, RBS Associates.
Artistic Director for Images of Dance at LSC.
Emma was proud to have been appointed the role of Head of Intensives at The Royal Ballet School 21/22. In her time there she ran her department and designed the new one-day courses open to all. To have gained the respect and trust of such an institution was most certainly a career highlight which she enjoyed fulfilling.
Emma however, decided to return to Ballet Boost and the studio; such is her desire to help these young dancers and to move Ballet forwards. There is nothing quite like the buzz of a dance studio – if your child has that ‘bug’ then you have come to the right place!
LEANNE COPE
Leanne was born in Bath and started dancing aged 5 at her local dancing school Dorothy Colebornes School of Dance. She trained at The Royal Ballet School lower and upper school and joined The Royal Ballet Company in 2003. Whilst there, she danced in all the classic repertoire and created roles in ballets choreographed by Liam Scarlett, Christopher Wheeldon, Jonathan Watkins and Wayne McGregor.
In 2014 she took a sabbatical from The Royal Ballet to create the role of Lise Dassin in the 4 time Tony winning musical “An American in Paris” on Broadway for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and won The Astaire Award for The Best Female Dancer on Broadway. She then revived the role and made her debut in London’s West End .
Leanne is a regular presenter for The Royal Opera House for their live events on Youtube.
JAMES BUTCHER
James trained in Musical Theatre from a young age where he was coached in all styles of dance. During this time he found a love for classical dance and so attended The Royal Ballet Summer School where he received a scholarship to train at The Royal Ballet (upper school) full time.
He graduated with a contract to dance as a member of the ‘Corps de Ballet’ in The Royal Ballet Company, Covent Garden. During his time in the company, James danced in lots of classical ballets including the original cast of Christopher Wheeldon’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’.
Since then, James has moved into dancing in the West End in roles such as ‘Older Billy’ in Billy Elliot The Musical (Victoria Palace Theatre), Swing/Ensemble in the original London cast of An American in Paris (The Dominion Theatre), and most recently Assistant Dance Captain and Ballet Dancer in Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty’s Theatre). He has also danced on The Royal Variety Performance and been on UK and International Tours.
Throughout his stage career, James has danced in many movies such as ‘Cinderella’, ‘The Nutcracker and the four realms’, and ‘Artemis Fowl’ all for Walt Disney Studios.
Being a passionate teacher as well as a performer, James currently teaches at some of London’s top vocational dance schools, is a Licentiate member of the ISTD, and is currently studying for his MA in Dance Education.
SARAH KUNDI
Sarah undertook her professional training at Central School of Ballet, and upon graduation pursued her first job at Northern Ballet. She then went on to dance with Ballet Black and is now a First artist with English National Ballet.
She was nominated for a Critic’s Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Female Performance in the Classical sector in 2010, for Will Tucketts’s ‘Depouillement’ with Ballet Black.
Repertoire with English National Ballet include ‘Myrtha’ in Akram Khan’s Giselle, ‘Stepmother Hortensia’ in Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella, Pina Bausch’s ‘Sacre du Printemps’ (Rite of Spring), William Forsythe’s ‘In the Middle Somewhat Elevated’ & ‘Approximate Sonata’, ‘Carabosse’ in Sleeping Beauty, ‘Madge’ in La Sylphide. She won the ‘Corps de Ballet Award’ on behalf of English National Ballet in 2017.
Sarah has a huge passion for teaching, and she is affiliated hughley with the Engagement team at ENB, where she undertakes many workshops and outside projects.
Katie Deacon
Katie trained at Central School of Ballet in London before performing in a wide repertoire of classical and theatre works. Her theatre credits include Ensemble in “Mary Poppins” (West End Revival), Ivy Smith in “On The Town” (Hyogo Performing Arts Center, Japan) Cassandra and cover Demeter / Bombalurina / Gumbie Cat in “CATS” (International Tour), Original West End cast of “An American in Paris” (Dominion Theatre) amongst many others. She also danced soloist and corps de ballet roles with Balet NDB (Czech Republic), English National Ballet and The National Ballet of Ireland.
Katie has a huge passion for teaching alongside her performing career and has taught all over the UK including regular open classes/workshops at Pineapple Dance Studios, Danceworks and Base Dance Studios. She is a regular ballet tutor at Urdang Academy and Bird College and regularly covers classes at some of the top Musical Theatre colleges in London.
Anita Young MBE
FISTD ARAD Hon. Member of the BBO
Ballet Teacher, Choreographer, Coach & Mentor
Miss Young trained at The Royal Ballet School, joining The Royal Ballet Company in 1968 and was promoted to soloist in 1974. She performed many prominent roles in both the classical repertoire and “heritage” ballets of Sir Frederick Ashton.
On leaving the company, Anita was offered the position of Ballet Mistress with Northern Ballet Theatre, before taking over responsibility for the Junior Associates of The Royal Ballet School based at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. Miss Young decided to build a career as a freelance Teacher, Choreographer, Coach and Mentor, specialising in the Cecchetti Major Exam work.
Anita has been a guest teacher for the Michael Clark Company, and for schools, colleges and companies in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malta, South Africa and the USA. teaching positions at West Street Studios, The London Studio Centre, and The Central School of Ballet, as well as teacher to the Senior Associates of The Royal Ballet School. Anita has also coached Professional Footballers, for the ‘FA’ at their ‘National School of Excellence’ in Lillieshall, as well as an American Football team and worked closely with United States Marine Corps, Sergeant, Harvey Walden IV, who is famous for the “Fat Club” UK television series, in which Anita also appeared, in 2002. Anita has also choreographed and has given her own time in support of Charities; Appearing in many television commercials and promotional videos.
Miss Young was on the faculty of The Royal Ballet School’s ‘Lower School’ at White Lodge and the Artistic faculty of The Royal Ballet School’s ‘Upper School’. In 2016, Anita was a guest teacher at the ‘Paris Opera Ballet School’. In February 2019 Anita was awarded the MBE by the Princess Royal!
We are proud to offer training programmes and courses led by our team of highly experienced, industry-leading ballet teachers and professionals.