Originally from Wales, Siân’s first experience of dance was teaching herself steps from books and television, before starting formal training at a local ballet school at the relatively late age of 12. On reaching RAD majors, Siân took up full time training at the Rubicon Centre in Cardiff followed by Laban in London.

In 2001, she became a member of Chelsea Ballet and danced principal roles with the company, including Myrthe, Queen of the Willis in Giselle, Pas de Quatre and creating new roles in The Bracelet and The Snow Maiden. During this time she continued training at advanced level at Morley College. In 2002, she began teacher training and subsequently taught at the college.

Moving to Bristol in 2005, Siân was at once struck by the lack of opportunities for adult dancers outside the capital. Missing the experience of performing and convinced that there would be others that felt the same, she lay the foundations for the creation of Ballet Bristol, and is proud to have been joined in her vision by a company of dedicated dancers.

Committed to Community Dance, in 2010 she set up her own small ballet studio for adult learners. She has also taught class at Beginners and Improvers level at the University of Bristol. Siân is a Professional member of the Foundation for Community Dance and a Recognised Instructor with the Council for Dance Education and Training.

Ellie is a professional dancer, teacher, choreographer and theatre technician.

Ellie started her training at the Bristol School of Dancing and the Bristol Stage School. Here she took

part in numerous performances at the Hippodrome and Redgrave Theatre working with The English

National Ballet Company, European Ballet Company, Kenwright Ltd and performed in many Christmas

Pantomimes. She was a soloist with the Bristol Youth Ballet Company, playing leading roles in ‘Cinderella’,

‘The Nutcracker’, ‘The Spanish Wedding’ and ‘Cardboard City’. She then progressed to train at the Central

School of Ballet on the Pre-Seniors course followed by a two year course at the Arts Educational School,

Tring Park, gaining both performance and technical experience and her teaching qualifications in ballet and

modern dance, and was a finalist in the prestigious end of year ‘Cup’ Competitions.

Post graduation followed a few years of performing in small touring shows around the UK and Europe.

Then five years in London’s West End working on show such as Mary Poppins, Dirty Dancing and some

Gala performances. Ellie now works full time as a ballet teacher at the Bristol School of Dancing and

Bristol School of Performing Arts, teaching children from the age of 2, up to adults!

Ellie is delighted to have become a founding member of Ballet Bristol as ballet mistress,

choreographer and soloist.  Read more about Ellie on her website.

I began my dance training at the young age of 4 joining a local Ballet School before

attending the Annette Adams School of Dancing to study Classical Ballet, Repertoire and Modern.

I am currently studying to become a school teacher and Ballet Bristol gives me the opportunity to

work with children through our children's workshops.

I've danced in lots of wonderful performances and learnt lots of new repertoire.

Class on Wednesday is always good fun and challenging too!

 I've never really done much dancing before, despite being involved in amateur dramatics for most of my teenage years. It's always been the thing I dreaded! After a very brief stint learning ballet when I was 3, I decided to give it another go. The classes are good fun and I've made some great friends. It's really satisfying learning a dance from beginning to end. I feel like I've learned a lot during my time at Ballet Bristol.

Being Wardrobe Mistress for Ballet Bristol combines two of my greatest passions – ballet and sewing! I have

been dancing all my life and have been lucky enough to find a ballet school in all the places I have lived – from Baltimore to Bristol. After graduating from Cambridge in Physics, I trained with the US Navy Test Pilot School in Maryland. I now work as a defence consultant by day and have a small textile design company, Rococo Designs,

so designing and making the costumes for Ballet Bristol is a real joy! I am particularly enjoying learning and

performing classical repertoire with the company.

I started dancing at the age of 2 and have barely stopped since! Even moving to Spain at the age of 9 didn’t stop me – I studied at Marcia's dance centre and The Valerie Jean school of dance until I returned to the UK at 15. Upon my return to the UK I continued to study all types of dance from Ballet and Tap to Latin and Ballroom. In 2000 I was chosen to perform with English Youth Ballet in a production of Coppelia as one of Swanhildas 'friends' where I had the pleasure of dancing alongside Richard Slaughter and Ursula Hageli, ex Royal Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet dancers and Roddie Patrizio formerly of Scottish Ballet.

In my adult years I have tried several schools/companies and after a period of ill health, which forced me to give up any idea of a performance career, I found my home when I joined Ballet Bristol in 2009. Not only do I get to dance again but I have made some amazing friends for life who share the same crazy passion for Ballet that I do! I love to perform and since joining Ballet Bristol I have had the opportunity to learn many great pieces, including: Prayer from Coppelia, Mirlitons and Harlequin and Columbine from the Nutcracker Suite, Hail and Summer Flowers from the Seasons, Nikiya from La Bayadere, Esmeralda’s friend variation, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty and Degas.

Gemma is a performer with Ballet Bristol. She began learning ballet at the age of nine at the Wendy Davies School of Dancing.

At the age of thirteen she gained a place at the first Russian ballet school in England called The Pavlov Ballet School based in Bristol. Gemma was taught by ballet teachers who had trained at the Vaganova Academy and danced with the Bolshoi and Kirov Ballets. Gemma trained in the Vaganova method as well as studying repertoire and character dancing in preparation for The Pavlov Ballet's performances (which is now known as Swansea's Ballet Russe).

At the age of fifteen Gemma successfully auditioned for the Classical Dance Studios Senior School in Clifton and began working towards the major examinations in the ISTD and RAD syllabus reaching Intermediate standard.

Gemma joined Ballet Bristol in November 2009 and has danced Jewel Fairy Pas de Trois from The Sleeping Beauty, The Arabian and Russian Dance from The Nutcracker, Giselle and Ballet Bristol's Ballet After Degas.

I started ballet at the age of 3 with the Westbury School of Dance in Bristol. I danced until I was 17 with the school and narrowly missed out on a place at the Royal Ballet School at the age of 11. At 17 I decided to concentrate on my academic studies and stopped dancing and have regretted this decision to this day! Ballet (and dance) never left my system and I am so happy I found Ballet Bristol and to be dancing and performing again! Goes to show – you can never give up what is in your blood.

Since joining Ballet Bristol in 2009 I have had so many opportunities to dance in front of lots of people who truly appreciate what we do. The idea that we can bring ballet to many people who cannot get to the theatre anymore makes the experience of doing something I truly love even better!

My repertoire since joining Ballet Bristol has grown gradually, starting with a few pieces from Sleeping Beauty – Jewel Fairy and Enchanted Garden. Since then I have added Dawn from Coppelia, Summer Flowers from the Seasons, Esmeralda’s friend variation, Degas, Mirlitons from the Nutcracker Suite and the Sugar Plum Fairy!  All the dances are special to me from solos to group pieces, however having the opportunity to perform the Sugar Plum Fairy at the Black and Gold Ball and St Monica’s was very special. I relish the opportunity to get stuck into something new.

I'm not a dancer, I'm just a guy who can dance a bit and enjoys it. After trying to be a proper dancer as a kid

(it was no Billy Elliot story), I drifted back to dancing as an adult, and now my most important job is to make

the other dancers look fabulous, graceful and elegant.

I started my ballet dancing career at the tender age of 25 at one of Ballet Bristol's first ever classes for beginners.

From that day until nearly 3 years on and my first performance, everyone has been so friendly and welcoming!

Ballet isn't just for the young - it's for the young at heart too. I've met new friends, improved my flexibility,

strength & balance, and can't wait to learn more!

My name is Hannah and I started at Ballet Bristol back in Feb/March 2009 (having never danced before!l). I had recently suffered a back injury and was told that I needed to strengthen my core and improve my flexibility.

Not only has my core/balance and flexibility improved but I have also learnt that I love to dance! When I first started coming to the classes I simply wanted a good workout and never dreamed I'd actually dance in front of people! I have now danced in 3 performances and cannot wait to do more! Everyone at Ballet Bristol are so friendly, encouraging and sociable that my Wednesday evening classes are now the highlight of my week!

Nina started ballet at the age of 4 at a local ballet school in Bristol. She moved to the Westbury School of Dance when she was 11 and continued until she was 14. She stopped at this age to concentrate on her academic studies and has regretted the decision ever since.

Nina joined Ballet Bristol in February 2009. Her favourite dance is the Mazurka as she enjoys the dance and the costumes are very colourful.

“I was so pleased when I heard about Ballet Bristol on the radio and loved it from the first class! It is a great place to meet people, have fun and keep fit! I love being able to learn and perform ballet again as an adult!”

Suzy started dancing when she was 5 years old and danced regularly until she was 22 completing the RAD and ISTD syllabuses and danced in a variety of performances. Career and family took over for some time, before she took early retirement. Suzy joined Ballet Bristol 18 months ago and is enjoying dancing again and the fun of performing! Her roles so far have included Pas de Valse, Degas and a Courtier in Sleeping Beauty.

Jenny started ballet when she was very little but quit when she was about 6. She stopped dancing because she didn’t enjoy it at the time however she has wanted to try it again for a long time, but couldn’t find a beginners class in Bristol.

Jenny joined Ballet Bristol for the first beginners class in February 2009. Her favourite dance also happens to be the first dance she performed – Degas. She loves the fact that everyone learnt it together from scratch and her favourite section is the Port de Bras.

“Ballet Bristol has done wonders for my confidence, never in a million years did I think I would do a performance, it's brilliant exercise and you couldn't meet a nicer group of people either. If anyone was thinking of taking up dancing or returning to dancing I would recommend it 110%.”

Amber started ballet when she was 3, dancing in local village schools until the age of 18. Amber stopped dancing when she went to University due to the lack of dance clubs or societies at Uni.

Amber joined Ballet Bristol in July 2009 and really enjoys dancing the Pas de Valse, as it is lovely to dance in a pas de trois for something a little different.

“Ballet Bristol has given me an opportunity to have fun with a great bunch of people and exercise at the same time.”

As like many girls I spent the majority of my childhood and teenage years going to dance classes after school

and during University I joined the musical theatre society ‘Showstoppers’ where my dancing was combined with singing- or in my case mostly miming! The society encouraged me to continue with what I did best and I ended

up choreographing and performing in two brilliant shows- Hot Mikado and Witches of Eastwick. If I spent as much time on my Geography degree as I did on Showstoppers I would probably be in some highly skilled, highly paid mapping job now… instead I’m an event organiser for a city centre hotel- much more fun! When I moved to Bristol

I was longing to find a challenging adult dance class and Ballet Bristol has been just that. I am thoroughly enjoying mastering my rusty technique, re-tuning my brain to the French terms and even putting on those dreaded pointe shoes- and all with a lot of encouragement from lovely new friends!

Victoria started ballet at the age of 3 at a number of dance schools in Lincolnshire and Shropshire. She knew she didn’t want to pursue dance as a career and when the grades became more advanced and more ‘serious’ she stopped enjoying it and stopped dancing.

Victoria joined Ballet Bristol in 2009. Her favourite dance is Snow from the Seasons and has really made it her own, she is currently developing it for pointe, this is also a good way to develop her performance capability.

“Ballet Bristol has allowed me to re-discover my passion for dance while making some great friends.”

I joined Ballet Bristol in March 2011 when I moved to Bristol. It was so nice to find a class that challenged me as adult ballet classes can be limited! And to have the opportunity to perform again is amazing.  I started ballet when I was 3 and danced at Corraine Collins and Janet Marshall Dance Studios in Cheltenham. I completed a BTEC National Diploma in dance at Truro College and was a member of Jason Thomas Dance Company during my time living in Cornwall and was lucky enough to perform ballet, jazz and contemporary pieces at Sadlers Wells, The Hall for Cornwall and The Minack Theatre.

I'm really enjoying learning the group dances Garland Waltz and the Waltz from Esmerelda. And I love my sparkly tutu for Songbird!  After stopping dance due to work commitments Ballet Bristol has given me the opportunity to do what I love again, BB is like a little dancing family!

Sarah started ballet aged 3, dancing with the Gill Caplin School of Dance in Leeds. She continued dancing until the age of 18, reaching Grade 7 and Elementary RAD levels, when she left Leeds to go to university.

Sarah joined Ballet Bristol in May 2011 and so far has performed the Spanish Dance from the Nutcracker. She’s looking forward to learning and dancing more repertoire with Bristol Ballet soon!

“I didn’t realise how much I had missed dancing until I joined Ballet Bristol, plus I’ve gained a lot of new friends as well!”

Sarah has trained at Tring Arts Educational School, The Royal Ballet School, Central School of Ballet and Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. During her training years she worked with many well know and distinguished dancers and chorographers in works ranging from Petipa to Grahame. Also with companies such as Ballet Russe, London Ballet Company and Rambert Dance Company.

Sarah joined Ballet Bristol in the Summer of 2011 and her first performance with Ballet Bristol was in June 2011 in the Les Sylphides as Prelude.“I enjoy dancing with Ballet Bristol very much and love to work with the traditional pieces as well as new works too.”

Melanie started ballet at the age of 4 at the Jennifer Bullock School of Dance in Belfast. She danced until 18 when she left home for University. Following University Melanie attended classes at the Centre de Danse du Marais in Paris for a few years. She stopped dancing completely after the birth of her first child 5 years ago.

Melanie joined Ballet Bristol in July 2011 and the Gala represents her debut performance with Ballet Bristol. Melanie is looking forward to performing in the Degas piece.“It is lovely to have found such a great class in Bristol and be dancing again!”

Lee started dancing at the age of 22 in Swindon with local teacher Mollie Tanner. He later danced with Chelsea Ballet.  Lee has had many walk on parts in huge Ballet productions most notably in the English National Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet.

Lee joined Ballet Bristol in 2010. He has made the roles of the Wolf and Dr Coppelius his own and the Gala will see his first performance of the Soldier in the Nutcracker.

“I look forward to continuing to perform as much as possible with Ballet Bristol.”