This weekend just gone was the annual Phoenix International Dance Workshop! Tutors come from America to teach Hip Hop, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Lyrical and Funk over the space of two days. This year we had fifteen students attending the workshop. Well done to all, you all danced brilliantly, and a big congratulations to Anika, who was awarded the Mary Evers Scholarship! Our students (minus a few) with Alison hiding in the back A shot of the warm up in the Intermediate room on S

Today's Spotlight Saturday focuses on Italian prima ballerina Virginia Zucchi. In 'Paquita', c. 1884 Virginia Zucchi was born on 10 February 1849 in Parma, Italy. She trained under Lepri and Carlo Blasis in Milan before making her debut in Varese in 1864, aged 15. She toured around Italy as well as visiting Berlin and Paris. In 1885, at the request of Tsar Alexander III, she appeared for the first time in St. Petersburg in a specially staged production of La Fille Mal Gardee.

Today's #ThrowbackThursday is on the French comedic ballet La Fille Mal Gardee. Myriam Ould-Braham and Josua Hoffalt, Paris Opera Ballet La Fille Mal Gardee, or 'The Wayward Daughter', is one of the oldest ballets still being performed today. It premiered in France in 1789, and tells the story of Lise, a village girl. Lise has fallen in love with Colas, but is being forced by the Widow Simone to marry the rich but rather dim Alain. The Widow Simone tries and fails to keep Lis

Our five days of April competitions are done and dusted - well done to everyone, you all danced beautifully! Here are some photos courtesy of Alison, Rebekah, myself, and students' parents. Sydney and Amelie ready for their Demi Characters: 'Jack the Monkey' and 'Heidi' First time on stage for our youngest students: Maya, Amber (front), and Peyton Bella ready for her new jazz solo - well done on your HC Bella! Estelle and Brooke in their beautiful new tutus made by June Butt

It's that time of the week - here's Anastasia Matvienko and Tonino Scatolino in Le Corsaire. - Selene

It's Tutu Tuesday! Here's Diana Vishneva in Giselle for the Mariinsky Ballet. - Selene

In this week's Spotlight Saturday, the spotlight is on Russian ballerina Diana Vishneva. Vishneva was born on 13 July 1976, in St. Petersburg, Russia (then Leningrad). She began to attend dance lessons at the Palace of Pioneers aged 6, before being accepted into the Vaganova Academy in 1987. Her teachers included Lyudmila Belskaya and Lyudmila Kovaleva. In 'Romeo and Juliet' In 1994, Vishneva competed at the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland, taking the top prize - the Gold Med

This week's #ThrowbackThursday is the Russian ballet Flames of Paris. Maria Alexandrova, Bolshoi Ballet The four-act ballet opens in a forest near Marseilles. A peasant, Gaspard, and his children, Pierre and Jeanne, are gathering firewood. The appearance of a Count and his hunting party causes the peasants to scatter, but Jeanne has caught the attention of the Count, who attempts to embrace her. Her father intervenes, but is beaten by the Count's servant and hauled away. Jean

It's that time of the week! Here's Skylar Brandt as the Fairy of the Songbird in American Ballet Theatre's The Sleeping Beauty. - Selene

Here's a few pictures from the studio performance at the basketball last Thursday. The students performed their group dances from the seminar. Well done to all who took part! Above and below: Senior students in 'I've Got a Dream' Grade 3 Jazz in their Forest dance Above and below: Senior students in 'I've Got a Dream' Ribbon dance Great shot of Isla and Samantha Thanks for reading! - Selene