MASTERCLASS BY ANNA ROSE O’SULLIVAN AND WILLIAM BRACEWELL
16 February 2025
Vanessa Fenton, ex Royal Ballet dancer and now teacher, has been running regular masterclasses involving a number of current RB principals for a couple of years. The latest took place in the De Valois studio at ROH and had a prominent Ashton theme.
Fenton took class for about an hour with more concentration on the upper body and the positioning of the hands in the Ashton style than you would normally see.
After a short break, Anna Rose O’Sullivan and William Bracewell took over to explore the technical and artistic side of partnering. Starting with the basics of balances, supported arabesques and simple lifts to develop co-ordination and trust, they progressed to a selection of two pieces from the repertoire.
First was the meeting between Cinderella and the Prince in the ballroom scene and followed by the Act one meeting of Romeo and Juliet. While similar scenarios, it allowed dancers to be coached, often individually, in the finer technicalities and how to express different emotions.
It is very noticeable that there was a very wide range of abilities and ages of dancers taking part. Vanessa Fenton actively encourages applicants from all levels and from both students and adults enabling them all to be coached by the best. However what is consistent is the enthusiasm and the desire to improve.
Keith White
© LBC
