Best ballet foot forward as pupils learn to dance

Infants School, has been providing workshops for four years.

British-born but resident in the United States for 17 years, she founded Manhattan-based SLK Ballet School eight years ago and teaches students aged 16 to 21 to be professional dancers.

And her outreach programme is growing. Her dancers regularly perform around America and there are hopes to expand its reach to Europe.

And after multiple trips to Yorkshire more schools are signing up. As well as Holme and Scholes J&I, Holmfirth High School has benefitted from the dancers’ expertise.

“Ours is a professional school so our dancers work eight or nine hours a day. This is the fourth year we have come to Holme village. We expanded our workshops because there was a lot of interest.

“We showed the children a dance based on their names. They spelled out their names with parts of their bodies – their arms, legs, shoulders – so that it became movement. That then created a little dance choreography.

“Some of them have seen me before and some have previously seen a ballet at the Northern Ballet Theatre in Leeds. For the others it was a very interesting session. The schools have been really excited and want us to come back. They want the dancers to keep dancing.”

Sara can be reached on saraknight@slkballetschool.com

www.slkballetschool.com