Press Release: Academy of Northern Ballet celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) programme with a fundraising Gala

[Jan McNulty]

Academy of Northern Ballet celebrates the 10^th anniversary of the Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) programme with a fundraising Gala to support the dancing stars of the future
 
The Academy of Northern Ballet is celebrating the 10^th anniversary of its CAT professional programme with a summer garden themed fundraising Gala on 29 June 2014. The Gala, which is organised by Northern Ballet’s Leading Soloist, Hannah Bateman, will include exclusive performances by the Academy’s CAT students, past and present, as well as afternoon tea and a drinks reception.
 
The Academy of Northern Ballet is the official school of Leeds-based Northern Ballet, one of the UK’s foremost professional ballet companies, and specialises in offering a holistic approach to teaching, nurturing and inspiring the professional dancers of the future. Northern Ballet is the only recognised Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) in the UK specialising in classical ballet and this year’s CAT professional programme students have secured vocation training places at schools including the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and English National Ballet School.
 
The Gala, which will be hosted at Northern Ballet’s Quarry Hill HQ, will be attended by Northern Ballet’s Artistic Staff including Artistic Director David Nixon and Yoko Ichino, Academy Associate Director and Ballet Mistress for Northern Ballet. It will commence with a delicious afternoon tea, provided by Catering Yorkshire with locally sourced ingredients, where guests can meet and mingle with Academy staff and students.
 
The Gala performance will take place in Northern Ballet’s Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre and will see current CAT programme students perform as well as returning CAT graduates. Performers include Matthew Topliss, now dancing full-time with Northern Ballet, Andrew Tomlinson, who has been training at Canada’s National Ballet School since graduating from the Academy of Northern Ballet in 2012, and Charlotte Tonkinson, who graduated in 2013 and was the Academy’s first graduate to go on to train at the Royal Ballet Upper School.
 
Tickets are priced at £50 per person or £75 for a pair and also include a drinks reception following the Gala performance. All proceeds will go towards supporting the dancing stars of the future.
 
The Gala will take place at Northern Ballet, Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7PA from 1pm – 5pm on 29 June 2014. Tickets are on sale now at theatreleeds.com, or call the box office on 0113 220 8008.
 
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Notes to Editors
The Academy of Northern Ballet is the official school of Northern Ballet and is the only recognised Centre for Advanced Training specialising in Classical Ballet in the UK. Training programmes are offered at professional level for the professional dancers of the future and a wide range of classes at recreational level are available for anyone from the age of 18 months up. The Academy has a dedicated Student Support team to offer the best possible support and advice and ensure that students have a safe and friendly environment in which to pursue their passion for dance.
 
Northern Ballet’s CAT professional programme runs in collaboration with Northern School of Contemporary Dance which offers contemporary dance CAT training. Together Northern Ballet and Northern School of Contemporary Dance’s combined CAT scheme was the first in the UK and has now been joined by a further nine Centres for Advanced Training in the UK offering dance training to young people in England. 
 
Northern Ballet is one of the UK’s five large ballet companies. Based in Leeds it performs throughout the UK as well as overseas. Northern Ballet’s productions mix classical dance and theatre, embracing popular culture and taking inspiration from literature, opera, or giving a unique interpretation of popular classical ballets.
 
Visit northernballet.com for full tour listings.