Goodbye to our Advanced students...

As we head into our third week of term, we are sad to say a final farewell to many of our advanced students as they leave to train full-time across the UK.

Our talented young dancers spent months auditioning for dance courses across the UK and begin their new schools over the next 2 weeks. A big group hug to:

• Jemma Sneddon: Jemma (17) is the only Scottish student to be accepted onto the 3-year BA Modern Ballet Course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly RSAMD). With CSBS, she has performed across Scotland as well as Spain and the Meditteranean and gained her Advanced ballet with Merit and Grade 8 Award with Distinction. Jemma was a Senior Associate with Scottish Ballet and Ballet West and also danced the role of 'Dorothy' in our ballet adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz". (Above: CSBS Director Mrs Jacqueline Clark with Jemma)
• Emma Buckie and Anna Fulton: Emma (18) and Anna (16) both gained a place on the 3-year BA classical Ballet and Dance course at Ballet West in Taynuilt. They were both members of our Majors programme and class helpers and also performed across the world. Both girls gained their Advanced ballet with Merit and Grade 8 Award with Distinction as well as Distinction for Intermediate Modern.
• Annie Gaffney: Annie (18) was also accepted onto the 3-year course at Ballet West. Annie has danced across Scotland and in Spain and is a member of our Majors programme. She has gained her Grade 6 and Intermediate ballet with Merit.
• Catriona McAndrew: Catriona (12) has gained a place to train full-time for 6 years at the Dance School of Scotland in Glasgow. With CSBS, Catriona gained her Grade 4 ballet with 90% and was also accepted into the Junior Associate programmes with Scottish Ballet and Ballet West. She also attended short courses across the UK.
• Andrew Coleman: Andrew (16) has been awarded a scholarship to train for 3-years at Northern Ballet School in Manchester. Andrew was a popular class helper and member of our Majors programme, gaining his Intermediate ballet with Merit. He has performed across Scotland in many dance and theatre productions including "Romeo and Juliet" and "Billy Elliot".

Former students moving onward and upward...

We are delighted to keep in touch with our former students, many of whom are continuing to dance. Congratulations to the following young dancers who are taking big steps this year:

• Duncan Anderson: At the age of 12, Duncan gained a place at the Dance School of Scotland. Following 4 years of training, he has now successfully auditioned for a coveted place at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London. Many congratualtions Duncan!
• Katie Deacon: Katie graduated from Central School of Ballet in June after a 3 year BA Hons course. She has successfully auditioned for Ballet Ireland and begins touring soon!
• Christina Duncan and Kaitlin Forsyth: Both girls have recently completed their 2-year HND Dance at Telford College and have both successfully auditioned for the BA (Hons) Dance course. They were both students on our Majors programme and gained their Grade 6 Ballet.
• Natasha Watson: Natasha (15) moved to train with Ballet West earlier in the year and has since gained her Advanced 1 Ballet exam with 91%. She was a Senior Associate with Scottish Ballet, Ballet West and Royal Ballet School and won many awards and competitions as well as gaining consistently outstanding exam results.
• Justine Lim: Justine gained a BA (Hons) Dance from Telford College and then a coveted place at Laban where she has just graduated with a OYP Diploma in Dance Studies. She is heading to China for 6 months to train in Tai Chi... Good luck Justine!