Leanne Kirkham's blog

Do you want to find a new way of moving, improve your fitness and develop your creativity alongside like minded people?

We've had another wonderful START project this term where we have worked with seventeen schools from all over West Yorkshire.

Just thought I’d keep you up to date with ‘in motion’ as it’s been a very exciting week!

Were you inspired by Strictly Wheels performance on BGT this weekend? I certainly was as I am preparing for our ‘in motion’ taster session on Sunday.

There were a few tears as Butterfly danced her final dance and the sound of over 500 young people clapping and cheering for the company brought a tear to my eye. I think it’s safe to say that for those whose first visit to the theatre it was will most definitely be returning!

As the lead artist on the Easter Course I’m getting really excited as we will be working in partnership with International Puppet Artist and Physical Theatre Performer, Rebekha Caputo.

There's never a dull moment at Northern Ballet! I spent the half term preparing for a busy couple of months ahead which includes the Easter Course at Quarry Hill in April and In Motion – a dance project for young wheelchair users. If you want to know more about the courses and projects at Northern Ballet, keep an eye on the website and you can follow my Easter Course Blog where you’ll find more information about the course including exciting news about what we’ll be doing during the week.

I cannot believe that half a term has passed already – the time has flown by. I have worked with over 500 young people across15 schools over the last 3 weeks for the START project. It has been such good fun working with so many young people, helping them to discover the magic of dance. I will be returning to most of the schools after half term to deliver dance workshops based on Northern Ballet’s Madame Butterfly which all of the participants will see at Leeds Grand Theatre in March.

We are delighted to announce that we will be working with International Puppet and Physical Theatre Artist, Rebekha Caputo during our Easter Course. We will work towards a final dance performance based on Northern Ballet’s Beauty and the Beast using puppetry to inspire our creative dance tasks and choreography. If you have an interest in dance and want to challenge yourself this Easter, this is the course for you. There will be a ballet class every morning followed by a fun-filled day of creative workshops and choreography.

My name is Leanne Kirkham and I’m the new Education Officer at Northern Ballet, I’m here for six months and will keep you regularly updated on my time and experiences here. I’m very excited about working with such a well established professional company and am looking forward to meeting lots of new people in Leeds through my outreach work. My job is mainly to promote Northern Ballet as an accessible, friendly place where you can watch the amazing company in their performances and experience dance yourself, even if you’ve never danced before!