A YOUNG ballet student from West End has taken part in an online choreographic project with 27 other dancers from around the world.
Erin King, 19, is a final-year student at Central School of Ballet in London and should be on a five-month national tour with the company Ballet Central but had to return home during the coronavirus lockdown.
The online choreographic project, Centrally Connected Performs, was created to allow final-year dance students the chance to demonstrate their skills in lieu of the Ballet Central tour.
Erin, who went to Holy Trinity C of E primary school, and then Gordon’s School, will complete her degree this month at Central despite the lockdown.
Erin was selected from hundred of candidates for one of 40 places on Central’s three-year BA (Hons) degree in Professional Dance and Performance, accredited by the University of Kent and affiliated with the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama.
Most students take up jobs in the top international dance companies or in international theatre productions after graduating from Central.
Erin, who danced with Susan Robinson School of Ballet in West Byfleet from the age of 10, said: “Although everyone is currently going through a very tough time I have found joy in being able to continue to dance every day with my fellow students.
“Seeing my peers daily online has given me a newfound motivation alongside an immense sense of togetherness. Doing the choreographic project has only intensified this.
“While we may not be physically together, we are together in spirit, striving for excellence in all that we do, just as we were before.”
Centrally Connected Performs is part of Central’s remote learning, teaching and training initiative established to ensure continuity for students in the school’s BA and MA programmes even though its studios in Herbal Hill in central London are currently closed.
Centrally Connected is an online training, teaching and learning programme for 117 students in 12 countries.
For more information, visit https://www.balletcentral.co.uk/