A Brief History of The Company

It was in 1949 that a review in an Essex newspaper said "...indeed the whole Company has an integrity of its own which should earn itself a permanent place in the public's favour." This was written on the day the title "Chelmsford Ballet Company" was first conferred on a group of local dancers.

Soon after the war, Joan Weston, with her own dancing school near Chelmsford, decided to form an amateur company to give her senior pupils more scope to display their talents and for two years presented shows as "The Broomsfield Y.M.C.A. Ballet Company". It was at the suggestion of the Mayor of Chelmsford, when this Company presented "Coppelia" at the Shire Hall in 1949, that its name was changed to The Chelmsford Ballet Company. A small committee met and The Company came into being.

Since then, a full scale production has been staged every year including "Les Sylphides", "Coppelia" and other well known ballets, which were produced by Joan Weston, who also choreographed and directed many original ballets. For the first ten years accommodation presented great difficulties. Shows were presented at The Corn Exchange, the Shire Hall and in the open air, and The Company's own portable stage of massive proportions usually had to be erected and dismantled. Later the Chelmsford Y.M.C.A. Hall became the venue for shows, although the stage dimensions there caused problems, especially when a dancer "lifted" his partner high up out of sight of the audience!

In 1954 Beryl Grey accepted an invitation to become Patron of The Company. Iin the following year, Dona Naruna Sutherland (later to become Lady Sutherland), who had won fame as a Brazilan dancer and producer, became president. The present Patron of The Company is The Marchioness of Londonderry (formerly Doreen Wells of the Royal Ballet).

It was at the instigation of Dona Naruna, who stressed the need for better stage facilities, that The Chelmsford Ballet Company approached the local council to sponsor an Arts Festival, and in 1959 the Regent Theatre was hired for a week, with six different organizations taking part. These included the Essex Symphony Orchestra, the St. Cecilia Choral Society with Max Jaffa, and The Chelmsford Ballet Company who presented "La Boutique Fantasque", "Les Patineurs" and several ballets by Dona Naruna, including Brazilian dances as "The Antagonists", which she had previously produced at the Opera House, Rio de Janeiro.

The Chelmsford Arts Festival became an annual event and the pattern of a ballet production every year as part of the Festival - later at the Civic Theatre - became a tradition.Many guest artistes have joined The Company from time to time: Stanislas Idzikowski, Jennifer Penney and Robert Mead from the Royal Ballet, Frank Freeman, Rosmarie Cockayne, Clinton Rothwell, Ria Peri, Sarah Page, Leo Kersley and Gregg Mayer and Company being numbered among them.

One of the objects of The Company, as its rules state, is "To stimulate and maintain interest in the ballet in Chelmsford and district by giving public and private performances; by providing practice and training in ballet dancing and by providing a Scholarship Fund". It was not until the early '60s that sufficient funds were available for the Scholarship Fund, but since that time many young dancers have received awards to assist them with the costs of equipment required for their professional training.

Dancing members, both junior (who must be over 10 years of age and hold a Grade 2 ballet certificate) and Senior (who must be 14 years of age) are now drawn from all the local ballet schools and must pass an audition to gain entry into The Company. Dancing members have increased from about 60 to 100 in the last few years, and are supported by many non-dancing and associate members. After twenty years as Hon. Director, Joan Weston retired in 1969. This position was then taken over by Brighid Buchanan-Wollaston and The Company was fortunate in having her sister, Elizabeth Twistington Higgins as an Honorary Life Member and also Choreographer (all who have read her autobiography "Still Life" will know her promising ballet career was cut short by total paralysis from polio, but her production of "Pas de Quatre" which she taught from her wheelchair for the 1970 production was acclaimed by press and public alike). Brighid was followed by other highly successful directors, most recently by Elisabeth Swan, who was trained at the Royal Ballet School and led The Company for 18 years.  In September 1999 she handed over to her successor, Gillian Toogood, but is continuing her association with The Company as Artistic Director Emeritus.  Gillian danced professionally for many years and, prior to her professional career, danced with The Company.

As forecast by the newspaper critic fifty years ago, The Chelmsford Ballet Company has indeed found itself a niche in the heart of the Chelmsford public and continues to go from strength to strength.

Sadly in 1991 Joan Weston died, but a bronze figurine in her memory was placed on display in the foyer of the Civic Theatre in September 1996.

From an original article produced by Ted Adams