April Burgess Martin School of Ballet   Principle: April Martin Assoc. SRSBS

April started the school over 40 years ago teaching for community education at Cottenham Village College and for herself in Girton. In response to requests she opened classes in Histon and then taught at Comberton Village College also for community education.

The classes expanded and led to Saturday morning classes at Cottenham. The Comberton classes were replaced by classes at Swavesey Village College and then these moved to Over Primary school.

 

April started dancing at the age of 3 and a half with a Russian ex-ballerina who had moved to Cambridge with her husband. She quickly progressed and was soon being involved in her teacher’s productions, her first appearance on a public stage being that of a spark in the fire in Cinderella.

Her teacher nurtured and encouraged her and entered her in the Cambridge Dance Festival where she did well most years coming either first or second in her age group.

 

Her teacher was a founder member of the Society of Russian Style Ballet Schools (now the Association of Russian Ballet and Theatre Arts) which was started to keep the great classical teaching traditions of Russia alive and April still teaches this style today. One of the many great teachers of the Russian style was Agrippina Vaganova and her methods are used in many vocational schools in the UK and across the world.