5 Reasons to book Anne of Green Gables Ballet

Anne of Green Gables is one of Canada’s most delightful children’s stories of a lively, imaginative 11 year old orphan who lives in the fictional town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Set in the late 19th century, Anne is sent by mistake to elderly brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who had originally intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm. Anne gets herself into endless scrapes and is enormously unpopular but eventually wins over the community with her endearing, fearless character and passionate nature.

One of London Children’s Ballet current 51 dancers, Alice Osborne has shown true resilience. She has auditioned every year for the past five years before finally getting into LCB. Chosen from over 600 auditionees all aged between 9-16yrs, Alice is a perfect example of ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again……’. Pure Anne with an E spirit.

Case in point. Actress and Director Emma Thompson said ‘I still haven’t recovered from my breathless admiration of that magnificent production…it was nothing short of awesome…a firework display of talent and promise, bursting with more life and energy than most London stages ever produce.’

While TV Presenter Vanessa Feltz added: ‘A magical evening of enchantment, humour, nostalgia and charm! 3 generations of our family were enraptured’ plus the comedian Harry Enfield ‘London Children’s Ballet is my favourite outing in London. The kids come away with giga-grins!’

Over 11K children from over 250 ballet schools have auditioned for LCB over the years. Then 50 highly talented young dancers aged 9-14 (boys 9-16) join the company, through annual competitive auditions of over 600 applicants.

We especially love that the LCB dancers come from every economic, social and ethnic background, united by their passion for ballet; selecting children who are technically gifted and that special appeal that makes a dancer beautiful to watch regardless of whether or not they have a perfect ballet body. One LCB alumni dancer includes Anna Rose O’Sullivan, who danced the lead role in 2004’s production of A Little Princess aged only 9 yrs old and is now a Principal ballerina at The Royal Ballet.

What could be more inspiring to children from all backgrounds, than watching a live ballet full of young dancers who may look like you? This can introduce children to a the world of ballet and dance – and potentially a lifelong love of the arts. When it a much loved story such as Anne of Green Gables it makes its easier to understand and follow.

This full length story ballet, in full costume accompanied by a live orchestra means it isn’t watered down for children. But, equally the running time isn’t too long that they are twisting in their seats – plus, it great for all members of the family including grandparents.