Central School of Ballet Students Opened and Closed Joshua Kane's Autumn Winter 2017 Show at the London Palladium
By: BWW News Desk Feb. 21, 2017
On Friday evening 17th February Amy McEntee and Ruaridh Bisset, final year students at Central School Ballet, performed a five minute pas de deux opening and closing the autumn/winter show of renowned fashion designer Joshua Kane at the London Palladium.
Over 2,200 people saw the show, hailed as the largest attendance of any London Fashion Week show. Amy and Ruaridh performed in specially created three piece suits in Joshua's signature style. The performance, against a dramatic set and falling snowflakes, was created in close collaboration with Joshua and his team, rehearsals having taken place at Central's studios in Clerkenwell.
Central's Director Heidi Hall said: "We admire Joshua's work immensely. We have great empathy with the creative process and the sheer effort required to produce a fashion show of such gravitas."
"This type of opportunity, where students perform in a different type of environment, working with creative experts and short lead times, contributes enormously to learning. Central is known for the versatility of our graduate dancers. Amy and Ruaridh demonstrated how their preparation for the forthcoming Ballet Central tour has equipped them for this most exciting of evenings working with Joshua and his team."
Amy aged 18 from Glasgow said: "I really enjoyed the preparation, creating a new piece with Ruaridh especially for the fashion show. It was fun to be part of the build up to Friday evening; being fitted with Joshua's tailoring that was adapted so we were able to dance".
Ruaridh aged 19 from Manchester added: "It was a thrilling evening. The response to our performance at the London Palladium was overwhelming. And the clothes were all stunning. Amy and I dance together on a regular basis and this has cemented our partnership in advance of the Ballet Central Tour."
Joshua Kane said: "Mixing art forms has always been at the forefront of both my collections and runway shows. As my Joshua Kane Journey collection has a theatrical inspiration I wanted to combine as many elements of theatre as possible. Working with Central School of Ballet has been an absolute pleasure and an amazing experience. To see the two dancers Amy and Ruaridh bring my tailoring to life with their beautiful duet was for many the highlight of the show."
The Joshua Kane brand is known for its fine tailoring based on distinctly British influences, focusing on unique quality fabrics and an individual style. The new collection shown on Friday evening included a women's range for the first time. Joshua is widely considered to be the next Alexander McQueen, having worked for Jaeger, Burberry and Paul Smith before launching his own label in 2014 when he also established his flagship store in Spitalfields in London.
Ballet Central is the graduate touring company of Central School of Ballet. The annual Ballet Central tour commences on Thursday 30th March at The Stratford Arts Centre. The 22 date tour will visit 22 theatres across the country from Exeter in Devon to Dumfries in Scotland over a five month period. Ballet Central has performed at a number of prestigious venues in the past two months including the Bloomsbury Ballroom, the Roundhouse and the V&A all in London.
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