About us

About Clare

Founder of Let’s Dance

Dancing, and specifically ballet, has been a hobby of mine for as long as I can remember. In my twenties, before I got married and started my family, I attended evening dance classes at The London Contemporary Dance School.

After I left school, I trained as a nurse before going to university and then working in the TV industry, where I produced The Word, Who Wants to be A Millionaire and other live TV shows. I met my husband in Poland while working with Bob Geldof setting up a music station. We moved to France and had two boys, before returning to the UK. Dancing had to take a back seat.

I started training in ballet when I was 46, a year before my daughter was born. I loved it, despite the fact that I am dyslexic, so it doesn't always come naturally to me. I love the music, the movements, the lines, the shapes, and the emotions that ballet conveys.

I found it hard to find the time to dance whilst juggling a busy family life with running my businesses. However, I loved to attend intensive weekend ballet classes or retreats whenever I could. Pre-Covid there were very few of these on offer, so I decided to fix that and started running my own retreats in 2022. Let’s Dance was born!

I hosted a couple of extremely successful retreats in my ballet studio in Weybourne, North Norfolk. Then I arranged a retreat in Valencia with James Forbat who danced with the English National Ballet for 15 years, which was a great hit.

Fast forward a year and I am so excited to be hosting upcoming retreats in Norfolk, Spain, Hungary and Poland.

Meet our professional dancers

  • James Forbat

    James is a classical ballet dancer and teacher who trained at the Royal Ballet School and spent 15 years with the English National Ballet, dancing as First Soloist for 7 years. James has danced the principal roles in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Giselle and many more. Alongside his performing career, James has taught and coached most recently at the Conservatorio Profesional de Danza in Valencia, where he is based, and in Vancouver, Canada.

    He also holds a degree in Leadership and Management from the Open University. We are delighted to work with James at our intimate retreats in Norfolk and Spain.

  • Bennet Gartside

    Benn is a Principal character artist at The Royal Ballet, where he has performed since 1995. His wide variety of roles have included Crown Prince Rudolf in Mayerling, Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet, Hilarion in Giselle and Widow Simone in La Fille Ma Gardee. He is the director of Everybody Ballet, the successful adult ballet classes in the Royal Opera House and regularly teaches and hosts one-day workshops in London.

    Benn is also a filmmaker and maintains The Royal Ballet’s video archive. We are thrilled to collaborate with Benn at our exclusive retreats, where his classes are not only enjoyable but also enriching, blending fun with valuable insights.

  • Tara_Brigitte_Bhavanani

    TARA-BRIGITTE BHAVNANI

    Canadian-Indian dancer Tara-Brigitte Bhavnani was a member of The Royal Ballet for over 20 years and became a Guest Character Artist in 2023. She studied at the Paris Opera Ballet School and Canada’s National Ballet School receiving numerous awards including the Peter Dwyer scholarship for excellence in dance and the Erik Bruhn Memorial Award, before joining The Royal Ballet in 2002. 

    Bhavnani is a fully qualified ballet teacher and also continues to work with the Royal Opera House’s Learning and Participation team. We are delighted to work with Tara in 2024 at our intimate retreats in Norfolk.

  • Georgina Atkinson

    Georgina is an ex-professional dancer and dance teacher. She trained at The Arts Educational School and The Royal Academy of Dance before an early career spent dancing with companies in France, Switzerland and London. Georgina opened her own dance school offering both RAD ballet exams and ISTD modern dance and tap exams. She is now retired and enjoys entertaining and hosts the evening meal in Weybourne.

“If you're a ballet enthusiast looking to take your skills to the next level, I highly recommend attending the Let’s Dance Ballet Retreat. Trust me, you won't be disappointed! It's an opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of ballet, learn from the best, and create memories that will last a lifetime. 🌟💫”

SARAH PAGENHAM

“Benn's choice of repertoire was really clever, and not something you’d expect to encounter as an adult recreational dancer. He was a warm and insightful teacher, encouraging everyone to interpret and make the dance their own - which they did. I loved it!”

AMY LYNE