break down beginners, norfolk
5 - 6 July 2025
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break down beginners ballet retreat in North Norfolk with expert tuition from the inspirational bennet gartside
Saturday 5th - Sunday 6th July 2025
We will be hosting a Break Down Beginners weekend with The Royal Ballet’s Principal Character Artist, Bennet Gartside. This weekend is held at our studios at The Old Stables, in Weybourne, North Norfolk and will give you the time and knowledge needed to execute ballet steps like a professional.
Let us take you back to basics and allow you to understand the foundations of ballet. Deep dive into the mechanics of pirouettes, break down those fast steps, master the art of arabesques, and more.
Our ballet retreats have no more than 6-8 participants, which means that everyone benefits form the very close attention and expert tuition from our highly trained ballet professionals.
Format
This break down beginners ballet retreat will take place over 2 days from Saturday 5th – Sunday 6th July 2025.
Each day will have 5 hours of ballet and will begin in the studio at 10am with a ballet warm-up, followed by a class taught by Bennet.
We will take a break for a nutritious, freshly prepared vegetarian lunch in the dining room at the studios, followed by the afternoon session.
The Venue
Our studios, at The Old Stables, are in Weybourne a pretty village in North Norfolk. It is a spectacular location by the sea, surrounded by breathtaking views and wonderful countryside, which will help clear the head and focus the mind.
There are trains from London Liverpool St to Sheringham, via Norwich. We have ample parking space for those travelling by car.
Nutrition
The retreat includes two lunches and one dinner on Saturday evening. A delicious vegetarian lunch will be served in the beautiful dining room at the Old Stables, adjacent to the studios, followed by a sweet treat.
On Saturday night dinner will be hosted at The Ship Inn in Weybourne, a traditional Norfolk pub with delicious food.
Price
The cost of the two-day retreat is £395 per person.
This includes 5 hours of ballet in the studio each day, two lunches and one dinner on Saturday night.
Refreshments will be provided throughout the weekend.
Please note that accommodation is not included but should you need a place to stay, please ask for recommendations.
A non-refundable £50 deposit will be taken upon booking to secure your place. This will be taken off the retreat total.
MEET THE PROFESSIONAL
BENNET GARTSIDE
Bennet 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, Leontes in The Winter’s Tale, Dr Coppelius in Coppélia, Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet, Hilarion in Giselle and Widow Simone in La Fille Ma Gardee.
He is the Director of Everybody Ballet, running successful adult ballet classes at the Royal Opera House and regularly teaches and hosts one day workshops in London.
Bennet is also a filmmaker and maintains The Royal Ballet’s video archive. We are delighted to work with Bennet at our intimate retreats in Norfolk. His classes are always fun and informative.
