ALBA BALLET
Alba Ballet was formed in 2012 to give up and coming dancers the opportunity to perform in full scale ballet productions.
Its an opportunity to gain valuable performance experience.
Each student becomes an integral part of the cast as we mold them into our productions.
We have successfully completed five full productions The Nutcracker in 2014 and 2022, Cinderella in 2016 and 2024 and Coppelia 2018. Sadly Sleeping Beauty was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Cinderella 2024 was our biggest production which saw us have four performances in three different venues.
2024 was a huge year for Alba Ballet as we were delighted to announce that Bethany Kingsley Garner – ex principle of Scottish Ballet and the Peoples Ballerina as our new Patron.
2025 will see us embark on our next Classical Ballet- Coppelia -which will take place in November 2026. Our aim is to make Coppelia our biggest production to date.
OUR STUDIO
Our private self contained Studio is based at 15a Watt Street, Greenock, Inverclyde, and is the ideal location for teaching and training. Situated only 30 mins from Glasgow, Ayrshire and Argyll complete with easy access to rail, bus and ferry links.
During the evening and at weekends there is ample car parking available in Watt Street.
We believe we have created a studio that provides the very best environment for Ballet lessons and training.
The studio which only opened in 2011 also provides a bright waiting area allowing parents to wait in comfort while having a tea or a coffee.
Our Studio has been used by Scottish Ballet and Ballet West.
During the week Alba Ballets sister Company, Elite Academy of Dance use the studio for Ballet Dancers, who undergo Ballet Lessons and sit Royal Academy of Dance exams in Classical Ballet.
The Studio has recently undergone refurbishment with the addition of a second smaller warm up studio. New mirrors have been added to the main studio.
This has allowed an additional area to teach a small group on a one to one basis as well as allowing dancers a proper warm up area prior to ballet classes.
We were also delighted to welcome the BBC, Strictly Come Dancing team for three days in September 2012.
It has been our base since 2012, and seen literally thousands of hours of practice and rehearsals for The Nutcracker 2014 and 2022, Cinderella, Coppelia.
OUR AIMS AND OBJECITIVES
Alba Ballets aims and objectives are simply to give up and coming ballet dancers the opportunity to perform in a full blown classical ballet production.
Where you can experience the thrill of performing with a cast in full costume on a stage with a full set of scenery.
It is a unique experience that is not offered anywhere else in Scotland.
To build on those objectives and help take us to the next level Bethany Kingsley- Garner became our Patron in 2024. To have Bethany’s input is huge not only for the productions, bit what an opportunity for young dancers to get the chance to work with the best known Ballerina of her generation.
We are about to start work on our sixth production which will be Coppelia in 2026. So if you have the dedication , determination and want to perform in this production we want to hear from you
OUR TEAM
JULIE GUNN – Principal
Julie qualified as Teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance in the spring of 2009. It was during 2009 that Julie opened The Elite Academy of Dance. The school has gone from strength to strength from its humble beginings at Inverclyde Academy so much so that Julie opened her private Studio in Greenock in 2010.
Her pupils follow the RAD syllabus and normally sit exams once a year.
Results have always been above National Averages and this has allowed Julie to place students with Scottish Ballet Associate Programme and The Dance School of Scotland.
To take students to an even more intense standard of Classical Ballet and Performance she started Elite Academy’s Associate Programme, Alba Ballet in 2012.
All Julies pupils also take part in end of year Elite Academy Summer Show, over two evenings.
The school has also performed at the Tall Ships 2011 in Greenock and Julie has prepared students to perform at St Andrews Nights, Burns Nights and Fundraising events over the past few years.
At the age of 12, Julie spent the school summer holidays with the Russian Ballet, training and performing in Edinburgh.
Four years later aged 16, Julie left home and studied at Ballet West for 4 years,taking part in productions such as Romeo & Juliet, Coppelia and The Nutcracker. While at Ballet West Julie started teaching as a first year student at Ballet Wests outreach programme.it wasn’t until 2007 she decided to start her Royal Academy teacher training.
She also performed with the Black Eyed Peas and has appeared in Vanity Fair.
As well as teaching at Alba and Elite Julie also taught Classical Ballet at UK Theatre School from 2011- 2013.
Julie launched Silver Swans- Classical Ballet for pensioners in Oct 2013, following successful trials by the RAD in Glasgow. Silver Swans now meet every Tuesday and Thursday morning.
The Scottish Ladies Gymnastic Squad for the Commonwealth Games in 2014 worked with Julie for nearly 18 months prior to the games.
She also was a guest teacher with the BBC during the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
In November 2014, Julie produced Alba Ballets and her first major production of The Nutcracker. This was Alba Ballets first two year training programme and was performed over two nights to an audience of 800 plus people.
At the start of session 2015, Julie embarked on her partnership with New College Lanarkshire, which saw Alba take SQA Higher Dance classes and exams.
Alba and Julie continued onto their next production of Cinderella in 2016, with two performances at The Beacon, and an additional performance at Barrfields in Largs.
2018 saw Julie and Alba Ballet complete Alba Ballets third production of Coppelia again with three performances over the same two venues as Cinderella.
Sadly the pandemic put paid to Sleeping Beauty in 2020, however Alba returned to the stage in 2022 with a new production of The Nutcracker and Alba’s first ever performance in Dunoon.
2024 was Alba’s biggest ever production with Cinderella with Julie taking the cast to Greenock, Dunoon and Largs.
2025 will see Alba start work on its next production of Cinderella which will be performed in 2026.
Bethany KIngsley-Garner- Patron
Bethany Kingsley-Garner was born in Devon.
She graduated with honours and multiple awards after completing her fulltime training at The Royal Ballet School before joining Scottish Ballet in 2007.
Nominated for “Outstanding Classical Performance” by Critics Circle, Bethany was then promoted to Principal Ballerina performing worldwide with Scottish Ballet.
Since retiring in 2024 she has become actively involved in Dance Education teaching and guest coaching at workshops and seminars across the globe.
Bethany was chosen to be a Champion of Scotland to inspire, motivate and encourage young people. She enjoys presenting to audiences and has appeared as a Ballet Mentor for BBC Young Dancer. On top of this she was awarded Ambassadorship of “Scotland is Now” and named The Peoples Ballerina.
On becoming Patron Bethany stated
“I am delighted to become Alba’s Patron and looking forward to sharing all my experiences with all these young dancers. For me this is something really special. After doing Scottish Ballet’s 5 Wishes, I kept a really beautiful connection with Julie, Alba and Elite. Working especially with Alba Ballet will give me a chance to pass on my experience, performance quality and touring life to give dancers that extra support when they go out there on stage. It’s been wonderful to be able to connect with the dancers in the studio and start being part of their dance journey. Working with Julie is so rewarding, sharing her passion and sharing ideas and what the future holds is very exciting.”
Although Bethany joined Alba towards the end of rehearsals for Cinderella, she got to work straight away with our male and female principals, perfecting their solos and pas de deux. She also spent time with other senior cast members at various points during their rehearsals.
For Coppiela 2026 she will be fully involved in shaping the cast at auditions and be involved in various aspects of training and rehearsals going forward
KIRSTY TREMAYNE – Teacher/Choreographer
Kirsty joined the staff at Alba in August 2018. Since an early age she showed a passion for Ballet and decided to pursue performing arts as a career. In 2006, Kirsty gained a full scholarship to attend Northern Ballet School in Manchester, appearing in many full length classical ballets such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Coppélia with Manchester City Ballet.
After graduation, she embarked on a career travelling around the world performing in all genres of dance including Classical Ballet, Musical Theatre, Tap, Ballroom, Latin American and Jazz.
In 2016, Kirsty gained a place on the prestigious Professional Dancers Teaching Diploma course at the Royal Academy of Dance where she graduated with Registered Teachers Status (RTS).
Kirsty is also a teacher at Alba`s sister school Elite Academy of Dance. On top of this she also teaches at Scottish Ballet and runs her own succesful school in Glasgow, Allegro Dance Academy.
NUTCRACKER 2022
