The Annette Langham School of Ballet was established in 1983. It was previously run under the auspices of the South Australian Ballet Company. I was an employee of the Company but when it became defunct I took over the school as my own business and have continued to this day.
We have grown from humble beginnings, initially hiring premises in Mt Barker until our purpose built studio with sprung floor, mirrors and airconditioning was completed in 1990.
We are classical ballet specialists. I personally am passionate about the true beauty of this art form and believe it is unsurpassed by any other. Ballet technique is indeed a prerequisite for any other form of dance if you wish to do it well. Having said that ballet by no means exists in isolation in this modern world. We encourage our dancers to expand into related disciplines, primarily contemporary dance and musical theatre.
I am also passionate about pilates which we incorporate into our training system to produce stronger, more flexible dancers with greater body awareness and enhanced understanding of technical corrections. In many cases we should ideally adjust posture through pilates before commencing dance training. I am now in a fairly unique situation of having an in depth knowledge of both disciplines (dance and pilates) Hence we are able to effectively cross train for better results in dance and general posture for life.
We operate in a non competitive environment where respect, determination, self discipline and striving for improvement no matter how little is valued just as much as raw talent. We try to give all students an opportunity to develop as dancers and people within the bounds of their ability, and various committment levels.
The majority of our students dance for fun but I am proud to say we have produced some dancers of note. Our more dedicated students have been accepted into the Adelaide Centre for the Arts, the Australian Ballet School, New Zealand School of Dance, Queensland Uniiversity of Technology, Victorian College of the Arts and Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
Annette Langham
Teachers
Annette Langham Principal
L(Dip) C.B.A. - C.I.C.B.
Enrico Cecchetti Diploma holder
Level 2 teacher Australian Pilates Method Association (APMA)
Miss Langham studied originally in Adelaide with Kay Cranwell going on to work with many other icons of the dance industry here and in the States. She appeared in many Mayfair Light Opera Society productions and Channel 7 pantomines. She danced and taught for the South Australian Ballet Company and taught jazz ballet for TAFE. Miss Langham has choreographed for various shows and Community events eg. Olympic torch relay ceromony in Hahndorf 2000, Candance for a cure, local Carols by Candle light. She has operated her own school since 1983.
Jessica Sersli
B.A. in dance performance (ACArts)
A.C.B.A.-C.I.C.B.
Jess is a home grown product, having trained in the school from age 7. She then studied at AcArts. During this period she had the opportunity to dance with the Australian Dance Theatre. She has worked under choreographers such as Gary Stewart, Johnathon Taylor and Leigh Warren. In recent years she has turned her attention to teaching taking her qualifying exam within Cecchetti Ballet Australia where she now holds Associate diploma status.
