Visit to Rehearsal of Trixie Eliot's group piece at London Vocational Ballet School

Rehearsal of Trixie Eliot's group piece at London Vocational Ballet School

21 May 2026

LBC members were invited to visit London Vocational Ballet School and watch Trixie Eliot, a Year 11 student at LVBS, rehearse a group piece she created for fellow students to perform at LVBS Summer Show at Sadler's Wells. We were warmly welcomed by Louise Bennett, the Artistic Director of LVBS. We arrived a little earlier than scheduled and were given the opportunity to watch the final part of a Year 11 class before their rehearsal began. It was a sunny afternoon in Shepherd’s Bush and the studio was bathed in warm sunlight that shone through the windows, making the studio a comfortable place to stay in. We quickly recognised some familiar faces among the students, who we remembered from our previous visit to the School, and were delighted to see the progress they had made since our last visit at the end of last year.

After the class finished and following a short break, Trixie entered with five of her peer students, who she had chosen from different years for the group piece - a work that LBC has financially supported through a donation. Also in the studio was choreographer and educator Bim Malcomson, who is Trixie's mentor on the piece. The rehearsal began with a scene featuring one student surrounded by four others and exploring the interactions between them. Bim explained to us that the scene depicts the bond between humans and the natural world, with each student representing different elements of nature, such as wind and plants. Later, Trixie spoke to us about how the concept for the piece was inspired by her own experiences with nature, which we found fascinating.

Trixie is the inaugural recipient of the LVBS Young Choreographer award, and her talent in choreography quickly became evident in the rehearsal. She seemed to have an endless flow of ideas for movement and paid close attention to every detail of the movements, as though she had so many feelings and emotions she wished to express fully and didn’t want to miss any opportunity for that. She also showed great care for each dancer, spending considerable time communicating with them and adapting movements to suit their individual strengths and physical qualities, ensuring that each dancer could perform at their best in their role. On the other hand, the dancers in the rehearsal were also eager to offer feedback and contribute ideas. Throughout the rehearsal, it was clear that the students have good relationship with each other and enjoy their life at the School.

There were several moments during which Trixie gave demonstrations to the dancers while the music was being played. Those moments, although short, were rather moving. It's apparent that she had a clear vision of how she wanted her ideas to be expressed, and the results were indeed wonderfully realised. Later, we were amazed to know that the music for this piece had been composed by Trixie and her father together, which is quite extraordinary. It is no surprise that the music complemented the choreography so perfectly.

After the rehearsal, we thanked Louise, Trixie, and Bim for giving us this opportunity to observe their work in progress. As the rehearsal continued, we became increasingly intrigued by what the finished work will look like, and we look forward to their performance this summer.

LBC members have also been invited to watch the Dress Rehearsal of LVBS's Summer Show at Sadler's Wells on Monday 29th June. Booking details can be found on the Events page of the London Ballet Circle website at https://www.tlbc.org.uk/pages/upcoming-events or by clicking here.

The ticket information of the LVBS Summer Performance 'Forces of Nature' can be found by visiting the Sadler's Website at https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/lvbs-forces-of-nature/ or by clicking here.