The Creatives
The Ballet Central Company is supported by a team of industry experts and creatives who help to deliver a professional touring experience for the students and a superb display of skills, artistry and theatrical performances for audiences.
Kate Coyne, Artistic Director and Professional Training Lead
Born in London, Kate trained at the Royal Ballet School. She joined London Contemporary Dance School for a post-graduate year and joined London Contemporary Dance Theatre under the directorship of Sir Robert Cohan. Later she joined Rambert Dance Company with the appointment of Christopher Bruce as Artistic Director. In these repertory companies she worked on new and restaged pieces with a variety of choreographers. Pursuing a freelance dance career she worked as a long-standing member of Michael Clark Company, with DV8, Mark Baldwin Dance Company, Jeremy James and Dancers, Martha Clarke, Michael Keegan-Dolan, Arthur Pita and Aletta Collins.
Kate has been the recipient of the Critics’ Circle national Dance Award for ‘Best Female Artist’, and a joint recipient with colleagues of the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance with London Contemporary Dance Theatre for their season at Sadlers Wells.
Kate retired from performing in 2012 and took up a post as Producer, Frieze Projects, followed by two years as Programme Director at Siobhan Davies Dance, and five years as Associate Director at Michael Clark Company. She is currently Artistic Director and Professional Training Lead at Central School of Ballet in London.
Kate is a trustee of The Dance Professionals Fund.
Ben Warbis, Ballet Central Lead
Ben is a contemporary dancer who has spent the most of part of his career as part of Michael Clark Company, with whom he has performed extensively across Europe, Australia, and America, as well as at London’s Barbican (2009-2020). For stage, Ben has also worked with choreographers including Robert Cohan, Hubert Essakow, and Yolande Yorke-Edgell, as well as with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Lea Anderson, and Alex Reynolds within the realms of film. Ben has also worked with fashion photographers Nick Knight, Jake Walters, Cecilie Harris, Sarah Brimley, Philip Riches and Elliot Kennedy. In 2017, as a solo performer, Ben collaborated with artist Wolfgang Tillmans in an immersive residency at Tate Modern. In 2019, he performed on the Barbican stage for the Merce Cunningham Trust’s Night Of 100 Solos, staged by Daniel Squire. He was also recently employed to dance in a new screen adaptation of Kenneth MacMillan’s Sea of Troubles which is due for screening in 2023.
Ben graduated from London Studio Centre in 2009 with a BA Hons in Theatre Dance, achieved a Level 6 Diploma in Dance Teaching with bbodance (formerly the BBO) in 2016, and completed an MA in Dance Technique Pedagogy at Middlesex University in 2022. Ben arrives at Ballet Central after having taught on the Contemporary Technique faculty at Trinity Laban Conservatoire since 2018 (he is now a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy) and he continues his role as a lead tutor on bbodance’s teaching qualifications programme.
Chloe Ivey-Ray, Wardrobe Manager
Chloe studied at South Essex University in collaboration with The Royal Opera House gaining a First-Class, BA (Hons) in Costume Construction, specialising in ballet, movement, and opera. Most recent backstage work includes The Royal Opera House, Swan Lake 2022, The Royal Opera House- Triple Bill 2022, Regents Park Open Air Theatre- Legally Blonde, Regents Park Open Air Theatre- 101 Dalmatians. Spike UK Tour – Ian Hislop & Nick Newman, Birmingham Rep – The Snowman, West End 2022, and Cover 2023, Guildhall -Dead Man Walking, National Youth Theatre- Gone Too Far, Ballet Central – 2023, Cover Regents Park Open Air Theatre – La Cage au Folles, The Almeida – 24 Day.
Having got her first certificate in pointe shoe fitting with Grishko aged just 17, Chloe continued to explore fitting other brands, becoming an established pointe shoe fitter alongside working in costume, supporting many dancers over the last 10 years.
Chloe’s focus for her designs is movement, exploration of shapes and athleticism. Having designed for Ballet Central 2023, she is returning for this season. Chloe also designs for sport, having designed for Sky Sports Woman’s World Boxing Championships 2022. Chloe’s extensive understanding of the athlete’s body and their art forms takes direct influence into her designs.
Chloe has loved both designing and mentoring running wardrobe with the dancers of Ballet Central, bringing fresh ideas and forward thinking practices to the company.
Philip Feeney, Tabor Music Director
Philip Feeney studied composition at Cambridge, and at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He has worked with Ballet Central from its inception, composing up to fifty scores for the Company. He has composed extensively for dance, collaborating with many different and varied choreographers including Christopher Gable, Michael Pink, Didy Veldman, Cathy Marston, David Nixon, Sharon Watson and Adam Cooper for companies as diverse as Northern Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, Cullberg Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and Scottish Dance Theatre. The fruits of his long-standing association with Northern Ballet are eight full-length ballets, including two versions of Cinderella, the classic original production by Christopher Gable (1993) and a new interpretation for David Nixon’s production of 2013.
Discover more…
About Ballet Central
Find out more about the history of Ballet Central and its mission to provide Central’s graduating students the opportunity of professional performing experience to ticket-buying audiences.
Book Tickets
Our diverse repertoire appeals to first-time audiences and makes us a firm favourite amongst dance enthusiasts. Find out where to book tickets for a show near you here.
2024 Programme
The 2024 Ballet Central repertoire promises to deliver exciting theatricality, technical excellence and drama choreographed by international dance industry influencers. Find out more here.
The Company
Meet the 2024 Ballet Central Company involving final year students at the Central School of Ballet.
Support Us
By supporting the critically-acclaimed Ballet Central Company, you can give Central School of Ballet’s final year students a unique touring experience. Find out how you can help to make this a reality.
On Film
Here you will be able to see excerpts of selected repertoire from Ballet Central, Central’s graduate touring company, and trailers and special dance performances captured on film.