The Bournemouth Ballet Club was founded by Elizabeth Collins, Ida Stewart and Nalda Murilova in 1947. The Club was formed to promote a greater appreciation and understanding of the art of Ballet, and to produce original ballets performed by student members.
Some of the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Club in its 63 years of existence included J.K. Werner, D. N. Willoughby, K. H. Kirby, Ninette de Valois, Anton Dolin, Leo Kersley, Barbara Fewster, Beryl Grey, John Field, G. B. L. Wilson, and many others of significance in the dance world.
Talks, demonstrations and masterclasses were regularly given by these and other celebrated ballet dancers and teachers, including Valerie Adams, Michael Somes, Margot Fonteyn, Svetlana Beriosova, Lydia Kyasht, Irina Baronova, Robert Harrold, Joan Lawson and Stanley Holden. Also Elaine Thomas, a former student member of the Club, and Alan and Julia Carter, who had taken over the Wessex School of Ballet in Bournemouth (from Ida Stewart and Elizabeth Collins) in 1977.
From the guide to the The Bournemouth Ballet Club Collection, 1947-2010, (The Royal Ballet School, White Lodge Museum)
