London Children’s Ballet are Wandsworth’s first cultural anchor tenant to open its doors to the public, joining a cohort of cultural organisations (including Matt’s Gallery, World Heart Beat Academy and Chocolate Films in Nine Elms) in taking up new spaces as part of Wandsworth’s vision to embed culture within place-shaping and regeneration schemes.
London Children’s Ballet will formally open their doors to the public as part of Wandsworth Arts Fringe (25 June – 11 July 2021).
The Cultural Anchor programme works strategically with developers and partners to bring cultural organisations into the Borough, and Wandsworth Council is delighted to be working with London Children’s Ballet and The Big Yellow Self Storage Company to ensure that culture and the arts are woven into the fabric of our Borough and made accessible to children and young people, enriching lives through the opportunity to access the arts first hand.
This new cultural anchor space has been provided by The Big Yellow Self Storage Company as part of its planning application and commitment to creating a vibrant local community around its new development on Lombard Road. Big Yellow will provide this cultural space for free for 125 years, with an initial lease to London Children’s Ballet for 20 years.
The space includes a state-of-the-art dance studio, complete with industry-leading Harlequin sprung dance floors, ballet barres and mirrors, as well as open plan offices, a meeting room, storage to house its collection of costumes and props, and bathroom and changing facilities.
Wandsworth Council are working with London Children’s Ballet to ensure that residents benefit at low cost from opportunities to engage in arts and cultural activities. This is part of the borough’s new 10 year strategy for Arts and Culture, focussing on access for all, learning and education, health and wellbeing, communities and partnership and place-shaping.
London Children’s Ballet support young people, including many who would not otherwise have access to ballet (including children in care, young carers, young people in hospitals, hospices or PRUs, or young people with special needs), to participate in their programmes and enjoy their performances.
London Children’s Ballet is one of a number of cultural organisations moving into the Lombard Road / York Road area, joining an already strong dance cluster which includes Royal Academy of Dance, Tavaziva Dance and BBO Dance (formerly the British Ballet Organisation), and a strong set of creative youth programmes focussed around Providence House and Caius House.
