JACK PALLISTER - New Bury Theatre, Hurstpierpoint College

Jack started dancing at the age of 3 at the Christine Kearsley School of Dance, he then went on to train at ArtsEd. He is a Carl Alan Award Winning Choreographer. 

His performer credits include: The Royal Ballet’s “Cinderella” (The Royal Opera House), “The Secret Garden” (Peacock Theatre), “Jack & the Beanstalk” (Lyric Hammersmith), “Alice in Wonderland” (Phoenix Theatre & UK Tour), “Inside Out” (Rambert), “The Nutcracker” (Sadlers Wells & UK Tour), “Aladdin” (Brighton Centre), “The Princess & the Frog” (Leicester Square Theatre & UK Tour), “Cinderella: The Ballet” (Sadlers Wells & UK Tour), “SAS: Rogue Heros” (BBC/Kudos), “All Of Us Strangers” (Film4), “Amar, Akbar, and Tony” (Sach Media Productions) and “The IPPA Awards 2018 & 2019 (The O2 Arena for HUMTV).

His choreography & director credits include: At Last, It’s Summer (The London Palladium); Aladdin (The Brighton Centre); Goldilocks: The Ballet (Sadler’s Wells & UK Tour)- nominated for 2 Off-West End Awards; Kerry Ellis Does Christmas (Leatherhead Theatre); Madame Chandelier Saves Opera (UK Tour); Pippin (Peter Sarah Theatre); Peter & The Loose Boys, Goldilocks & the Bare Bears, Robin Hood, Pinocchio (Brick Lane Music Hall); Fruit-tella Campaign (Heart Radio & Global); The Elf Express (Ironworks Studios); The Elves Save Christmas (Brighton Christmas Festival); EuroVibes (St Peter’s Pavilion); Riddles & Romance (Underbelly Boulevard); Rocky Horror Show (The Grand, Brighton); and Se7en (No Mans Fort), The Elf Express (Ironwork Studios); Eurovibes (St Peters Pavillion); The Elves Save Christmas (Brighton Christmas Festival); Down Memory Lane (Queens Theatre, Hornchurch); Associate Director - Build a Rocket (Edinburgh Fringe & UK Tour)- nominated for Best New Play at Fringe 2023.

He currently holds the title of creative producer and resident choreographer at Brick Lane Music Hall, resident choreographer for Hire-A-Dancer and creative supervisor at E3 Production. In 2019 he joined Classic Ballet UK as one of their company dancers and has appeared in their last five seasons. He has performed for the Royal Family and in 2020, appeared in Vogue Italia. 

He is a Member of the Young Vic Directors Program and the Movement Directors Association and is an Honorary Member of the NATD. 

He has adjudicated throughout the UK for TDCI, That’s Showbiz UK, StarzUK, So You Want To Dance, Ultimate Dance Championships, Dance Explosions UK, Elite Dance Championships and Dance Equality.

MICHELLE BALLENTYNE - The Hawth Theatre

Michelle won a scholarship to study at Laine Theatre Arts where she gained her Associate in Cecchetti Ballet with Distinction - during her time there, she also won a scholarship to study at The Royal Ballet Summer School. After her studies, Michelle toured both the UK and Europe with Contemporary Dance companies such as Union Dance Company and Carol Straker Dance Company.

After enjoying an international tour with Union Dance Company, Michelle then went on to appear in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical ‘Cats’ in Hamburg, where she lived for 2 years performing the roles of Demeter, Bombalurina, Cassandra and Tantomile. 

Upon returning to the UK, Michelle landed the role of ‘Buffy’ in ‘Starlight Express’ at the Apollo Victoria in the West End.

Michelle has also worked in television and landed a few small roles in productions such as Eastenders, Absolutely fabulous, The Real Mcoy and many more.

Michelle was also a backing vocalist for the Jazz Funk collective ‘Abstract Word’, performing in venues such as Ronnie Scotts and The Jazz Cafe.

In 2008, Michelle graduated from Middlesex University with a BA Hons in Dance Studies and upon graduating, worked very closely with Robert Cohan and Anne Donnelly on the first drafts of the 'Rescen' projects, documenting ‘Martha Graham Technique’ for future resources.

Michelle has dedicated many years to teaching Ballet and Contemporary dance and has taught in many prestigious institutions such as Urdang City, University of London, Bird College, London Contemporary Dance School, Tring Park Associates Programme, The CAT Programme at The Place, Ballet Black, Middlesex University, and also recorded the first online series of ‘Introduction to Ballet Technique’ for the Classes & Courses programme at The Place.

Michelle spends much of her time now working for the English National Ballet as Project Lead for Ballet Futures: the Pipeline Project, which is a programme dedicated to tackling the lack of diversity in classical ballet.