Professional dancers The Ballet Twins are opening a ballet studio offering exclusive private training and fitness classes in Richmond.
The Ballet Twins Studio on Ormond Road will be a multi-functional creative space for rehearsals, private client sessions and group training in ballet, pilates, stretch and fitness.
Twin brothers Joshua and Laurie McSherry-Gray are both Royal Ballet School graduates and content creators, with 2.46k subscribers on their joint YouTube channel.
Laurie said: “Richmond is such a community.
“I think we can bring something really unique to the area because ballet is quite a niche market in its own right.
“But we’re also making it accessible, while offering a very tailored experience.
“And we’re men, you know, guys that teach something that is predominantly a female-run world.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just always nice to have an alternative angle on things.”
The Richmond studio will also include a dedicated space for The Ballet Twins to work on their digital presence.
Laurie was a soloist with The Royal Ballet of Flanders and Joshua was an artist with English National Ballet, before they both turned to freelancing and began creating content that takes viewers ‘behind the scenes’ of ballet productions.
Their videos include interviews, Q&As and on-demand classes.
Laurie added: “Basically, ballet is a very elitist kind of environment.
“Our platform is about making the discussion more accessible.
“The tradition of ballet is amazing but it doesn’t necessarily have to be unrelatable.
“So we’ve tried to make things a lot more modern.”
The majority of classes at the Ballet Twins Studio will be private ballet, body conditioning, stretch and fitness classes.
The team will work with all ages and cater classes to clients.
Supporters of The Ballet Twins have raised almost £6000 on GoFundMe since January to help towards the costs of creating the studio.
The twins have listed all costs and quotes for transparency and are now at the stage of securing additional funding for pilates and workout equipment.
Laurie and Joshua are hoping to go live and use the space for online classes in the next couple of weeks to introduce clients to the space before it can open up when COVID restrictions are lifted.
They are also currently offering downloadable fitness classes on their website, where you can sign up to hear the latest studio news and book ahead for classes.
Featured image credit: The Ballet Twins
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So pleased to see this article! You two definitely are doing a lot to make ballet “more accessible”. Thank you and Congratulations.