Clare Novaes
Professional
Clare enjoys the classical aesthetic values of alignment, purity and balance in ballet.
Owner and ballet teacher at Clare Novaes Ballet School for 23 years she believes teaching ballet it is not about transmitting knowledge, but enabling, challenging and nurturing dancers until they are more fully themselves, and better at what they do-whatever their age or background. She respects individuality and the risk each artist takes in class each day with no judgement.
Clare’s first job after graduating from 3 year teacher training at The Royal Academy of Dance in London was at Crystal Palace London, teaching body alignment to the Olympic high board diving squad with a continuous body conditioning ballet barre created by John O’Brien. At RAD Clare worked with Dr Ann Hutchinson Guest, the director of the Language of Dance Centre, London on Laban notation and used this research when teaching dance in Brazil, South America. Returning from Brazil Clare was inspired by John Blacking at QUB to study Anthropology with Ethnomusicology.
Clare worked with the highly skilled multidisciplinary team at Blackstone Physiotherapy and Sports injury clinic to develop a Barre Tone class. She also worked with Clare Guss-West at the RAD developing dance and lifelong wellbeing. She is now director of Ballet Retreats.
“I continue to develop my own relationship with dance and explore movement with the ageing body”
