Elena Glurjidze / Artistic Director

Elena Glurdjidze was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and trained at the prestigious Vaganova Academy in St-Petersburg. In 2002 Elena joined English National Ballet as a Principal ballerina and was promoted in 2007 to Lead Principal ballerina.

Her repertoire included, amongst many others, principal roles in Giselle, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Romeo & Juliet, Cinderella, Coppélia, Manon, The Snow Queen, Chopiniana, Etudes, Schéhérazade, Tchaikovsky pas de deux, The Dying Swan and Alice in Wonderland.

In 2009 Elena was nominated for Best Female Dancer at the Critics’ Circle Awards. Won both the 2007 and 2008 Ballet.co.uk Audience Poll for Best Female Dancer, won Best Partner Award at 7th Perm Open Competition in 2002 and in 1997 won the Bronze Medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition. In 1998 she won the 8th Paris International Competition of Soloists. In 2009 Karl Lagerfeld, Creative Director of Chanel, created a tutu for Fokine’s The Dancing Swan which he fitted exclusively for Elena at Chanel’s headquarters in Paris forming part of the Company’s tribute to The Ballets Russes staged at Sadler’s Wells.

In 2011 British Fashion Designer Giles Deacon created a tutu based on the Black Swan which once again was exclusively designed and created for her.
Her final performance with English National Ballet was as Odette/Odile in Derek Deane’s Swan Lake at the London Coliseum on 18 January 2015, the role she first danced with the Company in 2002.

Following her retirement from dancing professionally, Elena and fellow Vaganova Academy graduate Olga Semenova, embarked upon an Internationally acclaimed Easter and Summer Intensive programme, based at Sadlers Wells Theatre in London.

In 2017 Elena joined forces once again with Olga Semenova to create a brand new Vocational style ballet school for pupils aged from 4-19 years old, based on the Vaganova Method of ballet training. Pupils at Masters of Ballet Academy train up to six days a week in ballet, contemporary and Pas de Deux.

Their West London school has grown in a year and a half to over 100 pupils, with former pupils in the last year alone gaining places at prestigious schools such as The Royal Ballet School (Richmond, UK & Floral Stree, London), The Vaganova Academy (St. Petersburg, Russia), English National Ballet School (London, UK), Paris Opera Ballet (Paris, France) and Central School of Ballet (London, UK).

2022
NUREYEV LEGEND AND LEGACY – Assistant Artistic Director. Elena joined the artistic team of this large scale, ambitious commercial production, functioning as the principal advisor to the Artistic Director and the Producers, providing broad based advice on dancer recruitment and management as well as on the production and fundraising.
2023
SWAN LAKE, UNITED UKRAINIAN BALLET- Elena was deligted to be asked to stage the Worldwide tour of this acclaimed production in support of Ukraine. The production was a lifeline to talented Ukrainian dancers, who were able to resume their careers and bring this awe inspiring ballet to audiences around the world.
2023
LONDON FASHION WEEK – Elena choreographed and staged the TATA NAKA Fashion Show for this prestigious London event. Featuring dancers from Masters of Ballet Academy as the models, this event brought together a fusion of classical dance and high end fashion.

Elena was delighted to be asked in 2026 to teach Company Class for a week at The Royal Ballet Company, at the Opera House studios, London. Also in 2026, Elena is currently working on staging a new production of Swan Lake for Cape Ballet Africa, in Cape Town.

Olga Semenova / Artistic Director

Olga moved from St.Petersburg to London when Lady Sainsbury invited her to study at The Benesh Institute of Choreology. There she pioneered an exam based Character syllabus for students up to 18 years old, and trained teachers to implement this.
Olga also helped to develop a Vaganova based Syllabus for the Senior school at Central School of Ballet.

Olga trained as a professional ballet dancer at St.Petersburg’s prestigious Vaganova Ballet Academy, Alma Mater of many of today’s international ballet stars. Interestingly, her mother was one of the last students to study under the great Vaganova. After a ballet career, Olga completed a four years professional teaching/coaching course at the Vaganova Ballet Academy and was awarded the PDTC Diploma with Distinction and MA ( Hons).

Olga taught ballet for Junior and Pre-graduation classes at The Vaganova Ballet Academy. Her former students are now dancing in leading Russian and International Companies.

In London, she has taught at different ballet schools and professionals ballet companies as a Ballet Mistress.
Olga is a former teacher of the English National Ballet School and Central School of Ballet.

Olga is one of the most highly regarded Character tutors in the UK.

Also, she is a Character and Ballet guest teacher at a different school in the UK and Abroad. Olga is adept in Ballet, Character and Contemporary choreography.

Ambassador of ARBTA (Honorary), Honorary Advisor of Vaganova Method at Hong Kong Youth Ballet Academy.

“Olga Semenova is clearly not only knowledgeable but inspirational”.
Amanda Jennings ” Dance Europe”

” Olga Semenova’s choreography of “Gypsy Dance” showed the impressive skills of the schools’ youngest students”
Laura Dodge ” Dancing Times”

” ….audience were treated to one or two unusual character dances taught by Olga Semenova”
David Mead, “Ballet Europe Reviews”.