Please take the time to read the Reviews of our work below. You will see that what we do is good, beneficial to local dance, and a thoroughly enjoyable form of entertainment for all people. We hope you will also become one of the regular audience members of our steadily growing supporters.

Come and see one of our performances - we guarantee you will not be disappointed. 
Current Production Review
'La Fille Mal Gardee'

'Top Ballet is real joy' 'La Fille Mal Gardee' at the Lighthouse Theatre, Poole, directed by Caron Yardley.
"I would urge to go and see the South Coast Ballet's delightful production of this classic comedy. Having given two performances in Poole, it can be seen in the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre on January 29 at 2.00pm and 6.30pm. Directed and choreographed by Caron Yardley, it is a simple story of country love. Lisa, the daughter of a domineering, screaming widowed farmer's wife, is in love with local boy, Colin. However, her mother does her best (or worst) to keep them apart. The mother is brilliantly portrayed by Frederick Alexander, and Lisa and Colin by Madeleine West and Ibrahim Langoo. Here we have three future ballet stars with serious potential. Lisa's pointe work is commendable and her pas de deux with Colin is first class. Also outstanding is Naomi Wilkinson as mischievous Alan, the mothers preferred match for her daughter. Apart from a few blemishes, the company dance well and the whole performance was a joy to watch" 
Roy Sharp, Daily Echo, Bournemouth

'La Fille Mal Gardee' at the Lighthouse Theatre, January 2012 with production and choreography by Caron Yardley
"Once again, the prodigious efforts of South Coast Ballet's Artistic Director provided a rare and valuable opportunity for young dancers and performers, in the locality, to 'strut their stuff' on the professional stages of Poole and Bournemouth with their own choreographic version of this much loved ballet. The piece offers both dance and comedy in more-or-less equal measures, thereby giving a chance for the production to show its versatility. The dance was taken care of by regular members of the company with the bulk of the responsibility resting with romantic leads Madeleine West and Olivia Mills (Lisa) and Ibrahim Langoo (Colin), an original member of South Coast Ballet. The corps did well with their set pieces, despite losing two dancers at the last minute. Shortage of boys, the scourge of most provincial classical dance establishments, inevitably limited the extent to which credible romance could be injected into the corps routines. The comedy element was effectively provided by guest artists Freddie Alexander (The Widow), Naomi Wilkinson (Alan), and Aiden Rogers (Farmer Thomas). A feature of Yardley productions has been the quality of settings, including scenery and in-house costumes, and this applied again here, particularly in the third act. 
Peter Wheeldon, NODA South West Representative 
Reviews

'The Snow Queen' at the Lighthouse Theatre,Poole in July 2011 with concept, Direction and Choreography by Caron Yardley.
"I continue to be impressed by the scale of the enterprises taken, almost single-handedly by Artistic Director, Caron Yardley on behalf of South Coast Ballet. And this production is a prime example of her industry, because the concept, creation, staging and direction is almost entirely her own work. Set to the music of a miscellany of composers, The Snow Queen is a fairy tale based on the writings of Hans Christian Anderson. The twenty-eight young dancers taking part are drawn from teaching academies in the locality. It is an extremely colourful production employing excellent backdrops and an extensive wardrobe of fine costumes. Its staging in one of the principal theatres in the area provides the best possible forum for the young proteges to experience the thrill of performance and show what they can do. The dancers clearly relish this opportunity and repay it by giving their all - it's something, one suspects, they will never forget. The scourge of so many classical dance initiatives, this company included, is a high degree of public indifference, thereby resulting in sparse houses and a compounding of the difficulties in balancing the books. Here's hoping they will overcome this obstacle in the future." 
Peter Wheeldon, NODA South West Representative

'Ballet Lovers owe these guys Patronage!'  Snow Queen, Lighthouse Poole, July 2011 Directed by Caron Yardley
"Sadly, only a handful came to South Coast Ballet's production of the The Snow Queen. Twenty-eight talented young dancers spent the past ten weeks practicing and rehearsing for the show and they deserve better support for their efforts. Devised and choreographed by the company's Artistic Director Caron Yardley, Hans Christian Anderson's fairytale is brought to life in the Three Acts. In spite of the programmes synopsis, it was at times tricky to follow the story. But that did not distract from the fine dancing, not just of the Principals, but Soloists - Allanha Tucker, Caitrin Barrett-Donlon, Olivia Mills, Emily Dilke, Keira Bailey, Robin Alexander and Chelcie Hunt. Particularly enjoyable was the Ice Skating scene and the Spanish Gypsy Dancers. There are two more performances today at 2.30pm and 7.30pm, so give these youngsters the patronage they deserve!!
Roy Sharp, Daily Echo, Bournemouth

Giselle, and The Magic Toyshop at the Lighthouse Theatre, Poole in April 2011 by Artistic Director, Caron Yardley.
"It was an evening of compatible contrasts as the young student dancers performed, firstly, a light-hearted work created and choreographed by the Artistic Director, followed by the formidable classic, 'Giselle', the latter having been carefully tailored to suit the capabilities of the performers. Enhanced by the professional facilities and surroundings of the Lighthouse Theatre,the overall result was very agreeable and deserving of better support than it got on this first of four performances. The Magic Toyshop is structured as a series of solo dances for mechanical dolls, in a variety of guises, displaying themselves prettily in an attempt to attract the attentions of a group of potential purchasers. As such, it is a simple but engaging showcase for the students to show what they can do. Giselle, of course, is an entirely different sort of challenge, but the young dancers coped well with the mood swings and drama of this sombre tale. Miss Yardley sets out to source the best theatre facilities, scenery and costumes that she can muster in order to provide the opportunities for the student dancers to experience and perform in such conditions. In this objective, she succeeds - and her dancers are very fortunate.
Peter Wheeldon, NODA South West Representative

'Ballet Good Show!!'   Giselle & Magic Toyshop, Lighthouse Poole, April 2011, Directed by Caron Yardley
The South Coast Ballet production of 'Giselle' pulled out all the stops. The company was formed by Caron Yardley three years ago to provide locally trained young people to learn and perform ballet. Praise must go to Madeleine West as Giselle and Ibrahim Langoo as the Count, and they are on their way to becoming star performers. An excellent Pas de Deux was performed by Lauren Dawes and Giles Surridge and other amazing Soloists on the night. Preceding Giselle was an amusing one-act ballet, 'The Magic Toyshop' based on Leonide Massine's 'La Boutique Fantasque' with music by Rossini. Judging by tonight, South Coast Ballet's production at the Lighthouse in July should be well worth a look!
Roy Sharp, Daily Echo, Bournemouth 

The Nutcracker, Pier Theatre, Bournemouth in January 2011, by Caron Yardley
The staging of a full-length classical ballet is a massive task in itself, so it is much to the credit of Artistic Director Caron Yardley and her company of students drawn from the dance academies in the Dorset locality that they should venture to undertake such initiatives. More's the pity therefore that a larger audience than attended Saturday evening's 'Nutcracker' performance was not present to witness the fruits of their labours in this colourful production and to applaud their efforts in taking on this most exacting of art forms. The structure of the traditional Nutcracker is very much in two different parts. Act One is all about story-telling, and this was done well, from the party scene, through the dream sequences, and culminating in a crisp Snow Flakes routine. Act Two, however, is very much about dance and comprises a series of formal 'divertissements' . Here, intense concentration on the intricacies of the choreography tended to suppress the theatrical projection of the characters portrayed by the eager young performers. South Coast Ballet in new to the NODA fold and brings with it an artistic discipline additional to the more-usual musical and dramatic companies that form the bulk of the membership.
Peter Wheeldon, NODA South West Representative

'Ballet was White on the money!'  Snow White, Lighthouse Theatre, Poole in July 2010, by Caron Yardley
It takes a courageous person to adapt and expand a well-known fairytale and turn it into a ballet, but Caron Yardley, Artistic Director of South Coast Ballet, has done just that. Last Friday Caron's gamble was put to the test, and in spite of a few first night hiccups, her venture proved to be a success. Unfortunately it was witnessed by only a handful of patrons. Caron's version of Snow White was neither a pantomime nor a copy of the Walt Disney classic. She followed more closely the original story by the Brother's Grimm. Instead of Seven Dwarves there were eight Little People who befriended Snow White. There was the Wicked Queen Ursula (splendidly portrayed by Allanha Tucker), determined to eliminate Snow White, a handsome Prince (Ibrahim Langoo) and two henchmen, Nifty and Shifty, played and danced by Chloe West and Eliana Langoo. There was an assortment of other characters such as Courtiers, Court Dancers, Gypsies, Princesses and Angels all exceptionally danced by the corps de ballet with Solo's by Olivia Mills, Madeleine West, Emily Dilke, Caitrin Barrett-Donlon and Katharina Hofmann. Praise must be given to Stephanie Walker as Snow White, especially her solo and pointe work in the Epilogue and her Pas de Deux with Ibrahim Langoo. Caron must be congratulated for her enterprise which deserves more support.
Roy Sharp, Daily Echo, Bournemouth

'Stephanie shines in South Coast Ballet's enchanting production'   Coppelia Bournemouth Pavilion, April 2010, by Caron Yardley
The story of two young lovers, an eccentric inventor and a mechanical doll, today's production marks the ballets 140th anniversary and is based on the version choreographed by Marius Petipa. Dancing to the music of Leon Delibes, South Coast Ballet's young dancers provided an enchanting entertainment. Stephanie Walker danced the title role of Swanilda. She is a star in the making and her arabesques and pirouettes were commendable. Partnering her as Franz was Ibrahim Langoo, another promising performer. Scott Willmore was a young-looking Doctor Coppelius, energetically chasing Swanilda, Franz and her friends. Excellent solo dances were also performed by Caitrin Barrett-Donlon as the Gypsy girl, Emily Dilke as the Solo Amour in Three,  Madeleine West as the Solo Dawn, Olivia Mills as a Bridesmaid and Allanha Tucker as the Prayer solo.
Roy Sharp, Daily Echo, Bournemouth

'Mermaid story is a fine tale'  Mermaid, Lighthouse Theatre, Poole, July 2009 Directed by Caron Yardley
Hats off to South Coast Ballet. Just one year old and this company is doing wonders in providing performance experience for young dancers. And not just mini-showcases either. 'Mermaid' which opened in Poole on Friday evening with the first of four weekend performances, is a full-length three act ballet, an original work conceived and choreographed by Artistic Director, Caron Yardley. Loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson's 'Little Mermaid' and set to music by Delibes, Alexander Glazunov, and Alberto Gynastera, the production is custom designed to provide a platform for the varying abilities of its dancers. Accepting dancers of classical ballet aged between nine and 19 means that South Coast inevitably caters at any given time for a wide range of experience. What a production like 'Mermaid' does is to hone skills in stagecraft, interpretation and expression. This Tale, which finds a mermaid journeying to an evil kingdom deep beneath the ocean in a quest for the love of a human Prince, achieves these aims superbly. There's fine dancing at all levels with particularly compelling performances from Chelcie Hunt as the Mermaid and Stephanie Walker as the wicked Sea Witch. It also offers lessons in dressing a stage and, above all, communicating with a live audience. Pity there weren't a few more bums on those seats though.
Jeremy Miles, Daily Echo, Bournemouth

Mermaid, Lighthouse Theatre, Poole in July 2009, Directed by Caron Yardley
"My partner and I came to your Mermaid ballet yesterday and we were both impressed by it. I was sceptical at first about going to an amateur production, as I'd never tried before, but it was very enjoyable and I've seen the light now and realize how important these things are for the survival of the theatre industry"  Theatre Patron (Anonymous)

"What a wonderful job you did putting the show together in such a short time. The whole thing was amazing!" Theatre Patron (Anonymous)

Cinderella, Lighthouse Theatre, Poole in April 2009, Directed by Caron Yardley
"Cinderella was charming, well-staged, age appropriate and nicely costumed, and the ensembles were particularly good. Prokofiev is very hard to dance to, so how you kept them all on the beat of the Waltz I don't know. Especially that difficult downstage entry. All the children's enjoyment was evident - no-one seemed stressed at all!!" 
Kate Castle, Former Dancer Sadlers Wells Ballet

" A really enjoyable performance of Cinderella at the Poole Lighthouse this afternoon. Well done everybody!" Theatre Patron (Anonymous)

It is imperative that the work of South Coast Ballet is supported - in order to secure future audiences for dance; to grow and develop creative artists; to create new work; to bring rarely seen classical ballets to the region; to actively provide the opportunity and experiences for local young dancers to learn how to be dance-performance-artistes; to make sure that young people and those studying dance have ample opportunties to afford and attend dance performances; to make sure that local audiences have affordable access to classical ballet; and to form the backbone of a future classical ballet company for the region.

If you are interested in joining South Coast Ballet as a member, or being part of the creative team, or supporting and sponsoring our productions, please see the 'INFORMATION' Page on this website.