HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN WILL VISIT THE WEST MIDLANDS
Tuesday 14th March 2023
Engagement 1:
Her Majesty The Queen Consort will visit Elmhurst Ballet School to celebrate the school’s centenary with current students, staff and alumni.
The Queen, who as Duchess of Cornwall became patron of the school in 2006, will attend a special centenary performance and hear about recent developments in ballet teaching being spearheaded by the school.
Her Majesty will be welcomed to Elmhurst by Jessica Ward, Principal of Elmhurst School Ballet, alongside Wayne McGregor, newly appointed President of Elmhurst Ballet School, multi award-winning choreographer and director of Studio Wayne McGregor, and former ballet dancer Carlos Acosta, also a Vice-President of Elmhurst, who now serves as Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Birmingham Royal Ballet have an ongoing partnership with Elmhurst to deliver professional-standard ballet training at the school.
Her Majesty will attend a short performance in the school’s studio theatre in celebration of the anniversary, and take part in a formal photograph with all 200 Elmhurst students, from Year 7s to the graduate students in the ‘Class of 2023’ Elmhurst Ballet Company.
The performance will include choreography by Sonia Fajardo and Michael Raynaud, with music composed by Paul Harvey, and a Grand Défilé finale performed by all the students.
The Queen will also unveil a plaque which sits within the school’s Centenary Commemorative Wall, which depicts a timeline of key moments in Elmhurst Ballet School’s history, and receive a card created by the Elmhurst Ballet School students to mark the 100th anniversary.
Engagement 2:
The Queen will visit Southwater One Library where Her Majesty will thank staff and representatives from local outreach and voluntary groups for their great contribution to the community. Towards the end of the programme, Her Majesty will unveil a stone for Telford Veterans’ Trail and a plaque to commemorate the visit. Southwater One, Southwater Way, Telford.
On arrival, Her Majesty will be greeted by local schoolchildren and welcomed to Telford by the sound of Abraham Darby Show band playing in the square.
On the ground floor, Her Majesty will first be introduced to members of Read Easy, a volunteer reading support group for adults and representatives of Telford Interfaith Council. On the first Floor, Her Majesty will meet representatives of Telford Crisis Support, who provide a food bank and support services for individuals and families in crisis and Telford After Care Team (TACT), who support adults in recovery from addiction.
The Queen will then meet charities, STAY and Maninplace which provide housing & support services for the homeless and vulnerable people. Her Majesty will go on to meet representatives of Shropshire Youth Support Trust (SYST), which offers holistic, bespoke support to young people who are not in education, employment, or training and ambassadors of PODS (Parents Opening Doors), a group dedicated to involving and supporting families with a child or young person with disabilities or additional needs.
Her Majesty will then meet volunteers of East Shropshire Talking Newspaper, who provide a news and features audio service for the visually impaired and volunteers from In Kind Direct, who support vulnerable/in crisis people with donated products.
Finally, the Queen will meet Ms Erica Hanson, Cpl Royal Logistics, veteran and founder of the Telford Veterans Trail. Her Majesty will unveil a commemorative stone for Telford Veterans Trail to be set into the trail in the park followed by a plaque to commemorative Her Majesty’s visit to the Southwater One building.
