Dancer
Jakob is born in Birmingham, UK. He started dancing at the age of 8 though the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s outreach program “Dance Track,” and went on to help create “Dance Track Plus”. He trained there alongside their Junior Associates program, in weekly classes, up until the age of 11. From there, he trained full time at Elmhurst Ballet School, also in Birmingham, where he studied a number of dance styles focusing mainly on classical ballet and contemporary dance. He also learnt to play the piano and found passion in composing and improving music, alongside dance. Here, he was head boy and found an interest in choreography after becoming injured in his second year of sixth form. He choreographed two pieces in his final two years: “Fifty Percent” and “You Never Know”. The latter piece was performed, in Elmhurst Ballet Company’s show of “Synergy”. Jakob, too, performed in this show in a number of other pieces, including “Checkmate” by Ninette de Valois, “Multivox” by Studio Wayne McGregor, Sir Peter Wright’s version “Swan Lake pas de trois”, and “Tweedledum and Tweedledee” by Sir Frederick Ashton.
In summer 2019, Jakob became a member of Man Made Youth Company, based at Midlands Art Centre, and took part in their launch event. He’s danced with them in several residencies and performances, including response to art work commissions at MAC: “All this Mayhem”, and featured in digital performance project “INTER_ACT”. Today, he dances with us as his first professional company, after graduating Elmhurst in the summer of 2020.
Other Dancers
Ballet Cymru acknowledges support from
All Photos Copyright Siân Trenberth unless otherwise stated
Charity No. 1000855 Registered in England and Wales as Gwent Ballet Theatre Ltd. 02535169.
Registered office address: Ballet Cymru, Unit 1, Wern Trading Estate, Rogerstone, Newport NP10 9FQ Wales UK