As a child, Marguerite Porter travelled for miles to attend dance classes. Now, as director of the Yorkshire Ballet Seminar, she's committed to helping other young hopefuls. Steve Pratt reports.

EVERY Tuesday afternoon, the 11-year-old girl would miss games at school to travel from Doncaster to York for dance classes. She'd have to catch a bus to the station, take the hour-long train journey and then walk to The Mount in the city centre for lessons.

Every Saturday, she'd repeat the trip to York from her Doncaster hometown for more classes. Without that, Marguerite Porter would never have won a place at the Royal Ballet School and become one of the company's prima ballerinas.

Now she aims to do the same for other underprivileged children with dancing ambitions, launching her first year as director of Yorkshire Ballet Seminar with a summer gala evening. Stars from the major national ballet companies will line up alongside celebrities such as Wayne Sleep, Anita Harris, Bonnie Langford, Simon Callow and Jason Connery.

Now retired from the Royal Ballet and teaching, Porter has never forgotten the help she received in taking her first steps in her career.

The seminar, a summer school in which pupils are taught by guest performers from national companies, was set up more than 30 years ago by its first director David Gayle.

Several years ago, the summer school moved to St John College in York, where 150 young dancers from all over the world take up residency for two weeks. They attend masterclasses, lectures and dance demonstrations.

"I've always tried to be involved because I'm a Yorkshire girl," says Porter. "When I was still with the Royal Ballet, I used to go as often as possible to dance there. Then I came as a teacher."

Having taken over as director, she'd like to see the scheme return more to its roots. "What I want to do is bring it back to the North eventually," she explains. "That's how it started out - it was for Northern kids who never got the opportunity to be seen by other experienced people.

"Now it's become international. Last year we had 27 kids from Hong Kong and I felt that wasn't fair to the local kids. I hope to get them more involved in the future.

"They don't have to audition, as long as they have passed exams so I know they are all of a certain standard. I feel keen it's about children and we have quite a few scholarships that are given out by donors."

She recalls coming to York a few months ago to see would-be dancers looking for scholarships. She had funding for seven but 25 boys turned up. "There were some wonderful local children. Real Billy Elliot stuff, where they only go to a church hall once a week for lessons," she says.

"That's what I want to encourage, to get these children seen and give them the experience and joy of dancing."

Numbers are limited to avoid classes becoming too big. She'd like to extend the seminar to three weeks, possibly a month.

"Being director is a full-time job, I had no idea," says Porter. "One has to raise funds because fees are kept very low. I don't want to be elitist in any shape or form.

"I can't bear to turn kids away but I worry where I'm going to find the money. I'd love to have core funding so if I find a child or children who are talented and would benefit from the two-week seminar, I could say I have the money in the kitty and give it to them."

One reason she had to travel to York for lessons was because her family's finances ruled out going to the Royal Ballet School in London when she was 11.

Her potential had been spotted by teachers at her school in Doncaster. "They recognised some kind of raw basic potential and sent me in for the Royal Ballet School," she recalls.

"In York, I went to Louise Browne, who was a wonderful, wonderful teacher who'd been - and I never knew this until many years later - a huge Broadway star, had married a Yorkshireman and settled in York.

"One of the reasons I went there for lessons was because, although the Royal Ballet School had offered me a place, I couldn't get a grant from the council. My parents couldn't hope to start affording the fees, so I couldn't go until I was 15.

"Stories in the press helped me get publicity and a grant. So it's very fitting I'm doing this seminar in York."

When she arrived in London, with a broad Yorkshire accent, she found she lagged behind the other students, as her two classes a week didn't compare with their daily classes.

But, by the end of the year, she was promoted to the graduate class taught by Royal Ballet founder Dame Ninette De Valois. A year later, she joined the Royal Ballet company itself.

In the past, dancers from the Royal Ballet or English National Ballet have given demonstrations for students in the studio on the Sunday night of the seminar. Porter decided to try something on a bigger scale. "I felt it would be a good idea to launch my directorship with something like this and that it would be a really good thing for the kids as well," she says.

Wayne Eagling will choreograph pieces for the students. Stars from the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet Theatre will perform. Connery will present the programme which, says Porter, promises all kinds of surprises.

* Yorkshire Ballet Seminar's Summer Gala Evening: York Grand Opera House, July 31. Tickets 0870 606 3595.

Published: 04/07/2005