Simone Clarke FDI, CDE, DIP Cecchetti
(born 1970) is an English
ballerina
A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...
and former
prima ballerina
A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...
of
English National Ballet
English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...
company. She retired from professional dance in 2007 and opened her own school, the Yorkshire Ballet Academy,
in Leeds in 2008.
Early life
Clarke was born in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, the daughter of Alfred Clarke, a maths teacher and Janet, a secretary. She was educated at a local Catholic school. Clarke left her home in Leeds at the age of 10 to begin training at the
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...
in London after winning one of 23 places sought by 4,500 entrants.
Career
Clarke trained at the Royal Ballet School (1981–1988) and then joined the
Birmingham Royal Ballet where she was promoted to first soloist in 1995. In 1998 she joined the
English National Ballet
English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...
. During the company's tour of China in 2000. she performed the role of Odette/Odile in ''
Swan Lake'' as a guest dancer, and became senior soloist in that year. In 2003 she advanced to principal dancer. She has performed as Juliet in ''
Romeo and Juliet'', and as
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
and as
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
in ''
The Sleeping Beauty'' and the
Dormouse
A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hibe ...
in
''Alice in Wonderland''.
Clarke has made several television appearances including Peter Wright's ''
Coppelia'' and ''
The Nutcracker
''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchai ...
'', ''
The Generation Game
''The Generation Game'' is a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two people from the same family, but different generations, compete to win prizes.
The game
There are eight competitors, hence the catchphrase "Let's m ...
'', ''Ballet Hell'', ''
Blue Peter'' and the lead ballerina in ''
Men in Tights
''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' is a 1993 adventure comedy film and a parody of the Robin Hood story. The film was produced and directed by Mel Brooks, co-written by Brooks, Evan Chandler, and J. David Shapiro based on a story by Chandler and Sha ...
''.
[ She was the Equity trade union "dance representative" for the London region and, from November 2007, also an executive member of the trade union Solidarity.]
In 2006, Clarke's name was on a list of British National Party
The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...
members leaked by ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper when one of its journalists, Ian Cobain
Ian Cobain (born 1960) is a British journalist. Cobain is best known for his investigative journalism into human rights abuses committed by the British government post- 9/11, the secrecy surrounding the British state and the legacy of the Northe ...
, posed as a member. Clarke defended her personal political affiliation, stating that "the BNP is the only party to take a stand against immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
".["Storm grows over 'BNP ballerina'"](_blank)
''BBC News'', 8 January 2007 She faced calls to be sacked from the English National Ballet by the campaign group Unite Against Fascism
Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is a British anti-fascist group.
Its joint secretaries are Weyman Bennett and Sabby Dhalu, formerly of the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR). Its chair is Steve Hart of Unite the Union and its assistant secre ...
, which believed it was inappropriate for a potential role model in a far-right party to be funded with public money. ''The Guardian'' later reported that Clarke had received "nearly 300 emails supporting me" since her membership became public.
On 12 January 2007, around forty people staged a protest outside the London Coliseum
The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...
theatre, where Clarke was to perform that night playing the lead in the romantic classic '' Giselle'' in her first performance since ''The Guardian'' reported on her BNP membership. The ENB said that her politics were a private matter and it had no mandate to comment on her views. Clarke was also supported by actors' union Equity, which said it was illegal to sack someone for their political beliefs.
In 2008, Clarke opened the Yorkshire Ballet Company, a private dance school, and went into teaching.[ She is a qualified Cochetti Method teacher.
]
Personal life
Clarke was in a relationship with Yat-Sen Chang
Yat-Sen Chang Oliva (born 1971 in Matanzas, Cuba) is a Cuban former principal dancer.
Biography
Yat-Sen Chang is a Chinese Cuban born in Matanzas, Cuba. Yat-Sen Chang studied dance at the Cuban National Ballet School, beginning his studies a ...
, an ENB dancer of Cuban-Chinese descent, with whom she has a daughter, Olivia Chang Clarke, an award winning dancer. Clarke was briefly engaged to the artist and former BNP councillor Richard Barnbrook
Richard Barnbrook (born 24 February 1961) is a British politician and a former member of the London Assembly. He was elected as a British National Party (BNP) list candidate in the 2008 election, though he resigned the BNP whip in August 201 ...
.
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Simone
English ballerinas
People educated at the Royal Ballet School
Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers
English National Ballet
British National Party people
People from Leeds
1970 births
Living people