STUDENTS COURSES
MASTERCLASSES
Masterclasses held at the Royal Opera House, London, and various locations abroad.
SUMMER RETREATS
Exclusive and nurturing summer retreats with Francesca Filpi and her former colleagues from The Royal Ballet. For small groups of young dancers in Yrs 8 & 9 (approx 12 - 14 yrs working at Intermediate / Advanced level), held at the fabulous Dar Danse, the Bubble on the Beach, in Morocco.
This completely unique, inspiring and nurturing environment, gives students the opportunity to build confidence, rediscover the joy of dance, and cast off any inhibitions that can so easily occur when caught up in the never-ending cycle of exams and competitions etc. Small class sizes allow for very personal tuition in the inspiring open-air studio overlooking the Atlantic ocean.
All this whilst enjoying a unique beach holiday in the sunshine for the dancers AND their families!
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Next course: 1st week of August 2026
SAVE THE DATE!
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I first founded The Wells Ballet Courses nineteen years ago, for young aspiring students, with a faculty comprised of my colleagues from The Royal Ballet. These went on to be held at Sadlers Wells and the Royal Opera House, becoming one of the highlights in the dance calendar, attracting the top dancers and teachers in the country such as Darcey Bussell and Marianela Nunez. Former pupils include Francesca Hayward, Yasmine Naghdi, Anna Rose O´Sullivan and Melissa Hamilton, all now dancing with The Royal Ballet.
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Ballet students´ training is so intense these days, from such a tender age, and there is such huge, relentless pressure on the young dancers - the very reason they started dancing can sometimes get lost under the stress of exams, performances and competitions. So in 2012 we decided we needed to break the mould, and do something completely different. In amongst the rigours of a dancer´s training, there comes a time when one needs to take a step back, and look at things in a different light, in order to be able to grow to the next level as a dancer.
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The idea of the Ballet Bubble began when a small, select ( and slightly adventurous!) group of students travelled to Dar Danse, Morocco, to step off the world, leaving all the pressure of the dance world behind, to rediscover what it is they really loved about dancing. The combination of sea views from the barre, a camel passing by during centre practise, and the chance to dance on the beach at sunset, was a winning one, and we spent many happy summers re-igniting the joy of dance for many promising young dancers, in the most idyllic of environments.
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The pandemic, motherhood and various other factors rather took the wind out of our sails, but we are back and excitedly looking forward to welcoming a new generation of aspiring students to the Ballet Bubble in 2026!
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Francesca is Founder and Director of
Wells Ballet Courses; prestigious courses for aspiring ballet students, with Royal Ballet faculty.
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