Ballet star 'kept quiet' teenage interest in dance

Iain Webb starred as Oberon in Frederick Ashton's The Dream at the Royal Ballet

A former member of the Royal Ballet who now directs a major dance company in America has said he once had to hide his talent during his childhood in Yorkshire.

Iain Webb, 65, the director of Sarasota Ballet, grew up in Scarborough and first took up lessons after his potential was spotted by a dance examiner.

Mr Webb has told the BBC that while he was fully supported by his family, he still had to conceal his interest in ballet from his school friends.

"I kept it really quiet," he said.

Mr Webb said he first took up ballet at the age of 14 after the dance school his mother ran "had one boy who was in it, but he wouldn’t go on stage".

"So, my mum gave me a bit of pocket money and asked if I would go on," he said.

Mr Webb told BBC Radio York that he agreed to try it on the condition that there were "no tights or poncing around".

However, he said that after spending time in the dance studio and "messing around in the back", one of his mother's friends - a ballet examiner - came to visit.

Mr Webb (right) danced in the Royal Ballet under the stewardship of Sir Frederick Ashton (left)

She pointed out to Mr Webb's mother that her son had some talent, urging her to consider letting him take up ballet seriously.

"They went to speak to my father first and said would he mind if they asked me," Mr Webb said.

"He said, 'no go ahead, you can ask him' - but he was horrified when I said yes."

Despite the initial shock, Mr Webb said his father supported his decision and agreed he could move from the seaside town to York so he could better pursue ballet.

'Kept it quiet'

Mr Webb said that once he moved to York, he felt he needed to keep tight-lipped about his hidden talent among his school friends.

"I used to wrap up all of my ballet stuff in a parcel, as if I was going to mail it back to Scarborough to my mum, just so no one ever found out," he said.

“You have your best mate at school who you fall out with, then suddenly one day in the middle of class, he said, ‘Webby does ballet’.

"I got up and said, 'I did it once, it’s not for me' and the usual stereotypical comments.

"Then, when I eventually moved to London at 16 to study ballet, [the friend] said, ‘but you told me you didn’t do it anymore’. So I kept it really quiet.”

Iain Webb (right), pictured with dancer Daniel Pratt, now directs Sarasota Ballet

However, Mr Webb's talent for ballet soon ensured he would be firmly in the spotlight in the years to come.

He went on to train for two years with the famous Rambert School of Ballet, Britain's oldest dance company, and he spent a year at The Royal Ballet School.

He also spent a year as an apprentice with The Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet where he was offered a full-time position.

Despite now being based in the USA as director of the Sarasota Ballet, Mr Webb said he had not forgotten his roots in North Yorkshire.

“I love Scarborough, my dad was born there and we were raised there. We only left there to move to York so that I could do ballet," he said.

"It was a good solid upbringing. It gave me strength and Yorkshire stubbornness.

"That has kept with me all the way and helped me get through it.”

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