A ballet school based on a dairy farm in County Longford has an international reach.
Dance and drama teacher Anica Louw met geophysicist Philip Dawson in her native South Africa.
She was happy to relocate to his family's farm in County Longford, where the couple renovated old farm buildings and Anica set up a ballet school for local children.
Maintenance of their eighteenth-century farmhouse, creation of student accommodation for a residential summer ballet school and turning an old building into a theatre has been a labour of love. Anica Louw believes that students benefit from this unique environment.
The Shawbrook Ballet School annual show is a high point. This year the production is 'The Children of Lir’ choreographed by Anica Louw who explains that ballet is not just about technique. It is an art form where you,
Communicate with your face and your body to the audience.
Past pupil Marguerite Donlon realised her dream of becoming a professional dancer and is now based in Berlin. She does not regret taking up ballet at the comparatively late age of thirteen. In contrast to her colleagues, she enjoyed a normal childhood,
I lived a child’s life, I climbed trees.
Anica Louw maintains that an Irish personality combined with a natural and inclusive approach to life has resulted in her students having something that sets them apart from other dancers.
‘Arts Express’ was broadcast on 5 March 1991. The reporter is Mary O’Sullivan.
This programme contains third party content which is not RTÉ copyright.
'Arts Express' was a fast-moving magazine-style arts programme presented by Mike Murphy. Anne Roper joined him as co-presenter for the second series. Reporters included John Waters, Mary O'Sullivan and Ferdia Mac Anna. It covered theatre, cinema, books and music as well as the fine arts, and aimed to give a taste each week of what was new in the field of arts and entertainment. It was first broadcast on 22 September 1989 and ran for two series.
