Yorkshire Ballet Seminars Appoints New Artistic Director

Yorkshire Ballet Seminars (YBS) is delighted to announce the appointment of Isabelle Brouwers as its next Artistic Director, effective February 2026.

Charles Glanville, Chair of Yorkshire Ballet Seminars, shares: ‘Yorkshire Ballet Seminars is pleased to announce that it has appointed Isabelle Brouwers as its next Artistic Director. A First Artist at English National Ballet, Isabelle has the training and the qualities we were looking for in our next Artistic Director. Intelligent, hardworking, well connected in the dance world, we are confident that Isabelle will take YBS’s long standing strengths as one of the foremost ballet training courses and move YBS forward into the future.

YBS is all about our dance students. With Isabelle as Artistic Director the opportunities our students have through our Spring, Summer and Intensive courses will become even better focused and better delivered. The dance training world is also changing rapidly. A new, bold, young look and focus is what our dance students need today. We look forward to Isabelle joining us officially in February 2026.’

Isabelle Brouwers, next Artistic Director of Yorkshire Ballet Seminars, said: ‘I am deeply honoured to be appointed Artistic Director of Yorkshire Ballet Seminars. It is a great privilege to lead an organisation that has shaped so many dancers’ journeys and offers dance students such a remarkable experience of excellence, opportunity and community.

Looking ahead, I am committed to honouring the founding vision of YBS, building on the outstanding work of previous Artistic Directors and strengthening the pastoral care and exceptional classical training that lie at the heart of YBS. I intend to sustain the world-class dance training YBS delivers while propelling the organisation further into the future.

I aspire to diversify and enrich our offerings in response to the evolving ballet landscape, extend year-round training opportunities and broaden our community reach. I envision a YBS that serves not only as a place for transformative summer and spring courses, but as a lifelong artistic partner that shapes dancers’ holistic growth as artists and human beings.

I am excited to collaborate closely with the exceptional YBS team to strengthen its offer as a dynamic, nurturing and socially engaged centre of excellence that continues to share the power of dance with an ever-broadening community, across the UK and beyond.’

Aaron Watkin, Artistic Director, English National Ballet said: ‘After 11 wonderful years sharing her artistry with English National Ballet, and completing our Dance Leaders of the Future programme, we’re delighted to see Isabelle begin this exciting new chapter as Artistic Director of Yorkshire Ballet Seminars. Isabelle’s passion for shaping the future of dance is unmistakable. Combined with her vision, intelligence, and creative spirit, it marks her as an exciting new artistic voice in the UK dance landscape. We look forward to seeing her flourish in this role.’

Brouwers is an international dancer, educator, and cultural leader shaped by her third-culture upbringing. Dance became her universal language, connecting her to diverse communities worldwide. She trained at The Royal Ballet School and English National Ballet School, earning a Silver Medal at the Genee (now Fonteyn) International Ballet Competition and reaching the finals of the Prix de Lausanne.

In 2014 she joined English National Ballet, where she performed leading roles on major stages including the Paris Opera, Bolshoi Theatre, Sadler’s Wells, and Royal Albert Hall. A three-time finalist in ENB’s Emerging Dancer Competition, her repertoire spans classical and contemporary works.

Driven by dance’s societal impact, Isabelle has taught outreach projects in Kenyan slum communities with Anno’s Africa and OneFineDay, and led ballet-African dance exchanges in Brazzaville, Congo. Under Tamara Rojo’s leadership at ENB she was named 2021/22 Dance Leader of the Future, completing Cranfield School of Management training and contributing to ENB’s Ballet Futures and Engagement programmes.

In recent years, she has further expanded her artistic perspective as a freelance writer for Dance Europe and Tanz magazines and has deepened her leadership practice through contributions to Clore’s Leadership Now Online Assembly, participating in Positioning Ballet’s Future Leaders Forum in Amsterdam, and through ambassadorial roles for Dancers’ Career Development, What Dance Can Do and STEPPS.

Her broader professional development includes Diplomas in Sports Nutrition and Sports Psychology, the MBA Essentials programme at the London School of Economics and the Aspen Institute UK Rising Leaders Fellowship. Isabelle serves as a Trustee of London Vocational Ballet School and has recently completed the Royal Academy of Dance Professional Dancers’ Graduate Teaching Diploma.

Founded over 50 years ago, the first Yorkshire Ballet Seminar was held at Ilkley College in 1973 and opened by Dame Ninette de Valois, founder of The Royal Ballet. Created by David Gayle MBE, its aim was to provide young dancers from the North with classes from world-class professionals and insights into dance careers. Today, YBS, a registered charity, continues to deliver exceptional training to talented students aged 9–19, holding a cherished place in British ballet.

Visit www.ybss.co.uk to learn more.

Isabelle Brouwers Headshot, Photo courtesy Yorkshire Ballet Seminars