Fanny Harniess

I started my full time dance training at the age of 9 at Bush Davies School in East Grinstead. Later moving to London I continued my training with Ruth French, Maria Faye and Anna Northcott at The Dance Centre and spent a year at London School of Contemporary Dance.

I began teaching for Colchester Youth Theatre Dance Company – originally as a fill in between dancing jobs. Other teaching followed – for local ballet schools and on theatre courses for the Mercury Theatre (Colchester), Colchester Arts Centre, Danceworks (Cambridge). After changing course and taking a degree at Essex University I decided to return to dance and spent a year at the Royal Ballet School graduating with the RBS Professional Dancers Teaching Diploma in 1990. I went on to teach ballet for the Suffolk Scholars Ballet Training Scheme, Italia Conti Stage School and spent 15 years as teacher of ISTD modern, ISTD tap and Cecchetti ballet for Catherine Pickering’s School of Dance.

In 2009 (whilst continuing to teach for CPSD) I spent a year training with Alan Herdman at his Pilates studios in London gaining his Pilates Teaching Diploma in 2010.

After taking a break from teaching in 2015 I returned to the RAD and in 2019 became a Silver Swans licensee.

‘No No Nanette”, Mercury Theatre Colchester 1982

Worked as a dancer at: Mercury Theatre Colchester, Northcott Theatre Exeter, Nottingham Playhouse, Princes Theatre Clacton, Thorndike Theatre Leatherhead, The Africa Centre London, Ballet Nomad (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Olivier Briac Company Paris, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera. Film/TV appearances (as a dancer) include SSGB, The Little Stranger, Colette, Vanity Fair.

Dancing is of course technique – at the highest level it takes years of intense training (and a very early start) to be able to enter the profession, but it is also possible to dance at any age. The Silver Swans ideal is to make it reachable for all. High extensions and big jumps are not essential! The joy of dancing is the same whatever the level, and learning and improvement are possible at any age. By adapting technique and repertoire Silver Swans allows everyone to experience the best of dance, including some of the most familiar (and not so familiar) and best loved works from the greatest choreographers to the most beautiful music.