After a brief time away from official royal engagement and family time skiing in St Moritz the Countess of Wessex is back to business next week and Sophie has a particularly exciting engagement to look forward to by next week.
The Countess will open the Central School of Ballet’s new studios, named in her honour, on the South Bank in Southwark, on Thursday 27 February. The Countess of Wessex studios in Paris Gardens will feature seven studios, a fully equipped studio theatre, study and resource centres, as well as a state-of-the-art health suite.
In 2017 when the Central School of Ballet unveiled plans to move to the new premises Sophie said: “This is a momentous time in Central’s history. Their planned move to Paris Gardens will allow a greater engagement with young people who don’t currently get access to dance classes, building on their activities with junior schools in Southwark. This organisation was founded on the principle that talented young dancers should get the opportunity to pursue dance as a career independent of financial circumstances or background. The new premises will allow the school to work with local communities to ensure this founding principle is followed.”
The Countess of Wessex was made patron of the Central School of Ballet in 2003 and her love for dance is known to many. In 2018, Sophie took her daughter Lady Louise to be Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 and all by herself at Blackpool’s iconic Tower Ballroom in 2019.
Last week, Sophie helped children at the Shooting Star Children’s Hospice in Hampton where she helped children at the hospice decorate Valentine’s Day biscuits and read them a story That’s Not My Princess and held a reception for 100 Women in Finance and travelled to Germany in conjunction with her work with Women, Peace and Security
