Bridget Hearne-Saliba

ARAD Dip PDTC RAD RTS

Following 8 yrs training at the Royal Ballet School Bridget immediately joined London’s Festival Ballet (renamed English National Ballet) where she danced all over the world and the regions of England for the next 10 years. This was followed by a period dancing in films, commercials and TV.

Leaving ballet completely behind her she joined some influential friends in the ballet world and set up the first McDonalds in Shepherds Bush called Holmes Hamburger House. This was quickly followed by managing a hamburger restaurant in Jersey and then on returning to London opened a lunchtime outlet in the Horse & Groom in Belgravia. Head hunted by the top window dresser at Harvey Nichols by her artistic display of salads she was given a crash course in window dressing and joined Wetherall to dress their shops around the UK. A move away from all this travelling landed her a position with Vehicle Exports Ltd as Managing Director selling export cars to the forces out of NAAFI.

Now married with 2 children she moved to Glastonbury for 9 years and during this time took an HND in Arts Management and Administration which completely changed her position in the work arena. In Millennium year 2000 she acquired a grant to set up and run a five day Arts Festival in her home town of Boscombe. It ran for 5 more years but during this time she approached Janet Lewis an ex Festival Ballet dancer to look at starting up a youth ballet. This became English Youth Ballet starting in Yeovil in 1998 where she worked as General Manager for the next 12 years and the company continues to this day.

Back living in London she had already taken the CBTS course at the Royal Academy of Dance and started her first ballet school in Acton in 2009. This was rapidly followed by setting up Maida Vale Ballet School, Fulham Ballet School and Ealing Ballet School. Following her partner’s ill health and feeling it was a time to slow down with grand children rapidly appearing she sold all the schools and with a chance conversation with a young teacher who she could see great potential in they both set up Acton Youth Ballet offering students in Acton and the immediate area a course of classes in Ballet, Contemporary and Jazz with a view to performing opportunities at local charities and festivals.