About us
Edinburgh Ballet Theatre
Edinburgh Ballet Theatre (EBT) is an amateur community dance company of diverse, enthusiastic adult dancers from all over the world. Our aim is to contribute to Edinburgh’s vibrant cultural scene and provide a means of expression for adult ballet students to perform from a range of backgrounds and levels of ability in a safe and encouraging space. ​The company was founded in 2018 by Rachel Clowes and Vanessa Smer-Barreto. Since then, the company has performed a wide range of repertoire including The Sleeping Beauty, A Midsummer's Night Dream, and Sylvia. We have performed sell out runs at the 2022 and 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Have a look at our Productions both past and present for more information. ​We hold weekly rehearsals which consist of a warm up class followed by repertoire for the upcoming production. We welcome dancers from an improver or above level to come an audition at the start of each production. For more information see our Classes and Rehearsals page.
Rachel Clowes - Director
Rachel grew up in Perth, Australia and has always loved to dance but did not start her formal training until the age of 11 where she was trained in jazz, ballet, contemporary, hip hop, tap, and cheerleading. She has also dabbled in acrobatics, highland dancing and flamenco. Since moving to Edinburgh her focus has turned towards ballet, mainly thanks to Edinburgh Ballet Theatre.
With many years of teaching various ages, Rachel enjoys being able to provide adults the opportunity to perform through EBT, an opportunity not may adults get to experience. When not dancing, Rachel can be found working as a physiotherapist, sewing and attending weekend ballet retreats.
Vanessa Smer-Barreto - Director
Vanessa started her ballet journey at age four in her hometown of Cd Victoria, Mexico. As a teenager she also practiced multiple sports, an experience that has influenced her approach to training in dance. Since moving to Edinburgh in 2013, the community she has helped build through EBT is a great source of fulfillment for her, as she greatly values the creative output it offers to adult dancers and the group's contributions to this city's vibrant artistic scene.
She enjoys being involved in the evolutionary process dancers take to become communicative artists, coming up with novel ideas for classes and performances. Away from the studio, Vanessa is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh, and enjoys reading in her very small amount of free time.
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