Ballet legend Sheena Gough retires

At 89 years old, Sheena Gough still lifts her leg gracefully to the barre, effortlessly demonstrating the moves that have inspired generations of dancers. After 72 years of teaching ballet, Sheena is finally hanging up her ballet shoes. I spoke with the Grande Dame of Scottish ballet during her final class in Edinburgh to reflect on a remarkable life in dance.

It is hard to believe you are 89 and still demonstrating moves with such elegance. How did this journey begin?
I enrolled at the Scottish School of Ballet in Edinburgh when I was 14. By the time I was 17, Anton Dolin, the English dancer and choreographer, noticed me and asked my parents to let me study with Olga Preobrajenska in Paris. That is where it all started. My parents drove me to Paris and dropped me at someone’s flat, they just left me there. It wasn’t even a formal school. Olga taught from her apartment, and dancers came from all over the world to learn from her. Margot Fonteyn was one of my classmates. She was sweet, I remember her struggling with a step. It was all quite the adventure.

You trained with legends, but eventually moved to teaching. How did that happen?
I injured my ankle while doing pointe work in London. My parents brought me back to Edinburgh to recover, and I started helping out at my old school. And, well I discovered I was much happier teaching than performing. I never looked back.

You have been teaching ever since?
Yes, 72 years. And what a joy it has been. I have seen students go on to the Royal Ballet, International Ballet, the British Ballet. One former student called me recently asking for private lessons now that I have retired!

Your students are clearly devoted. Ian Johnston has been attending your classes since 1991, and now brings his son, Sandy.
Yes, inspired by my classes he travels 200 miles round trip from Castle Douglas every week. My students often say ‘There’s nobody else like her’. They make fun and say that they keep hearing my voice “Where’s your face? Where’s the join? Where’s the excitement?”. I know my training was impeccable and I impart the same, I make sure I don’t miss a thing and I know exactly what I aim for, for my students. I know they are all sad that I am retiring.

Do you plan to rest now that you’re retiring?
(Laughing): Rest? I have a garden and a house that need sorting. I want to make it easier for whoever has to tidy up after me when I go. There are decades of costumes and old recital programs stuffed in boxes. Besides, staying busy keeps me on my toes — just not in pointe shoes anymore! And there are scrapbooks waiting to be organized, stories begging to be written down. Retirement just means a new kind of choreography — one that includes pruning roses and reminiscing.

One of your students told us your classes were the highlight of his dance training. What do you say?
My classes work from a scientific background, I pay attention and insist on fundamentals, correct placement, posture and techniques. This makes the dancing improve drastically. All my students were in tears after the final class. That emotion told me I’d done something right — not just taught them to dance, but to feel. Technique is the skeleton, but heart is the soul of every movement.

Tracy Hawkes, who runs the studio where you teach, called you a “Grande Dame.” Please comment.
I guess it is because of my vast knowledge and experience and my teaching for so many years. It is a sad day I know, but it had to come one day. Being called a “Grande Dame” is humbling — it means I have left a mark, and that’s all a teacher can hope for. I may be stepping away from the studio, but a part of me will always echo in the music and mirrors.

Will this really be the end?
(Smiling): That was the plan, but I am already getting calls for private lessons. So, we will see. Dance has a funny way of pulling you back — just when you think you have bowed out; the music starts again. I suppose I’ll always be a teacher at heart, whether in a studio or over a cup of tea. And if I can help even one more dancer find their spark, how could I say no?

Sheena Gough may have stepped out of the studio, but the echo of her voice, her discipline, and her passion for dance will continue to shape generations. As her students say goodbye, one thing is clear—there will never be another quite like her.

Sandip Soparrkar holds a doctorate in world mythology folklore from Pacific University USA, an honorary doctorate in performing arts from the National American University, He is a World Book Record holder, a well-known Ballroom dancer and a Bollywood choreographer who has been honored with three National Excellence awards, one National Achievement Award and Dada Saheb Phalke award by the Government of India. He can be contacted on sandipsoparrkar06@gmail.com