Sarah Kundi & Jo De Souza: A Special Collaboration
On September 2nd, we had the pleasure of welcoming Sarah Kundi to our studio for a memorable day at our 2025 Senior Summer Intensive. Sarah is an enthusiastic teacher who comes with a remarkable depth of knowledge and experience. Her commitment to her craft and her inspiring teaching style created a wonderful atmosphere for all. We feel incredibly lucky to have had her with us!
Sarah was born in London, UK into Indian heritage, where she undertook her professional training at Central School of Ballet. Upon graduation Sarah pursued her first job at Northern Ballet, then went on to dance with Ballet Black, where she was nominated for a Critic’s Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Female Performance in the Classical sector in 2010, for Will Tuckett’s ‘Depouillement’. Sarah finished her performing career as a First Artist with English National Ballet Summer 2023, where she was awarded the ‘Corps de Ballet Award’ on behalf of English National Ballet in 2017.
Her repertory with English National Ballet included ‘Myrtha’ in Akram Khan’s Giselle, ‘Doctor’ in Akram Khan’s Creature, ‘Stepmother Hortensia’ in Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella, ‘The Queen’ in Jerome Robbins The Cage, Pina Bausch’s ‘Sacre du Printemps’, Mats Ek’s ‘Rite of Spring’, Kenneth Macmillan’s ‘Song of the Earth’, William Forsythe’s ‘In the Middle Somewhat Elevated’, ‘Approximate Sonata’ & ‘Playlist EP’, ‘Carabosse’ in Sleeping Beauty, ‘Madge’ in La Sylphide. Plus multiple roles in Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Giselle, Le Corsaire, Coppelia, Raymonda, Romeo & Juliet, La Sylphide, Manon and Etudes.
Whilst with ENB, Sarah was an Advisor and Facilitator of English National Ballets Pipeline Project, ‘Ballet Futures’, an artistic training programme for children from underrepresented backgrounds. Sarah also coached young upcoming dancers in the company for the annual ‘Emerging Dancer Competition’ over her last three years with the company.
She has been invited to teach at various summer schools including the Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet School, Central School of Ballet and Yorkshire Ballet Seminars. In 2022, Sarah completed her Teachers Training Diploma with the Royal Ballet School, and joined the Royal Ballet School in September 2023 as a ballet teacher.
‘I first met Jo de Souza when I was 14 and she was guesting in a production of The Nutcracker. I remember being so in awe and inspired by this woman, as not only was she a beautiful dancer, but she and I looked the same which I guess on some level I really resonated with.
Jo was the first dancer of similar heritage and culture as I, and to cross paths with her so early on in the midst of my training was such an impacting moment for me which drove me to continue to pursue ballet and inevitably took me on my own wonderful unique journey.’
– Sarah Kundi
