TRIBUTES were paid to teacher Ann Maguire, who was murdered at Corpus Christi school in Leeds at last year, at a gala event in the capital on Sunday evening.
Daughter Emma was amongst the music and dance stars who performed at the first Ann Maguire Gala, at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London.
A soloist of the Royal Ballet since 2011, Emma Maguire took to the stage to honour her mother, in support of the newly-established Ann Maguire Arts Education Fund.
Former Royal Ballet star and Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell hosted the event alongside former principal with the Royal Ballet, Jonathan Cope.
Alina Cojocaru of the English National Ballet performed a pas de deux from Liam Scarlett’s No Man’s Land, with her real-life partner, Johan Kobborg.
Royal Ballet principal Steven McRae’s showcased the London premiere of his tap solo Czardas, while Jonathan Watkins’s Musance was accompanied by the Hackney Colliery Band.
Emma performed in two pieces - Kobborg’s Chaplinesque Les Lutins, and a pas de deux from Scarlett’s Asphodel Meadows.
Last April 15-year-old student Will Cornick stabbed Ann Maguire in the back and neck in her classroom at Corpus Christi Catholic College, as she leant over to help another pupil.
The community in Leeds were shocked by the murder of the respected and well-liked 61-year-old who was nearing retirement, after teaching at the same school for 40 years.
The Ann Maguire Arts Education Fund was set up by the Maguire family in the wake of the tragedy, and proceeds from the gala will go towards supporting the development of young people through arts education.
