Peggy Hawkins Fundraising Gala

Anthony Van Laast CBE is a patron of The Place.

Anthony trained at the London School of Contemporary Dance, and later joining the resident London Contemporary Dance Theatre company as both performer and choreographer. As a choreographer he has received international acclaim.

Theatre credits include: Tina The Musical – worldwide (Outer Circle Critics Award, Tony Award nomination); Mamma Mia! – worldwide (Dora Mavor Moore Award, Helpman Award nomination); Sister Act – worldwide (Olivier Award nomination); Side Show – Broadway (Hayes Award nomination); Hair – Old Vic (Olivier Award nomination); Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Song and Dance – worldwide (Green Room Award); Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat – worldwide (Olivier Award nomination, Dramalogue Award); Bombay Dreams – London, Broadway (Tony Award nomination); Candide – Old Vic (Olivier Award for best musical).

Film work includes: Beauty and the Beast; Mamma Mia! Here we Go Again; Mamma Mia!; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1; Never Say Never Again; Excalibur; Hope and Glory.

In 1999 he was awarded the MBE for services to dance and choreography, in 2018 he was awarded the CBE for services to dance and choreography and in 2019 he became an Honorary Doctor of the Arts.

The Peggy Hawkins Fund was created by Anthony Van Laast CBE and Pernille Charrington, in memory of Peggy Hawkins, whose life was dedicated to teaching dance and choreography. Peggy was Anthony’s mother, and Pernille’s devoted friend and colleague.

An ex-Ballet Rambert dancer, Peggy Hawkins was a follower of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze’s Eurhythmics method, which combines learning and experiencing music through improvised movement. Peggy lived and worked in many locations all over the world and taught dance and choreography.

She received the Dalcroze Specialist Certificate in Eurhythmics once back in London, and continued to teach and choreograph well into her eighties in her own school, founded with Pernille Charrington. An accomplished pianist, Peggy also played for classes at London Contemporary Dance School in her spare time.

The Peggy Hawkins Fund is a vital programme within our Student Fund. Founded in 2012 as the Peggy Hawkins Scholarship, the fund was first established to support talented students at London Contemporary Dance School with financial aid and mentoring and career support from Anthony and Pernille.

Since then, it has grown into the Peggy Hawkins Fund, a holistic student wellbeing support fund which has evolved to meet the challenges of the dance students of today. The growth and success of the fund has enabled us to provide even greater support for students. Not only have we been able to support individual students in hardship but as a direct result of the generosity of donors, we have also been able to provide direct support for a greater number of students to support their physical, emotional and social wellbeing aspects of a professional dance training.

Over the years, we have raised over £100,000 for our students and we are truly grateful for the boundless generosity of our wonderful supporters who help us to ensure students are able to thrive at London Contemporary Dance School and graduate with the tools, passion and resilience they need to build fulfilling, life-long and meaningful careers.

If you would like to make a donation to the Peggy Hawkins Fund, please use the donation form at the bottom of this page or visit our Support Us page.