When Chelsea Ballet was founded in 1967 by Ballet Rambert soloist, the late Thelma Litster, the group’s mission was a simple one – to give amateur ballet enthusiasts a chance to take to the stage, writes Will Gore.

After Litster’s death in 2002, her daughter Louise Hudson took up the reins and, next weekend, the group will once again perform its annual Christmas show at Queen Charlotte Hall in the Parkshot Centre, Richmond.

This year’s programme is a triple bill featuring performances of Glazunov’s The Seasons, an excerpt from Paquita and Inuyasha – a new ballet based on a Japanese anime cartoon series.

Hudson, 44, says that the pieces performed in this show reflect the interests of the group, with the inclusion of the Glazunov holding personal significance for her.

“My mother choreographed it around eight years ago and I thought it would be nice to resurrect it,” she explains.

“The Inuyasha was conceived by one of our members, Cassandra Jacobs. Her children were watching this programme, Inuyasha, and she was bowled over by it – it is a Japanese cartoon all about demons and magic.

“She asked me if she could choreograph something based on it. The Glazunov and Paquita features really pretty music and the Inuyasha is new and different.”

This year’s Christmas performance will mark an end of an era for Chelsea Ballet. The group’s first performance at the Queen Charlotte Hall took place in 1991 but this year’s performance will be the last there for a while as the venue will soon be closing for refurbishments.

During its time in Richmond, Chelsea Ballet has built up a loyal audience and Hudson says the group itself is extremely tight-knit.

“Members have moved to Australia and Canada but they stay in touch,” she says.

“We are one big happy family. We had a 40th anniversary celebration and we mixed up the tables so we had old members mixed up with younger members – lots of stories were flying around!”

Following her mother’s lead, Hudson maintains Chelsea Ballet’s ethos of keeping the membership limited to exclude professional ballet dancers, although a number of former trainees and professionals, including Hudson herself, are members.

“I was with Chelsea Ballet from the age of seven,” she says.

“I trained to be a professional but I have double curvature of the spine, something that isn’t conducive to a ballet career.

“We are not a professional outfit, which makes it difficult because people have an outside life and you can never guarantee that you will have everyone at the rehearsals.”

Chelsea Ballet, Queen Charlotte Hall, Parkshot Centre, Richmond, December 12 (2.30pm and 7.30pm) and December 13 (2.30pm), £10/£7, 07867 525114, ticketsource.co. uk/chelseaball