Former English National Ballet dancer Yat-Sen Chang, 49, (pictured at court) is accused of multiple counts of sexual assault
A former English National Ballet principal dancer used his ‘power and prestige’ to grope young dance students, a court has heard.
Yat-Sen Chang, 49, has been charged with 12 counts of sexual assault and two counts of assault by penetration on a female aged 16 or over.
The alleged offences are said to have taken place at the English National Ballet and Young Dancers Academy in London between 2009 and 2016.
Chang, who lives in the German port city of Kiel, has denied all the charges.
Opening Chang’s trial at Isleworth Crown Court, prosecutor Joel Smith said the ‘internationally renowned’ ballet dancer was ‘both famous and revered’ by young dancers and students of ballet.
Mr Smith said Chang used his ‘power and prestige to abuse younger women sexually’.
‘Unfortunately, say the prosecution, he also has a darker side. He used his position to commit sexual offences against young students in his care.
‘Children whom he had been trusted to teach. For his part, he trusted his fame and his respectability would protect him from complaint.’
The alleged offences relate to four female complainants who were aged between 16 and 18 at the time of the incidents.
They accused Chang of touching them inappropriately during massages at the schools.
Mr Smith said the first complainant recalled Chang was breathing heavily while massaging her leg after she complained of a tight muscle, which she described as ‘creepy breathing’.
He said the complainant ‘thought it was a bit weird’ and that it ‘didn’t feel like a sports massage’, saying that he had massaged her ‘in an intimate area’.
She was said to have told him ‘that’s enough’ and she alleged that Chang ‘seemed to look pleased with himself’.
The prosecutor added: ‘As you will see, this is something of a pattern with this defendant.’
Mr Smith added that, after the incident, Chang continued to put the alleged victim ‘in embarrassing and sexual situations’, which he said was ‘part of the grooming behaviour’ he deployed.
Jurors were told the defendant had allegedly undressed in front of the complainant after leading her into the men’s changing rooms.
Chang is pictured (centre) performing The Snow Queen at the English National Ballet in London in 2010. He joined in 1993 after moving to the UK from Cuba, where he was born
The prosecutor said on another occasion, Chang allegedly tried to climb into a shower with her in the girls’ changing rooms.
Mr Smith said Chang’s behaviour became ‘more forceful and more explicit’, describing one alleged incident where the defendant had allegedly sexually assaulted the complainant at his flat after he pinned her on the floor.
‘There could have been no doubt in the defendant’s mind that his attentions were unwanted.
‘In short, it was as plain as the day that [the victim] did not consent to any of the sexual contact.’
A second complainant described how she ‘kind of froze’ while Chang massaged her, Mr Smith said, while another complainant described the alleged offending as ‘scaring me a lot’.
The fourth complainant accused Chang of sexually abusing her in a toilet, causing her to be in pain, Mr Smith said.
Isleworth Crown Court heard Chang (pictured at an earlier hearing) used his ‘power and prestige to abuse younger women sexually’ during his tenure at the English National Ballet
The court heard Chang would be ‘giggling’ or ‘laughing’ as he was allegedly assaulting the students.
Mr Smith told jurors Chang ‘used his position’ to commit sexual offences against young students in his care, adding: ‘Children, whom he had been trusted to teach.
‘For his part, he trusted that his fame and his position would protect him from complaint, or from consequences of his actions.
‘The story of this case is sadly often heard – it is a man with power and prestige using them to abuse younger women.’
One of the alleged victims told her school what had happened in April 2016 and the police were called, the court heard.
Smith explained Chang was interviewed about the allegations in respect to his first two alleged victims in April 2016.
Chang answered questions about his job but made no comment answers to the allegations, it was said.
He told police he had touched one of the girls by ‘correcting her posture’ but made no comment when asked if he went further than that.
Chang joined the English Nation Ballet in 1993 after moving to the UK from Cuba, where he was born. He left the position as principal dancer in 2011.
During his career he has danced leading roles in productions including The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, San Lake, and Romeo and Juliet.
The trial, which is expected to last three weeks, continues.
