100 stories: Thomas Forster MBE As part of our centenary year, we are featuring 100 stories that make up The Royal Ballet School’s past, present and future. Today, we share the story of alum, Thomas Forster MBE. Thomas is a Principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre. He joined The Royal Ballet School first as a Junior Associate then as an Upper School student in 2002. He graduated into […]
100 stories: Thomas Forster MBE Read More »
Past, present, future: the School announce a series of insight events to open centenary year We are excited to kick off our public centenary celebrations with three insight days exploring the past, present and future of the School. Taking place across March 2026, these full-day events will explore the School’s 100-year evolution, examine current thinking and practices, and consider the living legacy of its founder, Dame Ninette de Valois, as
100 stories: Charlotte Edmonds As part of our centenary year, we are featuring 100 stories that make up The Royal Ballet School’s past, present and future. Today, we share the story of alum, Charlotte Edmonds. Driven by a passion for storytelling through movement, Charlotte Edmonds is a choreographer and director whose work occupies a space between mainstream
100 stories: Charlotte Edmonds Read More »
Celebrating International Mentorship Day with a spotlight on the White Lodge buddy system We are marking International Mentoring Day by spotlighting our Years 7 and 8 buddy system – a student mentorship initiative to help new students settle into boarding life and bond across year groups. Each Year 7 student is paired with a Year
100 stories: Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE As part of our centenary year, we are featuring 100 stories that make up The Royal Ballet School’s past, present and future, which will be released over the next 12 months. Today, we share the story of Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE. Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE began his dance journey at the age
100 stories: Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE Read More »
100 stories: Dame Monica Mason As part of our centenary year, we are featuring 100 stories that make up The Royal Ballet School’s past, present and future, which will be released over the next 12 months. Today, we share the story of alum Dame Monica Mason DBE, former Principal dancer, Répétiteur and Director of The Royal Ballet. In 2023, Mason returned to
100 stories: Dame Monica Mason Read More »
Celebrating International Choreographers’ Day with our Next Generation student choreographers To celebrate International Choreographers’ Day, we are reflecting on our 2025 Next Generation Festival at the Linbury Theatre, which featured eleven of our talented student choreographers. These student works were selected from our Ninette de Valois Choreographic Programme. This programme, comprising three performances throughout the year across all year groups, provides an opportunity for emerging artists to experiment and develop their
100 stories: Dame Ninette de Valois To kick off our centenary year, we will be featuring the first of 100 stories that make up The Royal Ballet School’s past, present and future, which will be released over the next 12 months. Our story begins with Founder Dame Ninette de Valois. Dame Ninette was born Edris Stannus on 6 June 1898 in County Wicklow, Ireland. After training at the Lila Field Academy for Children in London,
100 stories: Dame Ninette de Valois Read More »
Rhian Robbins on nurturing the next generation of creative artists through the Kenneth MacMillan Emerging Choreographer The annual Kenneth MacMillan Emerging Choreographer event took place in the second week of December, showcasing our Year 10 and 11 students’ original choreography. The performances were held at White Lodge to admiring audiences of school groups, donors, staff and families. The event is one of three events in our Ninette de Valois Choreographic Programme, which gives students the chance
Five Chance to Dance teachers discuss how our Affiliate Programme intensive validated and enhanced their teaching practices This August, five of the Royal Ballet and Opera’s Chance to Dance artists participated in the School’s week-long Affiliate Programme intensive course. Chance to Dance is a Royal Ballet and Opera programme geared towards supporting and sharing practice between dance artists and teachers to create more opportunities for aspiring young dancers. For over 30 years, Chance to Dance
