Join us for a series of three centenary insight events at White Lodge, Upper School and online on 8, 15 and 22 March.
These three events will explore the past, present and future of The Royal Ballet School and its place in the wider cultural landscape through performance, student demonstrations and varied presentations.
The events include live repertoire performances by our Upper School students, featuring a recreation of Dame Ninette de Valois’ The Arts of the Theatre (1925) along with a new choreography by Dr Adesola Akinleye, created especially for this centenary celebration.
Internal speakers will include Artistic Director Iain Mackay, Head of Teacher Training Karen Berry with The Royal Ballet School Healthcare Team and Dr Anna Meadmore. We are also privileged to welcome external guests including Professor Susan Jones, dance critic Sarah Crompton, Dr Susan Crow and Dr Adesola Akinleye.
Guest speakers
Each insight event will begin with an introduction from The Royal Ballet School’s Artistic Director, Iain Mackay and Manager of Special Collections and curator of the centenary insight events, Dr Anna Meadmore.
Ticket prices per day
In-person: £60
Online: £15
Booking opens 4 February 2026
Livestream recordings will be sent to attendees and available to view for 30 days following the event.
Centenary insight: our past
8 March 2026
10.00 – 17.00 GMT
White Lodge, Richmond Park, Richmond, Surrey, TW10 5HR
Revisiting the founding ethos and creative ambition of de Valois’ Academy of Choreographic Art: putting principles into practice
- Iain Mackay, Artist Director of The Royal Ballet School, introduces the series
- Prof Susan Jones, Emeritus Professor of Modern Literature at St. Hilda’s, Oxford, and a former member of Scottish Ballet, sets the historical and cultural context of de Valois’ original School, founded during the inter-war modernist period
- Dr Anna Meadmore, Manager of Special Collections and a teacher of dance history at the School, presents a performance of her 2021 re-creation of de Valois’ early ballet, The Arts of the Theatre (1925), revived in collaboration with Upper School students as part of their final-year degree dissertation
- Andy Granville, Head of the Degree Programme at the Upper School, considers the need for ballet students to become critical thinkers in all aspects of their chosen profession, including dance history and analysis, healthy dance practice and the relevance of ballet and dance performance in a rapidly changing world
- Theatre-writer Heloise Spring presents professional actors in a scripted reading of original letters written by members of the Academy of Choreographic Art, in which they describe the life and work of de Valois’ School in its earliest days
- Concluding panel and audience discussion with invited guests and School staff.
Centenary insight: our present
15 March 2026
10.00 – 17.00 GMT
Upper School, 46 Floral Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DA
Shaping Change: Innovation and Evolution in Ballet Training
- Dr Susie Crow, School alumna, teacher-choreographer, and formerly a member of both Royal Ballet companies, reflects on ‘the Ballet Class’, and the wider education of creative dance artists. She considers how cultural contexts have shaped ballet training in the past and introduces relevant current debates
- Karen Berry, Head of Teacher Training with oversight of the School’s Diploma of Dance Teaching and other teaching programmes, outlines and examines Our Philosophy, Practice and Impact in Action: Research, Deliver, Evolve
- Karen Berry will be joined by members of the School’s Artistic staff, including Vanessa Donkin and Ricardo Cervera, who will lead student demonstrations of current pedagogical practice
- In a short introduction to an in-depth examination of the scientific approach to ballet training and pedagogy, Dr Anna Meadmore considers how the complex ‘athlete and/or artist’ debate has played out in de Valois’ School over time
- Scientific research and innovations in Dancers’ Healthcare: key members of the School’s multi-disciplinary Healthcare team demonstrate how evidence-based healthcare and dancer-teacher training can work together for optimum student outcomes, looking at challenges that arise and considering future objectives. Illustrated by student demonstrations of applied practice
- Concluding panel and audience discussion with Artistic Director Iain Mackay, School staff, and invited guests.
Centenary insight: our future
22 March 2026
10.00 – 17.00 GMT
Upper School, 46 Floral Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DA
Foundational and future aspirations: considering the ongoing impact of the regenerative creative ethos embedded in The Royal Ballet School
- Dr Anna Meadmore (curator of this series of centenary insight days) considers the enduring strengths and possible fault lines in Ninette de Valois’ founding vision for her School – in relation to the teaching of choreography as a composite theatrical form, fostering versatility, and creating a modern ballet repertoire.
- Iain Mackay, graduate of the School, former Principal of Birmingham Royal Ballet and our Artistic Director since 2024, introduces and discusses the School’s unique Ninette de Valois Choreographic Programme. Illustrated by practical student demonstrations and performances of their own work
- Dr Adesola Akinleye, dance artist, choreographer and the editor of the seminal volume (Re:) Claiming Ballet (2021), presents a performance of Excerpts from ‘Sycorax’s Tempest’, a duet, trio and quartet especially created for Upper School students. She considers how the physical language of ballet can be experienced as a creative act of translation between diverse legacies, histories and cultures
- Sarah Crompton, the dance and theatre critic, journalist and writer, hosts a panel including School staff, alumni and current members of The Royal Ballet. The discussion will range across the century-long arc of the three days of insights but focuses on the future relevance of ballet to theatre and wider culture.
