The Royal Ballet School announces its 2024 Summer Performances
The Royal Ballet School’s Summer Performances are the highlight of the School calendar and a showcase of the extraordinary dedication and passion our students apply to their training throughout the year.
Students from White Lodge and Upper School will showcase their talent in an eight-show season across three venues, allowing audiences of family, friends, supporters and ballet enthusiasts the opportunity to see the rising ballet stars of the future.
Ranging in age from 11 to 19, dancers will return to the idyllic open-air Opera Holland Park for five performances in late June. Students will also perform at the Next Generation Festival at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre in June, and end with a matinée performance on the revered Royal Opera House main stage on Saturday 6 July.
Artistic Director Christopher Powney has chosen a bold selection of works to showcase the technical prowess and artistry of the School’s students. This season celebrates the breadth of the art form – highlighting the next generation of choreographic voices in a series of new works while paying homage to the timeless foundations of classical ballet.
As Founding Choreographer of The Royal Ballet, we honour Frederick Ashton’s legacy by showcasing his pas de deux from Rhapsody set to Rachmaninov’s score and the elegant La Valse, set in 19th century Imperial Vienna.
Continuing the School’s legacy of classical ballet excellence, the programme will feature excerpts from Marius Petipa’s much-loved Paquita, including a joyful Mazurka performed by White Lodge students, and excerpts from Giselle Act I.
The School will also present Helgi Tómasson’s virtuosic Concerto Grosso with five male soloists and Didy Veldman’s circus-like TooT, created for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal in 2008 and first performed by the School six years ago. Our students will showcase their ability to balance artistic expression and technique with Jerome Robbins’ satirical Mistake Waltz, set to Chopin’s Waltz in E Minor.
Two new creations crafted by alumni Gemma Bond and Ashley Page, specially created for our students, will premiere on stage at Opera Holland Park and the Royal Opera House. School alumnus and First Artist of The Royal Ballet, Joshua Junker, will work with Upper School students to stage his piece Remembrance, originally choreographed for Dutch National Ballet Junior Company in 2023.
Before the curtains close on our 2024 season at the Royal Opera House, our matinée performance will culminate in the joyous Grand Défilé, bringing all 220 students of the School together on stage.
