The Royal Ballet School partners with PEBE for sports bra fitting and education 

The Royal Ballet School is proud to have partnered with PEBE, a leader in performance sports bra innovation, to deliver a workshop on breast health and personal sports bra fittings for our female students. This partnership marks a significant step forward in supporting the health, comfort, and performance of our female dancers, ensuring they are equipped with expert education and guidance to support their training needs.  

Elsa Mackechnie, School Nurse and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, expressed her excitement about the initiative: 

We are proud to have partnered with PEBE to take this forward-thinking step in supporting our female students’ health and wellbeing. For the first time, our dancers have been professionally fitted for sports bras, ensuring they receive the comfort and support they need to perform at their best. The students were delighted with the experience, and it has been incredible to see their confidence grow knowing they have the right support in place. 

The workshop, which was delivered to all our female students, outlined the importance of breast health and the benefits of wearing a sports bra for athletic performance, followed by a professional fitting session in which the students were given a personal size card that they can take shopping with them. The students were thrilled with the experience, with one 1st Year student remarking, ‘it was the first time I had ever been measured for a bra.’ 

Parents were also given an online presentation by PEBE ahead of the students’ workshop highlighting why breast health matters in dance and what their children could expect from the fitting day itself. 

The workshops were led by PEBE’s founders, Lucy Horsell and Charlotte Gill, who shared their expertise in breast biomechanics and the challenges surrounding the sports bra industry: 

One of the biggest challenges in the sports bra world is the lack of regulation within the products available. Our products are driven by science and innovation. We have been independently tested against over 400 sports bras at the University of Portsmouth, the world leaders in biomechanical testing, to ensure best fit and support. 

The initiative is part of a broader commitment to prioritise female athlete health and wellbeing at the School. As part of the session, students learned about the biomechanics of breast health, posture, acceleration, body positioning, and energy exertion. By ensuring that students have well-fitted sports bras, we aim to reduce the risk of injury and improve performance, whether in class, training, or performance settings. 

Lucy also spoke of her hopes for the lifelong benefits of education like this: 

It’s not just about getting measured, it’s about feeling that fit, knowing how it should feel on your body. It’s about body literacy and feeling comfortable in the skin you’re in and I think any woman, or man, can relate to that. 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if one day in the future there was women out there who was shopping in the high street with their friends and said I’ve always known my bra size because I went to The Royal Ballet School. The legacy is that they’ve received this experience and education that sets them up for life well beyond their dancing career. 

The initiative is a step in the right direction for the health of young female dancers. We are proud to be one of the first schools offering this initiative and know we won’t be the last. Our priority is the health and wellbeing of our students, and this workshop is just one of the many steps forward in supporting our students as they pursue their passion for ballet.