Royal Ballet First Soloist Itziar Mendizabal announced as new Upper School ballet teacher
The Royal Ballet School is delighted to announce that Itziar Mendizabal, First Soloist of The Royal Ballet, will join the Upper School as a ballet teacher in the new academic year.
This appointment marks a significant addition to the School’s artistic faculty as Itziar transitions from an outstanding 15-year performance career with The Royal Ballet to mentoring and nurturing the next generation of dancers.
Born in Hondarribia, Spain, Itziar trained at the Elvira Ubierna and the Víctor Ullate ballet schools. She joined the Víctor Ullate Ballet Comunidad de Madrid in 1997, then joined Zürich Ballet as a demi-soloist in 2003. In 2006, she joined Leipzig Ballet as a soloist and was promoted to principal dancer in 2008, before leaving to join The Royal Ballet in 2010 as a First Soloist.
Itziar has appeared as a guest artist with companies including Karlsruhe Ballet, Opéra National de Bordeaux and in Verona, Riga and Bilbao. She was nominated for the 2009 Benois de la danse and that year was named Best New Artist by the Asociación de Profesionales de Danza de Guipúzcoa. In 2022 she received the Amigo de Honor award from Casa de la Danza de Logrono.
In 2014, Itziar completed The Royal Ballet School’s Professional Dancers Teachers Course and has guest taught at Intensive Courses since then. She also gained the French teaching qualification, the Diplôme d’État de Professeur de Danse.
Itziar brings a wealth of expertise to The Royal Ballet School as an artist and private coach. Her understanding and respect of the demands of classical ballet at the highest level, combined with her diverse repertory experience across a range of companies and passion for teaching, make her uniquely equipped to guide students through the final phase of their training and prepare them for professional success.
Iain Mackay, Artistic Director of The Royal Ballet School, said:
‘We are delighted to welcome Itziar to The Royal Ballet School as a teacher at Upper School. Itziar is a remarkable artist, and her wealth of stage experience, artistic insight and deep understanding of classical and contemporary repertoire will be invaluable to the School. She has played a significant role in our Artistic team in recent years as a guest teacher, demonstrating her passion for teaching and inspiring the next generation of dancers. Our students will benefit immensely from her guidance, and she will bring huge care, inspiration and dedication to their training and development. We congratulate Itziar on her extraordinary career and are excited to share this next chapter with her.’
Itziar Mendizabal said of her career and new appointment:
‘I am filled with immense gratitude for all the opportunities I received at The Royal Ballet, a place that has been more than a stage or a workplace; it has been my home for the past 15 years. I will be forever thankful. As I step away from the stage, I am filled with excitement for this next chapter at The Royal Ballet School. Teaching has been a long-standing passion of mine, and I feel truly honoured and privileged to be part of such a remarkable institution. I come eager to share all that almost 28 years on stage have taught me, and to support the next generation as they grow, flourish and pursue their own dreams.’
Itziar will take her final bow as the Queen of Hearts in Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at the matinee on Saturday 28 June, before embarking on her next chapter with the School.
We look forward to welcoming Itziar to the School in September.
Cover image: Itziar Mendizabal in The Firebird, The Royal Ballet © 2019 The Royal Ballet. Photographed by Tristram Kenton.
