Meet new ballet teachers Leanne Cope and Itziar Mendizabal

We are pleased to welcome Leanne Cope and Itziar Mendizabal, both former dancers with The Royal Ballet, and Leanne a former student of the School, to our full-time teaching staff. Leanne joins our White Lodge faculty while Itziar joins Upper School as 2nd Year ladies teacher. Here, they share with us their enthusiasm for joining the renowned Artistic staff, who their own teaching mentors are and what they are most excited for in this upcoming year. 

Leanne, how does it feel to return to the School now as a teacher? Does it bring back memories of your time as a student? 

LC: I feel very honoured to be returning to The Royal Ballet School in its centenary year. I am a true product of the School, having been a Junior Associate in Bristol before joining White Lodge, first with Artistic Director Dame Merle Park and then Gailene Stock. I was also lucky enough to experience both the old Upper School at Talgarth Road and the new facilities at Covent Garden.  

I danced with The Royal Ballet for 10 years with both Dame Monica Mason and Kevin O’Hare as Directors, then I returned to the School to complete the Diploma of Dance Teaching. The School has changed hugely in very positive ways, but its essence and core are still the same. It’s like Hogwarts for ballet: a magical place where the staff guide and inspire the young dancers, helping them achieve their full potential and dreams. I am starting to get used to walking around White Lodge as Miss Cope, but it still feels strange being able to go into the Nelson Room (staff room). 

Itziar, what are some of your highlights from your time in The Royal Ballet? 

IM: I performed for 15 years as a First Soloist with The Royal Ballet, and I loved being able to dance their incredible repertoire, both heritage work as well as working with new choreographers, such as Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor and many others. I think Kenneth MacMillan’s work is what I always wished for as an artist: being able to become those very intricate characters and roles. 

One of the biggest moments for me with the Company was when I danced Tatiana in John Cranko’s Onegin. It was a very special moment in my career, a role that I always wanted to dance. The experience was so enriching and so powerful that I can still feel the emotions that I felt when the curtain came down. 

Have any of your teachers or mentors inspired your teaching style? 

LC: Absolutely. I believe we are all a product of what surrounds us, and we can’t help but be inspired and influenced by those people. I have been so lucky to have had so many lovely teachers, from my first ballet teacher Annette Hind, who inspires young dancers by using their imagination and going beyond physical training. I am teaching a lot of repertoire now, so I have the one and only Christopher Carr (School alum and the Company’s Guest Principal Répétiteur) in my mind. He teaches in such a way you never forget the choreography or the rhymes and songs to go with it. Betty Anderton and Jackie Barrett are also big inspirations of mine. 

IM: I trained with Victor Ullate in Madrid from the age of 14. Before that, I had my teacher, Elvira Ubierna, in a small town, a very small academy, who gave me the best base and the best foundation to build upon. Then, joining the school with Victor Ullate was the best choice I made in my training. His work and his teaching has been so wonderful for so many dancers, and I was lucky to work firsthand with him for so many years. 

What do you most enjoy about teaching? 

LC: I love getting to know the dancers. I think it’s important to try and discover what makes that individual tick as we all learn differently. Helping someone achieve their dreams is one of the most rewarding feelings. I am very much looking forward to seeing the dancers’ growth as young people and artists over this coming school year. 

IM: I love seeing my students thrive and seeing their everyday improvements. I love seeing that smile come out when they realise something has clicked. There’s something so satisfying about seeing how they evolve, how they mature as artists, and feeling like you were a little part of that journey.  

What do you hope the students take away from your classes? 

LC: I hope they feel fulfilled in their minds, bodies and souls. I am very aware that we are nurturing artists. Maybe some random facts too – I  do love a quiz! It is so important to have knowledge of composers, choreographers and even original cast members and the year something was first performed. 

IM: Mainly the love of dance and a passion for this industry, but also self-discipline and that innate want to get further with your own abilities. 

Leanne, what are you most excited for in your first year teaching our full-time students? 

LC: I love how there is never a dull moment. The students are always working towards something: The Nutcracker, solos evenings and choreographic opportunities to name a few, though this upcoming year is particularly special being the centenary. I have wonderful memories of being part of the reopening of the Royal Opera House while I was a student at White Lodge, but I think the celebrations and performance opportunities that are ahead will be a huge highlight in all these young dancers’ performing careers and mine as a teacher, too. 

Itziar, how have your first weeks as a full-time teacher been? 

IM: Already in the few weeks that I have been here, it has been incredibly insightful to see all the work that happens behind the scenes, that nobody sees. The care for the students, and the constant work to make sure that we provide the best education for them, both in the dance studios and in their academics. The huge focus also on mental health and the prevention of injuries – it’s incredible the work that is behind that. I am very blessed and lucky to be able to do this every day now. 

Watch Itziar in the studio with our 2nd Year students below: