Love after the Lodge: four alumni share their love stories for Valentine’s Day 

The Royal Ballet School brings together like-minded young people who share a love of ballet. However, as they get older, that love can grow beyond the art form. Alumni Christopher Saunders, Tracy (née Brown) Saunders, Jenny (née Plank) Porter and Paul Porter shared their stories, from first meeting as classmates at White Lodge to connecting (and reconnecting) in their professional lives.  

Christopher Saunders and Tracy (née Brown) Saunders 

Christopher joined White Lodge in 1975 at the age of 11. Tracy joined two years later, entering the same year group as Christopher, and they progressed through Upper School together. They both graduated into The Royal Ballet in 1983, Christopher in February and Tracy in September. 

‘We had a wonderful experience at both White Lodge and Upper School. Our favourite memories were the lifelong friendships we made, our wonderful teachers, both academic and artistic, and performing in the School performances and with The Royal Ballet. One of our favourite memories together was performing Act 2 of Swan Lake (Odette & Prince Siegfried) in the School Performance at Sadlers Wells Theatre (1982).’  

The pair also performed Giselle at the Royal Opera House while at the School, Tracy as Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, and Christopher as the Duke of Courland. Christopher also performed in Rudolf Nureyev’s The Nutcracker (1978) in Year 8, and they both performed with the Company in Pre-professional Year.  

They married in 1990 and performed with The Royal Ballet for 15 years. ‘We were lucky enough to tour to many countries, even taking our young family with us from 1994-98. During those 15 years, we got to perform together on occasion. Those moments were very special for us – the White pas de deux from Les Patineurs, the Lovers in The Dream and Humans in Still Life at The Penguin Cafe. 

Tracy reached the rank of First Soloist and performed a wide variety of roles throughout her career. In 1998, she retired to raise their three boys. Christopher is still with The Royal Ballet, where he works as Rehearsal Director and Principal Character Artist.  

‘We feel incredibly lucky to have shared the extraordinary experience of meeting at White Lodge and building such a wonderful life together.’ 

Jenny (née Plank) and Paul Porter 

Jenny attended the School from 1961-1968, and Paul attended the School from 1963-1968. Although they bonded at White Lodge, their story took a bit more time to develop. Jenny recalled their journey to rekindling their connection: 

‘The first time I saw Paul was in September 1963. I fancied him then, and I still fancy him now. He joined in Year 8 when I was already in Year 9. In my final year at White Lodge, we became romantically involved. We both got into trouble once, and punishments followed. Paul had to sweep up the leaves, and, as I was music prefect, I had to work out the practice timetables for all the students who learnt a musical instrument! However, that put me in good stead for the future when I had my own school. 

Paul and I met occasionally over the years, and I remember when he came to perform in the theatre where I used to work in Vienna. My first husband said I should come to the canteen after taking my then 10-year-old daughter to Sunday school because there was someone there who I knew. We did so and afterwards my daughter, Natalie, told everyone, ‘My mummy ran and jumped up onto a strange man!’ It was Paul. Consequently, Paul was invited to her 11th birthday party, where he won a pair of tights in the pass-the-parcel game. 

In 1997, both Paul and I went to the School’s 40th anniversary at White Lodge. The last time we had seen each other was at Natalie’s birthday party in 1987. I took my parents with me, and my mum said there was electricity in the air. We arranged to meet a few weeks later. In 1998, I moved to Cologne to be with Paul. In 2000, we relocated to the UK and married in July that year.’