Student choreography shines at Benefact Group’s Service of Celebration at St Paul’s Cathedral

On Wednesday 3 June 2026, eight Pre-professional Year students performed classmate Layla’s site-specific choreography at Benefact Group’s Service of Celebration in St Paul’s Cathedral. 

Left: Pre-professional Year student choreographer Layla; right: the students performing under the dome in St. Paul’s Cathedral

Development Manager Georgina Nash writes of the event: 

After months of rehearsals for Layla’s piece, we were delighted to attend Benefact Group’s Service of Celebration on 3 June, marking them giving £250 million to good causes.   

Benefact Group is kindly donating to our Centenary Fund and is a valued member of the School’s Chair’s Circle Grand Tier. Earlier this year, we were thrilled to be asked if some of our students would like to perform at their special event at St Paul’s Cathedral, marking their extraordinary charitable giving.  

We decided it would be wonderful to have one of the Pre-professional students choreograph a piece specially for the event, and Layla was chosen to do this. The piece was performed by eight fellow Pre-professional students to Bluebird by Alexis French and began with a poem entitled Kindnesses by Ali Rowland, recited by our Chair, Natasha Kaplinsky OBE. 

The day began with an early start for our Pre-professional Year students, who arrived at St Paul’s at 7.30 to rehearse for the performance later that morning. Layla worked with them to finalise the spacing. Then, once in costume, the students rehearsed the piece twice down the cathedral’s aisle and in the space under the dome where they would be performing, accompanied by the School’s Head Pianist Liz Sluman. 

The performance was stunning. The music began, followed by the students dancing down the aisle of St Paul’s as Natasha read the poem. They ended under the central dome and performed a beautiful routine with some skilled partner work and intricate lifts. Towards the end of the performance, golden petals fell from the whispering gallery at the top of the dome onto the dancers as they took their final positions. There was an incredible response from the audience, and Layla received some really wonderful compliments for her work. 

We were honoured to take part in such a momentous occasion and continue to be hugely grateful to Benefact Group for their incredible support of our work. We look forward to continuing this special relationship into the School’s second century. 

Other highlights from the programme included powerful performances from Vicky McClure’s Our Dementia Choir Charity with Craig Mather along with moving readings from Natasha Kaplinsky, Mick Clarke, Julie Kent MBE, JB Gill and Speakers Trust. 

Vicky McClure (Our Dementia Choir) and Natasha Kaplinsky (The Royal Ballet School)

Catja Christensen is the Marketing and Communications Executive at The Royal Ballet School and joined the School in 2025. She enjoys interviewing students, staff and guest artists for news stories and crafting eye-catching newsletters.