Ursula Moreton Emerging Choreographer 2025
The Royal Ballet School’s commitment to fostering young choreographic talent was on full display at this year’s Ursula Moreton Emerging Choreographer performance. Held at White Lodge, the event offered an inspiring showcase of original works created by students from Years 7, 8, and 9 as part of the Ninette de Valois Choreographic Programme.
Rooted in the School’s long tradition of encouraging creativity, this programme provides students with a unique opportunity to develop their artistic voices from an early stage. Under the guidance of choreographic tutor Rhian Robbins, eleven young choreographers presented works they had devised, drawing on their own interpretations of music, movement, and staging.
The process of crafting these pieces extends beyond choreography alone. Students also gained insight into the professional production process, selecting their own music, and contributing to costume and lighting design. This year, the students further enhanced their understanding of stagecraft through a dedicated lighting workshop with Production and Theatre Technician Daniel Philipson.
The pieces covered themes of transit, time, emotions, and more. Students had the opportunity to introduce their works and share their inspiration and experience before showcasing their choreography to the audience. Year 9 student Filippa said of her piece:
My choreography focuses on the relationship between a train and its passengers. My goal was to represent the motion and mechanics of a train through the dancers’ movement. Through this process, both unite and show the crowded, chaotic, and often fatalistic nature of the train and of life. I was heavily inspired by the music as its unusual instruments have their own independent melodies. Together, they create a chaotic atmosphere which reminded me of the crowded aspects of a train.
There were four viewings of the programme with Thursday’s performance reviewed by an esteemed panel of industry professionals: Diana Cuni Mancini, Andrew McNicol, and Ludo Ondiviela, who provided valuable feedback to help the students refine their choreographic skills. Students will continue to develop their pieces based on the feedback they received.
Panelist Andrew McNicol said of the performance:
What an inspiring afternoon and huge congratulations. It’s wonderful to be back here at White Lodge to witness this performance because my whole choreographic journey started doing exactly this, so it’s wonderful to see you all doing such incredible work. Choreographing on your peers is a very different thing and it’s really interesting to see so many of you working with large groups as well. All of the pieces were filled with so many ideas and I’m very curious to see where you will take this in the future. I hope that this is just the beginning for many of you to continue more choreography. It’s so important and is really the lifeblood of our art form, so it’s incredibly inspiring to see you all already thinking in that way.
© 2025 The Royal Ballet School. Photographed by Photography by ASH.
