Alumna Rebecca Myles Stewart on collaborating with Devon Healey for World Ballet Day choreography
School alumna and Royal Ballet Artist Rebecca Myles Stewart was a featured choreographer in this year’s World Ballet Day celebrations. After a brief hiatus, World Ballet Day returned on 12 November 2025 with a refreshed format. Curated and conceived by choreographer Robert Binet, the global celebration featured international companies all responding to the same theme: radical accessibility.
The Royal Ballet’s 90-minute livestream featured a compilation of works from renowned choreographers Sir Wayne McGregor, Bim Malcomson and Tiler Peck alongside up-and-coming talent, Rebecca. Each worked individually with Devon Healey, a blind artist and assistant professor of Disability Studies who specialises in Immersive Descriptive Audio, to create a portion of the six-minute long original work.
I was asked to create a minute of choreography to Max Richter’s music while working with Devon to create the Immersive Descriptive Audio for my section. I gave her a few words to help her create the audio description.
Working and speaking with her has been so thought-provoking. I learned that dance is so much deeper than what meets the eye. With every small step and movement, such as going up onto pointe, an inner dialogue exists that works to physicalise what we dancers have become so accustomed to. It’s almost innate.
It wasn’t until I was asked to explain the feeling of movement that I fully realised that this inner dialogue was even present. I’ve thought so much more about how movement feels rather than just how it looks.
I hope that viewers will learn that dancing is deeply impactful, not just surface level. It can be described in a way that captures the true essence of what it feels like to dance, allowing all audience members to experience such a special art form.
Rebecca in rehearsal with Devon and First Artist Madison Bailey
Rebecca joined the School in 1st Year in 2022, where she began developing her choreographic voice. Current 1st Year students also participated in World Ballet Day, exploring movement and choreography in a workshop with Devon, Robert and Immersive Descriptive Audio.
Rebecca created her piece, How It Ends, for the School’s 2023 Ursula Moreton Emerging Choreographer programme. This piece was then developed for our 2023 Summer Performances at Opera Holland Park and later chosen for the Black History Month festival, Rhythm in Resilience, presented by The Royal Ballet.
Having the opportunity to choreograph in School was amazing. It allowed me to experience the feeling of being at the front of the studio and in charge of creative decisions, which was not at all what I was used to as a student. I learnt quite a bit about managing groups of people, being productive and using my time efficiently. I’m so glad I was able to choreograph during my time as an Upper School student. It provided me with the necessary skills to create new work as a professional.
Rebecca (far right) taking a bow in her piece, How It Ends, at Opera Holland Park in 2023
Rebecca’s dream to join the School and the Company began when she watched a World Ballet Day livestream as a young student. Now, as a professional dancer, she reflects on how far she’s come from being a viewer to now participating in this global event as a representative of The Royal Ballet.
It feels really surreal. As a young student living in America, I dreamt of dancing with this company, or at the very least being able to see them perform one day. London seemed so far away then, and I still get these ‘pinch-me’ moments every now and again. I’m in disbelief that this is actually my reality.
Participating in this year’s World Ballet Day is so full-circle because these livestreams truly are the reason that I discovered The Royal Ballet in the first place. It’s super special to be a part of, and I am sincerely grateful to have been given this opportunity.
Watch the World Ballet Day recorded livestream here:
