100 stories: Iain Mackay

As part of our centenary year, we are featuring 100 stories that make up The Royal Ballet School’s past, present and future. Today, we share the story of The Royal Ballet School’s Artistic Director, Iain Mackay, alum and former Principal dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Whilst attending local ballet classes in Glasgow, Mackay began training with The Royal Ballet School as a Senior Associate before joining Upper School. Upon graduating, Mackay joined Birmingham Royal Ballet, under the direction of Sir David Bintley, where he rose rapidly through the ranks and was promoted to Principal in 2003. He danced with Corella Ballet Spain from 2007 to 2009 before returning to Birmingham Royal Ballet to dance until his retirement in 2017.

Iain Mackay attending a Royal Ballet School Summer Intensive at White Lodge (left) and performing with Birmingham Royal Ballet as Albrecht in Giselle (right).

Throughout his career, Mackay performed leading roles in a vast range of company repertoire, from heritage classical to modern work. He worked with an extensive list of leading international choreographers, including David Bintley, Christopher Wheeldon, Kim Brandstrup, Angel Corella, Jessica Lang, Natalia Makarova, Nahid Siddiqui and Stanton Welch. He also performed as an international guest artist throughout his career. Alongside this, Mackay taught company class, led rehearsals and individually coached dancers for performance.

After retiring from performing, Mackay was Director of the Yorkshire Ballet Seminars, working to expand the charity’s work and steering them through COVID-19. He was appointed The Royal Ballet School’s International Artistic Manager in November 2021, responsible for all international courses and auditions, building partnerships and developing the School’s reach as a globally renowned centre of excellence. He served as a Governor of The Royal Ballet Companies from 2019 – 2021.

He has also founded two initiatives demonstrating his commitment to widening access to dance for all: Open Door Dance, a pop-up dance company that performed at locations around Birmingham, and Imovers Dance Club, an inclusive community dance club for young people.

In 2024, Mackay was appointed Artistic Director of The Royal Ballet School.

Ballet has changed my life, and I want to give back. If I can create opportunities for the next generation of artists to push boundaries and reshape ballet, that’s incredibly rewarding. I’ve had amazing experiences that opened doors I never expected, so when this role came up, I thought this is something I could dedicate my knowledge, passion and energy to. I’m inspired by the energy of the students and their determination.

My vision for the School is simple: to create opportunities for every single young person we have the privilege of teaching to thrive. Our responsibility is to cultivate an environment where our students can become more than they imagined. We’re setting a benchmark for dance education, focusing on initiatives looking at the long term health and wellbeing of dancers, adopting supplementary training like strength and conditioning and putting healthcare at the forefront of everything, to help young people become the best dancers they can be.

Find out more about Mackay’s career in the video below, featuring his Creative Artist Talk given to our Upper School students in 2024.