100 stories: Princess Margaret 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 Princess Margaret, President of The Royal Ballet School from 1956-2002. HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was born on 21 August 1930, the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, and […]
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100 stories: Karen Paisey 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 alum Karen Paisey, former Principal of The Royal Ballet, who is closing a chapter on a remarkable 35 years of teaching with The Royal Ballet School’s Associate Programme. Karen joined the School aged 10 and trained at both White Lodge and
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Alum Louise Flanagan on designing the costumes for Cathy Marston’s A Line in Reflection We were thrilled to welcome alum Louise Flanagan back to the School this year to design the costumes for fellow alum Cathy Marston’s new work, A Line in Reflection, created especially for our Centenary Summer Performances. Louise drew from her experience
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100 stories – Anthony Dowell and Antoinette Sibley 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 Anthony Dowell and Antoinette Sibley, a celebrated Principal partnership in The Royal Ballet. The British prima ballerina Dame Antoinette Sibley was born in Bromley, Kent on 27 February 1939. After starting her ballet studies at
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100 stories: Christopher Saunders 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 alum, Rehearsal Director and Principal Character Artist of The Royal Ballet Christopher Saunders. Christopher joined White Lodge in 1975 at the age of 11 and joined The Royal Ballet in 1983. He celebrated 40
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100 stories: Barbara Fewster 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 alum Barbara Fewster, former Ballet Principal and Associate Director of the School. Barbara was born 4 September 1928 and began dancing at the Wessex School in Bournemouth. She joined the Sadler’s Wells
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100 stories: Lesley Collier 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 former Principal and rèpetiteur at The Royal Ballet Lesley Collier CBE. Lesley was born in Orpington, Kent and joined The Royal Ballet School at White Lodge aged 11. After graduating from Upper School, she
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‘Refine all the time:’ alum Samara Downs on staging Checkmate and Swan Lake for our Summer Performances School alum and Birmingham Royal Ballet Principal dancer Samara Downs recently returned to the School to set Ninette de Valois’s Checkmate and Peter Wright’s Swan Lake on our Upper School students for our 2026 Summer Performances. She has previously worked with our students on Frederick Ashton’s La Valse for our 2024 Summer Performances. Samara talked to us about her experience working with the students after a Swan Lake Spanish divertissement rehearsal. ‘The students were
100 stories: Lauren Cuthbertson 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 alum Lauren Cuthbertson, now Guest Principal Artist of The Royal Ballet and current student of our Diploma of Dance Teaching, and how she has come full circle through the ecosystem of the School. When Lauren Cuthbertson
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Alum and artist Jake Walker on creating movement through brushstrokes From The Royal Ballet School to Slade School of Fine Art, alum Jake Walker has expanded his artistry in exciting, multidisciplinary forms. He returned to the School for the first time in over a decade this April, reminiscing on his time in the Associate Programme and full-time training at White Lodge and reflecting on how his
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