The Ninette de Valois Choreographic Programme
From its origins as The Academy of Choreographic Art, The Royal Ballet School has a long tradition of encouraging choreographic work inside its walls. The School’s Founder, Dame Ninette de Valois, was a noted choreographer and championed the nurturing of the creative impulse in emerging young artists at the School. We honour her legacy by maintaining her commitment to fostering creative curiosity and expression and centring choreography in our training to this day.
Through the Ninette de Valois Choreographic Programme, students are supported in experimentation, working with mentors to find their unique choreographic voices.
The School is proud to count some of the most influential, exciting choreographers of our times as its alumni.
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 […]
Frederick Ashton Emerging Choreographer 2026 On Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 May, our 2nd Year students participated in the annual Frederick Ashton Emerging Choreographer performances, held at the Upper School Linden Studio Theatre. Named for the Founding Choreographer of The Royal Ballet, Frederick Ashton, this event invites students to develop and present their own choreography under the guidance of Choreographic Course Coordinator & Tutor Mikaela Polley. The 15 student […]
Ursula Moreton Emerging Choreographer 2026 When Dame Ninette de Valois founded her Academy of Choreographic Art in 1926, she planted the seeds for the world’s leading choreographers to thrive over the next century and beyond. Her dream is truly alive and well, as demonstrated by this year’s edition of the Ursula Moreton Emerging Choreographer, one of three performances in the Ninette […]
100 stories: Choreography at the School 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 important part that choreography plays in the School’s story. ‘Somebody must always be doing something new, or life would get very dull.’ – Dame Ninette de Valois The evolution of the […]
Introducing The Gillian Lynne Award for Choreographic Innovation In honour of renowned dancer, director and choreographer Dame Gillian Lynne’s trailblazing choreographic work and on what would have been her 100th birthday, today we are thrilled to announce the introduction of The Gillian Lynne Award for Choreographic Innovation – an award for students who push the boundaries of ballet and show a fearless approach […]
Rhian Robbins on nurturing the next generation of creative artists through the Kenneth MacMillan Emerging Choreographer The annual Kenneth MacMillan Emerging Choreographer event took place in the second week of December, showcasing our Year 10 and 11 students’ original choreography. The performances were held at White Lodge to admiring audiences of school groups, donors, staff and families. The event is one of three events in our Ninette de Valois Choreographic Programme, which gives students the chance […]
Frederick Ashton Emerging Choreographer 2025 Our second annual Frederick Ashton Emerging Choreographer performances were held in the Upper School Linden Studio Theatre on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 May. The final event in the Ninette de Valois Choreographic Programme for the year, this performance honours the profound significance to the School of the Founding Choreographer […]
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 […]
Celebrating International Choreographers’ Day At The Royal Ballet School, the art of choreography has always been integral to our mission. From the very beginning, we have strived to not only cultivate exceptional dancers but also to foster the creative voices of those who will go on to shape the future of dance. As we celebrate […]
The School has a long history of nurturing the next generation of choreographers, and our annual Kenneth MacMillan Emerging Choreographer event is one example of this. The performances was held last week at White Lodge, where ten students from Year 10 and 11 presented a new piece of choreography, created by them, to a captivated audience of supporters, staff, students, and a panel of industry judges.
The programme today
Three distinct choreographic events happen each academic year:
Ursula Moreton Emerging Choreographer (formerly Ninette de Valois Emerging Choreographer) for White Lodge Years 7, 8 and 9
Kenneth MacMillan Emerging Choreographer for White Lodge Years 10 and 11
Frederick Ashton Emerging Choreographer (formerly Ursula Moreton Emerging Choreographer) for Upper School 2nd Year
Over a period of weeks, students are offered guidance from mentors on developing a choreographic piece, including studio research and improvisation. They experience working as a professional choreographer, considering and inputting into all the elements that make a production successful, including staging, props, lighting and costume design.
Students choreograph on their peers and coach their casts. They then present their pieces to an audience and a panel of mentors and guest artists offering feedback. The panel highlight some of the pieces they feel have potential for future development, and some of these are chosen to be shown at future performances, including the School’s Summer Performances at Opera Holland Park and on the main stage of the Royal Opera House.
Choreography forms part of the students’ academic education as dance studies with a focus on developing choreographic craft. Alongside learning about a range of choreographers and their work, students cover an understanding of timing and space, improvisation, gesture, using music and developing new ideas from ballet principles.
The programme’s origins
De Valois originally established The Royal Ballet School as The Academy of Choreographic Art, highlighting her commitment to the art of choreography at the core of what she intended the School to be.
She invited choreographer Leonide Massine to teach dance composition from 1968-71, and encouraged a further initiative using aspects of Massine’s work from 1975-81 led by Richard Glasstone with Kate Flatt.
From 1990-99, Norman Morrice and David Drew were responsible for guiding interested and talented students and together they nurtured choreographic talent at the School.
In 1999, Gailene Stock invited Kate Flatt and Jennifer Jackson to write a course for choreography. The late Dr Susie Cooper joined them to oversee choreographic work at White Lodge. Elisabetta d’Aloia later joined as an Improvisation Tutor.
In 2019, Mikaela Polley joined as Choreographic Course Coordinator to guide Upper School students in their choreographic process while also setting her own choreography on them. Choreographic Tutor Rhian Robbins joined in 2020 to coach White Lodge students.
Contemporary Programme Manager Didy Veldman joined the School in 2021, encouraging new movement techniques in student choreography.
Graduate choreographers of the School include:
Kenneth MacMillan
John Cranko
John Neumeier
Jiří Kylián
Robert North
David Bintley
Ashley Page
Russell Maliphant
Jonathan Burrows
Michael Clark
William Tuckett
Christopher Wheeldon
Christopher Hampson
Mikaela Polley
David Dawson
Alastair Marriot
Cathy Marston
Alexander Whitley
Andrew McNicol
Charlotte Edmonds
Gemma Bond
Susie Cooper
Kate Flatt
Jennifer Jackson
Jonathan Watkins
Kristen McNally
Joshua Junker
Ludovic Ondiviela
Valentino Zucchetti