Senior Associate Programme
Our Senior Associate Programme is for students aged 14-16 who wish to take class with The Royal Ballet School, alongside their regular ballet classes.
Our Senior Associates are in school years 10 and 11.
Classes run from September to June in London, Birmingham and Leeds, and in Manchester from September 2026.
Benefits
- A developed understanding of The Royal Ballet School System of Training
- Enhanced ballet training with the view to a full-time vocational education
- Dance with students of a similar age who share the same passion and drive for a career in dance
- The creation of lifelong friendships.Â
Classes include
- Body conditioning
- Classical class
- Centre work
- Allegro
- Repertoire.
Opportunities
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The School aims to invite all Associate students to attend one pre-general rehearsal at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden during the year
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In addition, we invite students to attend a workshop held at the Upper School to enhance their training
- Occasionally, Associates are asked to take part in productions by The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and visiting companies.
Eligibility
- Students aged 14-15 by 31 August 2026 (apply in school years 9 or 10)
- Demonstrable commitment to the study of classical ballet
- Students who select female training must be en pointe
- Ability to travel to our London, Manchester or Birmingham centre for classes on Saturdays or to our Leeds centre for classes on Sundays.
How to apply
Applications for our Mid/Senior/Advanced Associate programmes open in September and close in October. Preliminary auditions take place from November to January. All auditions are for courses which start the following September. You can apply for our full-time training and Mid/Senior/Advanced Associate programmes in the same application.
We offer all applicants who submit their application by the closing date a preliminary audition. Our auditions are held at our centres in Bath, Birmingham, Cardiff, Eastleigh, Edinburgh, Leeds, London and Manchester.
Please visit our Auditions page to find out how to apply to the programme.