Royal Ballet School | |
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![]() Sign board at White Lodge showing school crest | |
Location | |
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England | |
Information | |
Type | Private school |
Motto | "Strength and Grace" |
Established | 1926 |
Founder | Dame Ninette de Valois |
Department for Education URN | 102947 Tables |
Artistic Director | Christopher Powney |
Gender | Mixed |
Age | 11 to 19 |
Enrolment | 221 as of April 2022[update] |
Publication | Encore |
Affiliations | The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet |
Advisory Council | Carlos Acosta CBE David Bintley, CBE Dame Darcey Bussell, DBE Sir Anthony Dowell, CBE Kevin O'Hare CBE Dame Antoinette Sibley, DBE Sir Peter Wright, CBE |
Website | www |
The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training[1][2] founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially for the Royal Ballet (based at the Royal Opera House in London) and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Admission to the school is based purely on dancing talent and potential, regardless of academic ability or personal circumstances, and 90% of current students rely on financial support to attend the school.[3] The school is based at two sites, White Lodge, Richmond Park (for students aged 11–16) and Covent Garden (for students from 16 to 19 years old) based in purpose-built studios on Floral Street, adjacent to the Royal Opera House.
The Royal Ballet School has produced dancers and choreographers of international renown, including Dame Margot Fonteyn, Dame Beryl Grey, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Dame Darcey Bussell, Alessandra Ferri, Viviana Durante, and Sergei Polunin, as well as the current director of The Royal Ballet, Kevin O'Hare. Graduates of the school have also achieved employment in musical theatre, contemporary and jazz dance, television and film.