The
Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous
classical ballet schools in the world
[1][2][3] and is the associate school of
The Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the
Royal Opera House in
London. The school comprises a lower school (11-16yrs) based at
White Lodge, Richmond Park, and an upper school (from 16yrs) based in purpose built studios on Floral Street in
Covent Garden, which also have direct access to the
Royal Opera House. The school exists exclusively to provide specialist
co-educational training in classical ballet, with graduates achieving employment with professional ballet companies worldwide. The Royal Ballet School is most noted for training some of the most celebrated ballet dancers and choreographers of the 20th century, including
Dame Margot Fonteyn,
Dame Beryl Grey,
Sir Kenneth MacMillan,
Darcey Bussell and
Alessandra Ferri. The Royal Ballet School also trained
Dame Monica Mason, a former ballerina of the Royal Ballet, who is now the companies' Artistic Director. Graduates of the school have also achieved employment in
musical theatre,
contemporary and
jazz dance, television and film.
In 1926, the Irish-born dancer Ninette de Valois founded the Academy of Choreographic Art,[4] a dance school for girls and the predecessor of today's Royal Ballet School. Her intention was to form a repertory ballet company and school, leading her to collaborate with the English theatrical producer and theatre owner Lilian Baylis.
Baylis owned the Old Vic theatre and acquired Sadler's Wells theatre in 1925. In 1928, she engaged de Valois to stage dance performances at both theatres and she re-opened Sadler's Wells theatre in 1931, with de Valois' school moving into studios on the site. The school became the Vic-Wells Ballet School teaching both boys and girls and at the same time, the Vic-Wells Ballet Company was formed using students of the school and other notable dancers of the era. Both the school and the ballet company developed quickly, becoming established at Sadler's Wells theatre as the Sadler's Wells Ballet School and Company. In 1946, the company moved to become the resident ballet company at the newly re-opened Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and as a result, in 1947 the school moved from Sadler's Wells Theatre to premises in Barons Court, with academic education being introduced for younger students.
Following rapid expansion, in 1955 the school secured the premises at White Lodge in Richmond Park, London. This was established as the Royal Ballet Lower School, a residential boarding school for children aged 11–16, combining general education and vocational ballet training. The Royal Ballet Upper School was established at the schools existing premises in Barons Court, with students studying ballet on a full time basis between the ages of 16–19.
