The Royal Ballet School (White Lodge)

General information

The Royal Ballet School is one of the world’s greatest centres of classical ballet training, which for generations has produced dancers and choreographers of international renown including Margot Fonteyn, Anya Linden, Kenneth MacMillan, Lynn Seymour, David Wall, Antoinette Sibley, Anthony Dowell, Marguerite Porter, Stephen Jefferies, Darcey Bussell and Jonathan Cope.

And now there’s a new generation making its mark on the world stage, all of whom trained at the Royal Ballet School – Lauren Cuthbertson, Steven McRae, Edward Watson, Christopher Wheeldon and Liam Scarlett to name a few.

Admission to the School is based purely on talent and potential, regardless of academic ability or personal circumstances and 89% of current students rely on financial support to attend the School.

The School offers an eight-year carefully structured dance course, aligned with an extensive academic programme, giving the students the best possible education to equip them for a career in the world of dance.

A founder-member of the Department for Education’s Music and Dance Scheme, the School also has an extensive programme of engagement with the wide community.

Its Outreach Programme offers an extensive Associate Programme which provides pre-vocational training for 8-15 year olds across eight national centres: Birmingham, Bristol, Eastleigh, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Totnes and its two-week International Summer School welcomes students from every corner of the globe. Former professional dancers can pursue a comprehensive teacher training course, enabling them to re-enter the dance world as professional teachers.