At our May meeting, it was a delight to welcome the Royal Ballet’s PrincipalGuest ArtistLauren Cuthbertson.Lauren started by explaining why she had chosen to move from being a Principal to becoming a Guest Artist, following in the footsteps of Sylvie Guillem, Irek Mukhamedov and Carlos Acosta. With two young daughters andstudying for The Royal Ballet School’s Diploma in DanceTeaching, Lauren felt it the right time after 23 years in the Company. Before talking about her performances, Lauren spoke aboutappearing on BBC Radio’sGreat Liveswith Matthew Parris, where she had chosen to learn more about theCompany’s Prima Ballerina AssolutaMargot Fonteyn. She then talked briefly about the opportunities she had to participate in various fashion shows and her regular attendance atHarper’s BazaarWomen of the Year Awards. One of the advantages of being a Guest Artist has been the opportunity to concentrate on debuts.She had just made her debut in Christopher Wheeldon’sThe Two of Uswith Lukas Brændsrød to an orchestrated version of Joni Mitchell songs, a pieceoriginally made for New York City Ballet. Before that had been the ‘Waltz Girl’ in Balanchine’sSerenadewith William Bracewell, Tatiana inOneginwith Ryoichi Hirano and as the Queen of Hearts inAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland.Lauren spoke about working with Christopher Wheeldon, which had started in hisSouvenirswhilst at the Ballet School, as well as creating Alice, and Hermione inThe Winter’s Tale.In a very entertaining evening, Lauren spoke about many of her other roles as well as considering other debuts she would like.
The Royal Ballet Open Rehearsal Tuesday 24th June, 12.00-2.00pm, The Clore Studio
As announced in the last newsletter, The Royal Ballet would like to welcome Ballet Association members to attend studio rehearsals. This year, we are invited to attend rehearsals onTuesday 24thJunefrom 12.00–2.00pm in the Clore Studio. Probably, these will be rehearsals of works that the Company is taking on tour to Seoul or Genoa, although that could be subject to change. If you would like to attend, please apply to our Chairman, David Bain either by e-mail (baindavid@rocketmail.com) or by post to 23 Capstan Square, Stewart Street, London E14 3EU. We will not be issuing tickets for this event. We will confirm your place by e-mail or phone. Please use the Bow Street entrance to the coffee bar, arriving between 11.30-11.45am to be signed in. Please note, that we will be entering before the House officially opens to the public. If you have mobility issues which restrict where you can sit or mean you need to use a lift, please let us know when you apply.
There is no charge for attending this rehearsal, but would ask, where possible, that you make a smalldonation which will go towards the Association’s sponsorship of the revival of Glen Tetley’sPierrot Lunairein the Linbury Theatre next February.In the year of Glen’s centenary, the Company will perform the surreal1962 ballet with characters fromcommedia dell’arte.Either bring a cheque or make an electronic transfer to The Ballet Association, S/c 30-93-92, A/c 00186483.
Annual Visit to Elmhurst Ballet School and Birmingham Royal Ballet – 17-19 June 2026
We are delighted to announce the arrangements for our annual visit to Elmhurst Ballet School and Birmingham Royal Ballet next season, including the opening night performance of the20th Century Masterpieceson the 18thJune 2026.The programme includes George Balanchine’sTheme and Variations,Kurt Jooss’sThe Green Tableand Frederick Ashton’sBirthday Offering,which was choreographed in 1956to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, the year they became The Royal Ballet.
Provisionally, we have booked 25 twin-bedded and double rooms for Wednesday 17thand Thursday 18that the IBIS Hotel, 50 metres from the Hippodrome Theatre. On the 17th, rooms are £113 for sole occupancy Bed and Breakfast and £121 for double occupancy (£60.50 each). On the 18th, rooms are £98 for sole occupancy Bed and Breakfast and £106 for double occupancy (£53 each). We investigated the Holiday Inn as an alternative but the prices were much higher than the Ibis.
On Thursday 18thJune, we will attend Birmingham Royal Ballet Class. Assistant Director Dominic Antonucci will confirm the time nearer the date, but it will be around 11.00a.m. Following class, there will bea talk with one or two of the Company’s dancers.After the interview, the afternoon will be free. Then we will meet around 5.00pm at a local restaurant for a pre-theatre dinner before making our way to the Hippodrome Theatre. We have provisionally booked 35 seats for the performance of20thCentury Masterpiecesat £53 (reduced from £60) in row P in the centre Stalls, row H-J in the side Stalls and rows A- B of side Circle. Tickets will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. As we need to pay for the tickets soon, we ask you to pay for them when you complete the application form. Payment for the hotel will be in April.
After a leisurely breakfast on Friday morning, we will make our way to Elmhurst Ballet School by taxi or bus to arrive by 10.30a.m. After a quick coffee and welcome, you will be taken to watch class until lunch. After lunch, we will watch other classes or rehearsals until about 2.30-3.00pm. During the day, we will meet with our 2026 Elmhurst Ballet Association Winner. A bus can be caught about 100m from the School entrance to take you back towards the hotel to collect cases. You will need to check out before leaving in the morning and may take your case with you to the school if it is more convenient.
If you are interested in attending, please complete the attached form and return to our Events Secretary Ann Maclennan along with a cheque (or electronic transfer) for a minimum of £68 per person (£53 for performance ticket and a minimum of £15 towards our donation to Birmingham Royal Ballet). Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope for the return of tickets or give to Ann when you next see her if paying electronically. We realise that booking for June 2026 seems very early, but tickets are already on sale. We have booked the best available tickets which initially are being held for us until August. However,you may wish to leave the decision about the hotel booking until next year as we don’t need to confirmthese until next Spring. If so, indicate MAYBE on the form.
Annual Visit to the Royal Ballet Upper School Wednesday 30th April
OnWednesday 30thAprilnearly 180 members of The Ballet Association, London Ballet Circle and their guests attended a wonderful day at the Royal Ballet Upper School. We are very grateful to Development ExecutiveLindsay Allenwho organised the day. First, we watched the Pre-professional men in class with teacherKevin Emerton, who had joined the School in January, retiring from the Royal Ballet in December. This was followed by former Royal Ballet dancerNicola Tranah, coaching the Pre-professional Ladies inthe Fairy solos from Sir Anthony Dowell’s production ofAurora’s Wedding.After a short break, we watchedSarah Kunditake the 2ndYear Ladies Ballet Class. At the end of the class, we were delighted to hear from Artistic DirectorIain Mackay,who briefly spoke about the programmes for the end of year performances, which will include Ashton’sLes Patineurs.The performances in the Linbury will include a significant number of choreographic creations by students across the Lower and Upper School. Other performances will include new works created on the students by various choreographers, including former Birmingham Royal Ballet dancer Ruth Brill. After lunch, we watched all the 1stand 2ndYear students learn the Mazurka fromAurora’s Weddingtaught by Character Dance teacher Kate Swainston. They also showed us the Pollonaise which they had just learnt.
The 25th National Dance Awards Monday 9th June
A few Association members attended the 25thNational Dance Awards on Monday 9thJune at the Barbican. Once again, the Ballet Association sponsored the award for Best Classical Choreography, which was won by Crystal Pite forAngel’s Atlasfor the National Ballet of Canada.The Royal Balletwon the Outstanding Company Award; Birmingham Royal Ballet’sBeatrice Parmawon the Outstanding Female Classical Performance Award for Lise inLa Fille mal gardée; and the Royal’sCaspar Lenchwon the Emerging Artist Award.
Birmingham Royal Ballet has announced the appointmentPaul Jamesas their new Chief Executive. Paul has been acting CEO over the last few months and was chosen from 35 applicants. Ahead of their international tour to the USA and Japan,Carlos Acostahas announced the following promotions:Enrique Bejarano Vidalbecomes First Soloist, andJavier Rojas, Ryan FelixandYuki Sugiuraare promoted to First Artist. Carlos has also announced that he will be stagingThe Maiden of Venice, a reworking ofLa Bayaderein the Autumn of 2026. We hope to arrange a trip to attend a matinee performance in Birmingham.
On May 9th, a group of Association members attended an excellent performance by BRB2 of Diaghilev ballets at the new Sadler’s Wells East Theatre in Stratford.
Sadler’s Wells are hosting a performance ofRoberto Bolle and Friendson 11thNovember 2025.
Members will have been saddened to hear of the deaths of former Bolshoi Director and choreographerYuri Grigorovichand former Mariinsky (Kirov) principalAlla Osipenko,a partner ofRudolf Nureyevbefore his defection to the West.
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