Last Updated on October 9, 2026
The Royal Ballet School’s 100th Birthday Bash
4.0 out of 5.0 starsOne hundred years ago, a visionary woman of indomitable will, Ninette de Valois, founded what she called The Academy of Choreographic Art, an institution that would train dancers “to meet the various demands of the theatre”, through the teachings of classical school. Spool forward one century, and today the renamed Royal Ballet School is among the most prestigious ballet schools in the world, as well as having sown the seeds of the UK’s two foremost ballet companies: The Royal Ballet, and Birmingham Royal Ballet. All three, school and the two companies, came together at Covent Garden for a glittering gala celebrating this illustrious centenary.
The three hour long Centenary programme offered a clear illustration of the choreographic talent that’s come through the School over the years, as well as of the technical excellence of some of the dancers it’s trained, in eleven pieces, old and new, the whole thing culminating in Centenary, a breathtaking extravaganza, which brought 300 dancers and students to the stage, in a tour de force production choreographed by The Royal Ballet’s Valentino Zucchetti, an immensely talented classical dance maker, himself a product of the Royal Ballet School.
De Valois was a notable and prolific choreographer, and the programme opened with a suite from her 1937 ballet, Checkmate. It’s danced to music by Arthur Bliss against an Expressionist backcloth in vividly coloured geometric shapes, and the crystalline clarity of its choreography is stunning. It fell to young school students to open the performance as Red Pawns, and there was no sign of nerves in their beautifully drilled performance.
Checkmate looks so modern, it’s surprising it’s hardly ever performed anymore. Also rarely performed (inexplicably so) is the piece that followed, Frederick Ashton’s 1956 Birthday Offering, designed to showcase the style and strengths of The Royal Ballet’s then lead ballerinas, Margot Fonteyn foremost among them. It’s a courtly piece for seven couples, its intricate choreography limpid, precise and challenging. It was performed with assuredness by a mixed cast from both companies, led by Marianela Núñez and The Royal Ballet’s latest principal acquisition, the Cuban Patricio Revé, who’s slipping easily into the company style.
The second part of Centenary was entitled `’Short Works and World Premieres”. It brought together works by a succession of RBS alumni, from Kenneth MacMillan, whose out of context Winter Dreams pas de deux, danced by BRB, fell rather flat here, to two duets that fared much better: Christopher Wheeldon’s lyrical Beautiful Shadow, inhabited by Lauren Cuthbertson and Lukas B Brændsrød, and Night Falling, which Cathy Marston reworked from an earlier ballet, danced with tremendous impact by Matthew Ball and William Bracewell.
Wayne McGregor’s spiky Nimbus was performed by two dancers each from RB and BRB. It was followed by a quirky piece by one of the Royal Ballet’s most interesting young choreographers, Joshua Junker: Unforgettable, danced by a nine-strong cast to three Elvis Presley tracks, was meant as an interrogation of celebrity worship.
The third section opened with an extract from David Bintley’s Still Life at the Penguin Café, another work that surely deserves more frequent outings. This section, care of BRB, was Southern Cape Zebra, with the lead role of the zebra eventually felled by a hunter’s shot cogently performed by the young Yasiel Hodelín Bello.
Dance Russe offered a welcome opportunity to see the impeccable Sarah Lamb partnered by a fizzing Steven McRae, in a duet from the MacRae/Vassilev Project, recently seen at the Linbury; in the Act I Bedroom pas de deux from MacMillan’s Manon, Francesca Howard and Marcelino Sambé showed convincing, involving chemistry; and the section ended on a high with a sparkling, technically perfect, rousing Black Swan pas de deux performed by The Royal Ballet’s star couple, Fumi Kaneko and Vadim Muntagirov.,
At the end the whole School faculty came on stage, followed by the artistic teams of both companies, to take a well deserved bow and share in a shower of gold confetti with the massed ranks of this glowing Centenary celebration. What a way to open a season!
A Centenary Celebration is at RBO 8 Oct at 7.30 pm & 10 Oct at 1.00 and 7.00 pm
Dur.: 3 hours inc two intervals. Tickets: £9 – 176
RBO
Bow Street
London WC2E 9DD
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