Review: THE ROYAL BALLET SCHOOL SUMMER PERFORMANCE, Royal Ballet And Opera

Being the Artistic Director of The Royal Ballet School might be the most difficult job in the entire ballet ecology. Why? The industry looks to you in relation to educational standards, parents hand you the responsibility of their child's wellness, and your peers probably wouldn't mind if you made a dog's dinner of the whole thing!

Iain Mackay, ex-student of the school and principal of Birmingham Royal Ballet, took over the role in 2024, and has just completed his first academic year. This culminated in a matinee performance at the Royal Ballet and Opera, and I feel confident in saying that the show is perhaps the best school offering I've ever seen, and rivalled a lot of the professional performances I've attended over the last few years.

The RBS is one of the world’s top ballet schools, so of course we expect the standard to be extraordinarily high - which it is. But what struck me more was the mindset of the young performers. The joy of dance simply radiated from the stage, as did confidence and bravery. These traits are mostly developed within the context they find themselves in - the daily grind - and that's Mackay's house, plus his brilliant faculty, and all of this should be acknowledged and celebrated.

Mackay has also devised a successful programme which shows the strength and breadth of the school, its current student body and the legacy that underpins the institution as we know it.

Opening proceedings was Aurora's Wedding (from The Sleeping Beauty); a suite that includes the Fairies from the Prologue and then jumps to the divertissement and Grand pas de deux of Act 3. The standard of work was extremely high, and Petipa's choreography remains a benchmark for Classicism to date. My only suggestion would be that the dancers step beyond the toe when they posé. This simple habit gives existing work more life and breath, and less predictability. Of all the dancers I found Samantha Striplin, Yusuke Otake and Fabrizzio Ulloa Cornejo the most impressive.

Next was Ashton's Les Patineurs which allowed the students to tap into the Royal Ballet's choreographic lineage, and gave the audience the opportunity to revel in Ashton's ingeniousness. Les Patineurs is timeless, chic and perhaps the only ballet that includes grand rond de jambe en l'air en dedans without even blinking. Staged by ex-Royal Ballet dancer Vanessa Palmer the production was both slick and joyous, but as is the nature of Ashtonian work, more cambre in the upper body wouldn't go amiss! Wendel Vieira Teles Dos Santos brought a well balanced ease to the cheeky chappy Blue Boy character, as well as confident, technical prowess to the role's demands.

The final section saw five works back to back. Ruth Brill got the memo with Garden Suite, a nature-focused work for the three youngest years at White Lodge (the Lower School). Insects and flowers had a whale of a time with the very tasteful, appropriate choreography, and the choice of Stravinsky will have given the young dancers an extended music lesson throughout the creation period.

Sweet Morning Blooms by Jessica Lang is the kind of work I'd like to see on the same stage danced by the Royal Ballet. Classical with a modern twist, and American in its freshness in relation to structuring and execution, it really was a breath of fresh air. White and (strong) pastels defined an invigorated palette, and the dancing by the 1st year Upper School students was both athletic and capricious. 

Gridlock by Hannah Joseph had a strong, distinct identity. I saw urban-esque matadors, and the 2nd year Upper School students seemed to enjoy discovering the freedom within the bound movement style. The cast of ten left the vast stage feeling empty at times, and Joseph would benefit from developing and elongating the work to see what else she could find within its original language.

Next came something I've never seen - a modern take on character work. Electronic music and club-like lighting were the backdrop for Iva Lešić's Tracks Uniting. Lešić is from Bosnia and Herzegovina, so the dance flavour was very much of the Balkans. And the modern set-up allowed the movement to do the talking; speed of sound percussive phrasing, and rapid travelling meant the dance form felt even more alive than it normally does! 

The final piece by Arielle Smith was aptly called Culmination. I've been waiting for a Smith work to grab me - and this was the one. A fusion of Austin Powers, meets carnival meets jazz - the graduate students of the RBS were exactly where they should be; on the precipice of a professional career, with dance capability bursting at the seams. The combination of orange hues, bossa nova vibes and dancing like your life depends on it, meant that anyone watching had no hope of escaping the intoxicating trip. All dancers were brilliant but Tristan-Ian Massa was on a totally different level - just wow.

The performance closed with a Defile to Carl Czerny's rousing music, which offered another opportunity to see the student body from 11-19 in their element. The whole experience was overwhelming when contemplating the talent and extreme hard work involved in getting to this point. Consequently it must be said: Mackay has his house in order - and this was most evident in the way the young people felt capable of giving themselves wholeheartedly in performance; joy abounds.

The Royal Ballet School Summer Performance took place on at Royal Ballet And Opera on 12 July

Photo Credits: ©2025 The Royal Ballet School. Photography by ASH