Royal Ballet School

Royal Ballet School
Sign board at White Lodge showing school crest
Location
Floral Street, Covent Garden White Lodge, Richmond Park London England
Information
Type	Private school
Motto	"Strength and Grace"
Established	1926; 98 years ago (1926)
Founder	Dame Ninette de Valois
Department for Education URN	102947 Tables
Artistic Director	Christopher Powney
Gender	Mixed
Age	11 to 19
Enrolment	221 as of April 2022[update]
Publication	Encore
Affiliations	The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet
Advisory Council	Carlos Acosta CBE David Bintley, CBE Dame Darcey Bussell, DBE Sir Anthony Dowell, CBE Kevin O'Hare CBE Dame Antoinette Sibley, DBE Sir Peter Wright, CBE
Website	www.royalballetschool.org.uk

The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training^[1][2] founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially for the Royal Ballet (based at the Royal Opera House in London) and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Admission to the school is based purely on dancing talent and potential, regardless of academic ability or personal circumstances, and 90% of current students rely on financial support to attend the school.^[3] The school is based at two sites, White Lodge, Richmond Park (for students aged 11–16) and Covent Garden (for students from 16 to 19 years old) based in purpose-built studios on Floral Street, adjacent to the Royal Opera House.

The Royal Ballet School has produced dancers and choreographers of international renown, including Dame Margot Fonteyn, Dame Beryl Grey, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Dame Darcey Bussell, Alessandra Ferri, Viviana Durante, and Sergei Polunin, as well as the current director of The Royal Ballet, Kevin O'Hare. Graduates of the school have also achieved employment in musical theatre, contemporary and jazz dance, television and film.