Next Generation Festival – The Royal Ballet celebrates youth dance talent
The Royal Ballet‘s Next Generation Festival in the Linbury Theatre features an impressive lineup of young dance talent.
This year, the festival will see performances from some of the world’s best junior companies and dance schools – American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, Youth Company of the Finnish National Ballet, Ballet Central, Paris Opera Junior Ballet, Chance to Dance, The Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet School, Rambert School and ZooNation Youth Company.
The Creative Producer of The Royal Ballet, Emma Southworth, says,
This fixture in our summer calendar is a wonderful way to celebrate emerging dancers who are all set to keep our art form flourishing around the world. The range of choreography on offer during the festival will be a feast for our audiences.
The festival performances commence on 10 June with the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company with a varied programme highlighting the best of US talent. Now in its 30th anniversary year, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company is regarded as one of the leading forces in dance training. The programme includes classical repertoire highlights with the Rose Adage from The Sleeping Beauty and the Act III Swan Lake pas de deux as well as George Balanchine‘s Tarantella, Jerome Robbins‘s Interplay and an excerpt from Rostislav Zakharov’s Gopak. Brady Farrar’s Night Falls, Houston Thomas’ U Don’t Know Me and Yannick Lebrun’s Human complete the programme.
The Youth Company of the Finnish National Ballet presents a mixed programme on 13 and 14 June opening with Julian Nicosia’s Fragments of Time, set to an eclectic score ranging from music by J.S. Bach to electronic producer Kelly Lee Owens. Clique by Reija Wäre follows, a work created for the company in 2022 fusing elegant, near-weightless expression with heavier and more rhythmic movements. The programme closes with Blushing by Marco Goecke set to music by Tom Waits.
On 17 June, Ballet Central makes its Next Generation Festival debut with a programme of classical and contemporary ballet. Opening the programme is FEAST, a contemporary ballet by Royal Ballet Principal Character Artist Kristen McNally. This joyful work is set to a new score by Philip Feeney. A new work, Rise, by Dickson Mbi explores the practices of ritual and shared human experience. Foyer de danse, by Frederick Ashton, brings the paintings of Edgar Degas to life. Closing the programme is Thick & Tight’s theatrical work Keeping Up with the Apocalypse, which humorously combines dance, theatre and mime to depict a post-apocalyptic future Earth.
Also making its Linbury Theatre debut this year is the newly formed Paris Opera Junior Ballet with a programme including George Balanchine’s work of virtuosic Romanticism, Allegro Brilliante. Maurice Béjart‘s Cantata 51 follows, a joyful work inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The programme continues with Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Requiem for a Rose set to music by Schubert and exploring themes of fleeting romance and eternal love. Concluding the evening is Mi Favourita by Paris Opera Ballet Dance Director José Martinez
On 21 June, The Royal Ballet’s flagship programme Chance to Dance returns with its Legacy, Alumni and Connect companies to celebrate diverse talent from across the country, the programme features a new work by Arielle Smith with music by Azizi Cole and Christopher Benstead. Chance to Dance will be led by alumni dancer Jacob Wye and Monique Jonas.
Students at The Royal Ballet School perform on 24 and 25 June. In his first season as artistic director, Iain Mackay has curated a programme highlighting The Royal Ballet School’s longstanding heritage as a centre for new choreographic work. There will be pieces created and performed by students alongside new works by some of today’s leading choreographers – Ruth Brill, Hannah Joseph, Jessica Lang, Iva Lešić and Arielle Smith.
Leading British dance schools, English National Ballet School (ENBS) and Rambert School, join forces for two performances on 27 June. ENBS presents three compelling works that highlight the spirit of the school, opening with Artistic Director Lynne Charles’ Etudes on a Theme of Satie and featuring a guest performance by English National Ballet Soloist Anna Nevzerova. This is followed by Marguerite Donlon’s Ruff Celts, and a duet choreographed by Lynne Charles in a contemporary version of the Act 4 Swan Lake pas de deux. Rambert School will perform The Inn Between, a co-creation between choreographer Julian Nichols and the dancers. Miguel Altunaga’s The Hilkravrs explores the quiet unease between obedience and instinct. Rambert School also performs Richard Alston’s Waltzes in Disorder, portraying an existing relationship disturbed by a newcomer, and Faye Stoeser’s Lunar Tales, inspired by the mysterious world of the night.
Closing the festival on 29 June is ZooNation Youth Company, presenting Lights Out, created by ZooNation’s associate artistic director Dannielle Rhimes Lecointe and artistic director Kate Prince. Lights Out blends “explosive choreography, suspense and drama with bold beats and intricate rhythms”.
The works in the Linbury Theatre are complemented by an Insight in the Clore Studio, Next Generation Taking Shape, on 6 June. Featuring interviews with dancers, artistic directors and choreographers, the Insight will showcase some key pieces being performed throughout the festival.
The Royal Ballet and Guest Companies
NEXT GENERATION FESTIVAL
Linbury Theatre
6 – 29 June
Tickets: £5 – £30
For more information, and to book, visit Next Generation Festival 2025
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
