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Here is The Royal Ballet School Summer Performance 2026

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The Royal Ballet School Summer Performance

The Royal Opera House, London

Saturday, 18th July 2026

There was an assurance. A belief. There were 32 fouettés.

By every metric, it was as if someone had flung a handful of diamonds across the stage.

This centenary programme punched home. Swan Lake Act 111, to start ? Oh, go on then. Odile; the iconic dual role that is enough to give the Company Principals a run for their money, tackled here by the young dancers of the pre-professional year. Reader, they were more than a match for its various challenges.

Sir Peter Wright – it’s his centenary too – choreographed this production which delivers on virtuosity, so you need dancers to match. Step up Sophie Schulten & Ivan Malaguti for the pas de deux and Samantha Striplin & Fabrizzio Ulloa Cornejo for solos and coda. What I loved about Malaguti’s phrasing was its cadence. His elegant, assured dancing said, “here is my partner and I’m going to take all the time in the world to show her off to you.” The kind of confidence that creates a positive feedback loop & brings joy to those watching; it’s the result of an active process of acknowledging your own strengths & your limits which is only found through lived experience.

It didn’t stop there. Samantha Striplin’s mesmerising 32 fouttes & Fabrizzio Ulloa Cornejo’s panache emphasised the breezy sprezzatura that never left the stage.

I previously mentioned Emma Lucano in my review of the 2024 Summer Performance, and this time, as the Polish Princess, Lucano delivered another outstanding performance.

If a rogue tornado had scurried a tiny jewel across the stage, that would be Nanoha Shigeoka, who positively dazzled as the Italian Princess.

The White Lodger’s had their moment in the spotlight with Kristen McNally’s fun Proceedings, as well as Andrew McNicol’s Of Strength & Grace.

David Bintley’s Beauchamp’s Garden saw the return of Ivan Malaguti, this time partnering Emma Lucano, along with Alecsia Maria Lazarescu & Millán de Benito. Each had beautiful, lyrical lines and effortless style.

A Line in Reflection, choreographed by Cathy Marston to Errollyn Wallen’s violin concerto (second movement, Lamenting) saw a return to the stage for Deborah Bull. Alongside Upper School 2nd years, weaving through their movements as memory, echoes of a former dancer form and shift in happy waves along the barre.

A centenary performance wouldn’t be complete without one of the two surviving works by founder Ninette de Valois, and here a modest clutch of chess pieces shivered in the breeze as the tabs rose on Checkmate. Exemplary timing and performance from the Four Knights : Noah Campbell, Elliott Martin, Yusuke Otake and Denis Teixeira (all pre-professionals).

Jessica Lang’s exquisite The First Voice, to Beethoven & Ninette de Valois’ poems, which were read by school alumni Kevin O’Hare, Monica Mason & Darcey Bussell and performed by Upper School 2nd years was incredible. The powder-soft dancing, curved like a dropped ribbon, belied the punchy overtones of the narrative. Chef’s kiss.

Christening Suite, by Christopher Wheeldon, beautifully danced by Sophie Koo & Millán de Benito in the Principal roles and fluently supported by the rest of their pre-professional year

The Grand Défilé is never enough. Never. In a flash bang wallop all 226 young dancers have graced the stage & you find yourself back outside with the warmth of the sun still clinging to the pavement.