Alumni Expertise Guides Classical Repertoire Revival at The Royal Ballet School

Summer Performances at The Royal Ballet School featured contributions from distinguished alumni who brought professional expertise to student productions, demonstrating ongoing connections between graduates and current educational programmes. 

Two prominent alumni returned to share specialised knowledge with students preparing classical repertoire, providing insights that bridge historical authenticity with contemporary training approaches. 

Historical Choreography Recovery 

Amanda Maxwell, alumna and former Character teacher, led reconstruction efforts for “The Three Ivans” from Anthony Dowell’s Aurora’s Wedding. This work addressed choreography that had been “long lost from productions of Sleeping Beauty generally,” representing the Petipa version performed by Diaghilev’s company from the early 1920s. 

Maxwell explained the historical background: “This is the Petipa version, danced by the Diaghilev Company from 1921-22 onwards. It was originally a disaster, but Bronislava Nijinska created this Three Ivans variation in 1921.” 

Working from minimal documentation—”one little clip of film from those days”—Maxwell confronted the challenge of adapting historical choreography for student capabilities. She recalled her initial assessment: “I remember looking at the film in the office and saying, ‘I can’t get the students to do that.’ So we had a discussion. I made my connections and went away and thought about it, adapting where possible.” 

Adaptation Methodology 

Maxwell’s reconstruction process maintained historical integrity while ensuring student safety and technical feasibility. She described her approach: “I think I’ve kept what appear to be the original patterns and some of the original steps. Where there was something that I thought you simply can’t ask a student to do—however much training they’re doing—I then looked at other Diaghilev-era character pieces for inspiration. That’s the genesis of it.”  

Character work within classical productions requires distinct stylistic approaches: “In the middle of this pure classical ballet—as pure as Petipa really can be—you suddenly get these three people in very different costumes. It’s this moment of raw excitement, and you’re trying not to make it look classical.”  

Maxwell emphasized stylistic challenges classical dancers must navigate: “If you’re a trained classical dancer, it’s so easy to make things look classical. You don’t want them to look that way—you want them to look a bit rough around the edges. But because they’re so on top of what they’re doing, they’re not actually rough around the edges. They’re characterizing it as though they are.”  

Performance Demands and Preparation 

Maxwell described the compressed timeframe and physical requirements: “One minute and nineteen seconds—you don’t have time to stop and think. You barely have time to breathe, which is why I’m talking to them now about learning how to think about their breathing through this. You go from the extremes—right down on the floor to literally up in the air. It’s the extreme version of everything.”  

She compared required precision to mechanical engineering: “It’s like precision engineering. If one component is out of place, that’s it. A half beat off in the dancer’s case, and the thing is likely to fall apart because you’ve lost control.”  

Success depends on comprehensive mental preparation: “It’s knowing in their heads that they can recite the steps in the rhythm of the music in their sleep if they have to. That’s already a great step forward.”  

Professional Coaching Integration 

Dame Darcey Bussell, former Royal Ballet Principal and School alumna, provided coaching for Aurora’s Wedding performances. She expressed enthusiasm for student engagement: “Coming into the School for any rehearsals and helping them out is always wonderful because you can see that raw talent. It’s exciting to see how hungry they are to learn and absorb so much information and to be able to adapt.”  

Dame Darcey highlighted student learning capabilities: “I think what’s important is that lots of people give you information and you have to take it on board. It’s wonderful to see who can take that in as quickly as possible and how they absorb it all.”  

Classical Ballet as Educational Foundation 

Dame Darcey characterized Sleeping Beauty‘s comprehensive demands: “I feel like it’s the celebration of classical ballet in all its forms—the placement on stage, being able to stay in character all the way through, the music, and being one with your partner.”  

She emphasized partnership challenges within technical requirements: “The challenge for the two of them is there are a lot of really technical steps to do together. To get those and feel confident together, it’s really important that they exude confidence, that they exude grandeur, that they feel really proud to be there. That has to stay within their whole body.” 

Dame Darcey articulated the developmental value of classical repertoire experience: “I think getting a taste of that—and that’s why it’s so important to do these classics when you’re a student—to get that first taste of what it is to perform in that style and manner is the challenge. But they’ll shine, I know they will.” 

Alumni contributions demonstrate institutional commitment to preserving choreographic heritage while adapting historical works for contemporary educational contexts. Distinguished graduate involvement provides students with professional perspectives bridging academic training with industry requirements, ensuring continuity between institutional legacy and current artistic development.