麻豆社

In 1926, a young dancer called Ninette De Valois set up a school in London that would become a unique breeding ground for ballet talent. It took generations of the most promising young dancers and moulded them into great performers. In 1955, what became the Royal Ballet School moved into White Lodge in Richmond Park, a grand, former hunting lodge of George II. At the age of 16, pupils were formally assessed, and, if selected, would go on to 鈥渦pper school鈥� in Baron鈥檚 Court, and, since 2003, in Covent Garden.

From here a lucky few could go on to carve out a career as professional dancers with the Royal Ballet Company. The school鈥檚 alumni is a decades long roll call of ballet鈥檚 greats - Margot Fonteyn, Darcey Bussell, Antoinette Sibley, Monica Mason, Lynn Seymour, and, for the boys, Anthony Dowell, David Wall, Adam Cooper and Wayne Sleep.

Joining Kirsty Wark are Dame Monica Mason who went to the Royal Ballet School at the age of 14 in 1957; Dame Darcey Bussell who was 13 when she joined the Royal Ballet School in 1982; Jonathan Gray who was, briefly, a pupil in the 1970s 鈥� he went on to edit Dancing Times; Iain Mackay, current Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet School and another former pupil from the 90s; and Vincent Hantam, a young black dancer sent from Cape Town to join the school in the early 70s.

Archive courtesy of Voices Of British Ballet
Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Producer: Natalie Steed
Editor: David Prest
A Whistledown production for 麻豆社 Radio 4