The Royal Ballet School’s Spring and Summer Intensives offer aspiring dancers the opportunity to refine their technique through immersive training with expert instructors. Held annually at White Lodge and Upper School in London, these programmes cater to dancers aged 10 to 19, providing a blend of classical ballet, contemporary styles, and performance skills. Unlike the Autumn and Winter Intensives, the Spring and Summer sessions are selective, requiring dancers to submit applications and undergo a competitive audition process. This approach ensures that participants train alongside peers of a similar skill level, fostering a focused and professional environment.
The Spring Intensives, scheduled for April 2025, will feature a range of classes designed to enhance both technical ability and performance artistry. Dancers can choose from residential and non-residential options, with the former offering full-board accommodation at White Lodge’s boarding houses. Classes cover key areas such as pointe work, repertoire, and character dance, complemented by conditioning sessions that target strength and flexibility. For younger dancers aged 10 to 12, the focus will be on foundational skills, including alignment, balance, and musicality, while older participants will work on more advanced choreography and stagecraft.
The Summer Intensives, running from mid-July to mid-August 2025, offer a more extensive curriculum, with courses lasting between one and five weeks depending on the dancer’s age and experience. Dancers aged 16 to 19 at Upper School can choose from specialized training tracks focusing on classical variations, contemporary dance, and pas de deux. Meanwhile, younger students at White Lodge will explore a mix of ballet and jazz, character dance, and improvisation, helping them develop versatility and expressiveness. Each week concludes with an informal performance, providing participants with a chance to showcase what they have learned and receive constructive feedback from the Artistic staff.
A defining feature of the Intensives is the access to the Royal Ballet School’s renowned teaching faculty, which includes current and former professional dancers. These instructors bring a wealth of experience from leading companies like The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and English National Ballet. Their insights into audition techniques, stage presence, and professional expectations provide invaluable guidance for students considering a career in dance. In addition to regular classes, participants benefit from guest workshops and Q&A sessions with prominent figures in the ballet world, further enriching their training experience.
The Royal Ballet School’s focus on injury prevention is also integrated into the Intensives. Dancers participate in sessions led by the School’s healthcare team, covering topics such as warm-up routines, flexibility training, and recovery strategies. These sessions are tailored to each age group, ensuring that younger dancers learn safe practices early in their training. Nutrition workshops, delivered by specialists, provide practical advice on meal planning to support the physical demands of intensive training, helping dancers maintain energy levels and prevent burnout.
In addition to technical and health-focused training, the Intensives emphasize the development of performance confidence. Through daily rehearsals and end-of-week showcases, participants learn to navigate the pressures of live performance. Feedback from instructors focuses on both technical execution and expressiveness, helping dancers understand how to convey emotions and tell a story through movement. For many participants, these performances are the highlight of the Intensive, providing a platform to apply what they have learned in a supportive setting.
The popularity of the Spring and Summer Intensives underscores the Royal Ballet School’s reputation for excellence in training. The selective nature of these programmes not only raises the standard of the training environment but also provides participants with a taste of the expectations at professional auditions. For aspiring dancers, acceptance into one of these Intensives is both a milestone in their training journey and a potential stepping stone to further opportunities with the Royal Ballet School’s full-time programmes.
As applications for the 2025 Intensives continue to pour in, the Royal Ballet School’s approach of combining rigorous training with comprehensive support reflects its commitment to nurturing the next generation of ballet talent. By offering a curriculum that balances technical skills, health education, and performance opportunities, the Intensives prepare dancers for the challenges of a professional career in ballet.