Interview with Xander Parish OBE

Named by Variety Magazine as one of their “10 Brits to Watch 2025,” we were delighted to catch up with Covent Garden Dance Company favourite, Xander Parish, to discover more about his recent acting debut and who he will be partnering at Ballet Under The Stars, 2025.

Biography:
Xander was born in East Yorkshire, England, and began dancing in Hull at the age of 8. He graduated from the Royal Ballet School in 2005 and joined The Royal Ballet in Covent Garden. In 2010, Xander made history as the first British dancer to join The Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia, and was promoted to Principal dancer in July 2017 after the opening night of Swan Lake during the Mariinsky Ballet’s London season at Covent Garden.

His awards include the Positano Premia La Danza Léonide Massine Emerging Dancer on the International Scene Award, Best Young Male Dancer at the 1st Taglioni European Ballet Awards, and Outstanding Male Performance (Classical) for Apollo at the UK Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. In 2017, the University of Hull awarded Xander an Honorary Doctorate, and in 2019, he was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for services to dance and UK-Russia Cultural Relations. In 2025, he was knighted by the Royal Order of Francis I of the Two Sicilies for achievements in the arts.

Photo credit: Carla Rhea

Xander has been a guest artist with companies including the Kremlin Ballet, Stanislavsky Ballet, English National Ballet, Opera National Bucharest, and American Ballet Theatre. In 2021, he launched the ballet training platform balletclass.com. From 2022 until 2024, he performed with the Norwegian National Ballet as a Principal Dancer. In November 2023, the company invited him to create and stage his own version of Raymonda Act III, titled “Raymonda Suite,” for 26 dancers.

In September 2022, Xander became Artistic Director of Reunited in Dance and has staged performances in prestigious venues internationally, beginning with the Segerstrom Centre for the Arts in Orange County, Festival Napa Valley, and most recently Teatro della Pergola in Florence as part of the New Generation Festival.

What you are currently working on aside from preparing for Ballet Under The Stars?

Back in September 2024, I made my acting debut in a new play called "The Gates of Kyiv" based on the life of the Soviet pianist Maria Yudina. It was my first time speaking on stage acting opposite Stockard Channing and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. This play had its try out period at the Theatre Royal Windsor and now the producers want to transfer the production to the West End. I'm currently waiting for the dates to be fixed, but I hope that this will be one of my next projects.

Can you please tell me how long you have been working with the Covent Garden Dance Company?

That's a great question! I've had the pleasure of knowing Matt for quite a long time now and he's become not just someone I love working with but a great friend too. I think I worked with Covent Garden Dance Company for the first time in early 2018 when Matt put on a fabulous show in Dubai.

What is special about the Covent Garden Dance Company - what makes you return for more?!

Well that's easy - Matt! He's not just a great person to work with but always gives the artists a good time. Also, he doesn't just create a good show, he brings together a really nice group of people so it's always fun to be involved in his productions. 

Photo credit: Andrej Uspenski

What are you looking forward to most about performing at Hatch House again?

Dancing in the British countryside is something absolutely unique and special - even when it's occasionally wet it has a charm so irresistible that one can only want to return for more, and that goes for the audience as well as the performers! I'm certainly looking forward to returning again. 

Xander & Katya dancing George Balanchine’s Diamonds at Hatch House, 2024

What will you be performing and with whom?

This year, I'm bringing a new ballerina to Hatch House - Joy Womack. Joy and I have been friends for many years having met in Russia. Joy has quite an extraordinary story of her own as the first American ballerina to graduate from Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet Academy and join the Bolshoi Theatre. The expat community in Russia was extremely small during the time I was working in St Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre so naturally Joy and I became friends. She's a ballerina of great tenacity and I've been delighted to include her in the performances which I have curated and staged for Reunited in Dance around the world.

I'm very happy that, thanks to Matt, I now have the opportunity to introduce Joy to Hatch House and vice versa! We will be performing two beautiful classic pieces - an extract from Fokine’s “Firebird” and the Rose Adage from act 1 of "The Sleeping Beauty" (helped out by a few other cavaliers from amongst the cast!)

When you’re dancing these works how does it make you feel, what do you hope the audience feels?

I believe that ballet is an extension of the music and it's the music that creates the feelings and atmosphere that the dancing thrives within. It was George Balanchine who said, "See the music, hear the dance", and how right he was. I love ballet because I get the opportunity to perform within these amazing pieces of music. I feel it and I hope the audience does too.

Photo credit:Natasha Razina

You will be performing alongside some wonderful artists from all around the world this year, who are you most looking forward to dancing alongside?

There will be a fair few of my former colleagues from The Royal Ballet performing so I shall look forward to catching up with them.

Many children will be coming to watch the rehearsal on the 24th July - how important are these opportunities for future generations of dancers?

Some of those children could be the part of the next generation of professional dancers so it is extremely important that they have the opportunity to watch and discover this extraordinary art form at a young age. Even for those who will not go on to be professionals, it will shape their development as they grow and learn so I believe it is very important.

Can you tell us three things people don’t know about you?

I have a great love of photography and I especially love using 35mm film. I actually had an exhibition in St Petersburg of backstage photos that I took at the Mariinsky Theatre which was great fun to organise!

I run a website called balletclass.com where I invite my colleagues from around the ballet world to teach their own ballet and training classes. I set it up during the pandemic as I wanted to gain some skills in entrepreneurship and learn how business works. It's been a side project ever since, from which I've learned many useful lessons.

I have a dog, a white multipoo called Winston. He may be little in size, but he has a big personality and has the big name to match!

Interview with Joy Womack

After the red carpet rounds of the Amazon Prime hit series, Étoile, and performing Firebird with Xander Parish in Italy, we had the delight of interviewing Joy Womack to discover more about her upcoming appearance at Hatch House.

Joy Womack is an internationally acclaimed American ballerina based in Paris. She made history as the first American woman to join the Bolshoi Ballet as a full company member after graduating from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy.

At age 19, she became a principal dancer with the Kremlin Ballet, launching an international career that has taken her to major stages across Europe, Asia, South America, and the United States.

A prizewinner at prestigious competitions including the Varna International Ballet Competition, the Moscow International Ballet Competition, and the Korea International Ballet Competition, Joy has performed leading roles in both classical and contemporary repertoire.

Photo credit: Jon Taylor

As well as appearing as a featured dancer on the Amazon Prime series Étoile, Joy’s life has been the subject of two films: Joy Womack: The White Swan (a documentary) and Joika (a Hollywood adaptation of her story). In 2025, Joy released her memoir Behind the Red Curtain, co-written with journalist Elizabeth Shockman, offering a rare and honest look inside the world of elite ballet.

Joy is the founder of the Joy Womack Ballet Foundation (JWBF), a non-profit organisation committed to supporting emerging dancers through scholarships, outreach, and cultural exchange. JWBF also produces The Joy of Dance, a gala concert series with live music that brings world-class ballet to new audiences while raising funds for artistic and humanitarian causes.

Can you please tell us what you are currently rehearsing or performing?

I was thrilled to recently perform in Xander Parish’s Ballet Russes production in Florence as part of the New Generation Festival. It was a joy to dance works such as Chopiniana, Firebird, and the Tarantella from Raymonda. I’m now eagerly preparing for Ballet Under the Stars at Hatch House, as well as an international festival in the Philippines, where I hope to perform Roland Petit’s Carmen Pas de Deux and the second act of Swan Lake as the White Swan.

How was it stepping onto the Étoile stage? What was your favourite moment during filming?

Bringing ballet to the screen was both a wonderful challenge and a rewarding experience. One of my favourite moments was filming the gala scene at the Théâtre de la Chalet in Paris. I also loved working with Amy and Dan on a scene where I got to deliver a line in Russian. It was great fun to explore character work on camera.

Photo credit: Bjorn Bonig

What motivated you to join the Covent Garden Dance Company for Ballet Under The Stars, this July?

I was incredibly touched by the invitation. I’ve long admired the dancers who have performed at Hatch House in years past, and it feels like a dream come true to share the stage with Xander Parish. I have not had the privilege of performing in the UK often, and dancing for British audiences holds a special place in my heart.

What are you most looking forward to about performing at Hatch House?

I’m especially excited to perform for new audiences in such a unique setting. There’s something wonderful about dancing in a setting that feels rich in history. Being part of a performance series that is building a meaningful legacy is an honour. I look forward to meeting people who truly love and support ballet.

Photo credit: Masha Kulch

What will you be performing, and with whom?

I’ll be dancing the Rose Adagio from Sleeping Beauty and Firebird; both alongside Xander Parish.

Why did you choose these pieces?

Xander has a wonderful artistic eye, and I was excited to take on the repertoire he proposed. Firebird is rarely performed in the West, and I think it’s important to keep these historic works alive. Given that both Xander and I spent significant time performing in Russia, it feels especially meaningful to bring a piece like Firebird to new audiences.

When you’re dancing these works, how do they make you feel—and what do you hope the audience feels?

Firebird is a new role for me, so I’ve been immersed in the process of researching the character and shaping my own interpretation. The Rose Adagio is always a technical challenge, but the music fills me with a sense of joy and celebration. I hope the audience feels the richness of these pieces; the tradition, the emotion, and the storytelling behind the steps.

You’ll be performing alongside wonderful artists from all over the world—who are you most looking forward to watching?

It’s such a privilege to be surrounded by so many inspiring dancers. I remember seeing Sarah Lamb perform years ago at the Kremlin Ballet International Festival—her work ethic and artistry left a lasting impression, and I’m excited to see her again. I’ve also admired Lauren Cuthbertson for years, so to watch her live is a dream. I hear I’ll be dancing Rose Adagio with William Bracewell as one of my cavaliers, and I’m really looking forward to working together.

Many children will attend the rehearsal on 24 July—how important are opportunities like this for the next generation of dancers?

Seeing live dance as a child is essential. It develops artistic sensitivity and shows young people what’s possible. Sadly, fewer children today have the chance to attend live performances, so initiatives like this are incredibly important. Giving children access to professional dance helps communicate the value of the arts and may even spark the dreams of the next generation of performers.

What is your favourite role to dance?

So far, I would say Romeo and Juliet and Giselle have been my favourites. A dream role for the future would be Raymonda or Manon.

Can you tell us three things people may not know about you?

I come from a family of nine children.

I have a toy poodle named Rachmaninov—named after my favourite composer.

And I absolutely love to host dinner parties and cook for friends and family.

Interview with EKLEIDO

As they rehearse their new The Dicky Buckle charity funded piece, we caught up with ekleido to share a little more about this year’s guest artists and the exciting two choreographic works they will perform.

ekleido is a choreographic duo made up of Hannah Ekholm and Faye Stoeser who choreograph for live performance and film. They have both individually had extensive dance careers within the contemporary dance world, commercial industry and underground club/street dance scenes.

Their work takes influences from both their vocabularies combining contemporary dance and underground club/battle styles including New Way Voguing, bone-breaking and threading. 

Photo credit: Jack Thomson

Their work has been performed at venues and festivals including Glastonbury Festival, Breakin’ Convention at Sadler’s Wells, Latitude Festival, Ballet Nights at Ministry of Sound, Secret Garden Party, The Place, Lilian Baylis, Dance Festival Croydon, Fairfield Halls, Stanley Arts, Dance.Film.Performance.

Photo credit: Jay Norman

Can you please tell us how you came to be working with Covent Garden Dance Company this summer?

Faye had been working with Rambert School students on a graduation piece and met Matt (Director of Covent Garden Dance) at a student showcase at the school and got chatting about Ekleido and the work we do as a dance company. We then invited board members of Covent Garden Dance to an open rehearsal of our piece SPLICE, and they took a liking to our work and invited us to perform at Hatch House.

What will you be dancing?

We will be performing SPLICE, a duet performed and choreographed by both of us and that has been touring to theatre and non theatre spaces such as music festivals for the last two years. This piece is our inaugural work as a choreographic duo. It came about after we both started pursuing choreography careers separately and serendipitously had been asked to create something individually for the same event; we decided spontaneously to create something together. The work received enthusiastic audience responses and further programming; and our collaboration flowed effortlessly through bringing together our unique backgrounds of contemporary dance with club dance influences which led us to create Ekleido.

The Dicky Buckle Fund also commissioned us to create a new work CLINQUANT which will also be a duet choreographed and performed by us both. CLINQUANT will delve into the tension between allure and authenticity, named after the word meaning glittering with deceptive beauty.

Photo credit: Deborah Jaffe

What has been your favourite moment whilst preparing for CGDC?

It always feels like a privilege to be given support to create new work, as it gives us the chance to develop as creatives. We are currently in a place in our choreographic practice where we feel like we’ve established a movement language that feels distinctive, so we are always eager to continue to push its boundaries further as well as delving into emotional arcs within our works. With the creative process of  CLINQUANT we have particularly enjoyed playing with musicality and playing into our feminine expression.

What inspired you to create this piece?

We are interested in exploring near perfect symmetry, and whilst remaining abstract in our narrative, we wanted to invite audiences to perceive their own meaning through the shapes we create with our bodies. We are fascinated by pushing the physical body to its limits leaving the dancers to have to rely on each other, as well as figuring out the efficiency as a pair. 

For SPLICE we were both really interested in how our backgrounds in contemporary dance and New Way Vogue could be incorporated into partner work, which is very much what the piece explores.

For CLINQUANT we were inspired by the power of femininity and the contrasts between order and chaos. Named after the word meaning glittering with deceptive beauty, it becomes a metaphor for the polished roles women are often expected to inhabit: captivating on the outside, but concealing strain, silence, and complexity beneath.

Photo credit: Henry Curtis

When you’re dancing this piece how does it make you feel?

SPLICE is a precise and technical duet which requires extreme focus so as not to miss a beat and to ensure the partnering is executed seamlessly. We have found that the times we have most enjoyed performing this work are when we use each other as support both physically and mentally, and allow the music to drive us. 

We haven’t performed CLINQUANT yet, however dancing it in the studio we definitely feel a sense of power and elegance, and we hope we can experience that feeling on stage too.

What do you hope the audience will feel/take away from your performance?

For SPLICE, we hope the audience will feel mesmerised, perhaps as though they've witnessed magic through the shapes and contortions we create; and inspired to get up and dance themselves due to the energetic movement and music.

For CLINQUANT, we hope audiences will feel a sense of femininity and empowerment from us, as well as being entranced by our movement.

Tell us about the piece of music you are using?

For SPLICE we’re dancing to an electronic track created by Floating Points - who’s known for creating innovative and cutting edge music. He recently created the ballet  ‘Mere Mortals’ for San Francisco Ballet. 

CLINQUANT has new music created by Ela Minus, Stella Mozgawa and Floating Points; a really exciting collaboration with three incredible artists.

How important are charities like the Dicky Buckle Fund for the future of dance?

Charities like Dicky Buckle Fund, gives new and upcoming artists opportunities to create and perform new work, which enables dance artists to continue to innovate, develop their practice and provide dance excellence to audiences. There is often limited funding for the dance sector, so charities like The Dicky Buckle Fund are crucial in keeping the dance sector alive.

Photo credit: Sophie Giddens

Where will you be taking this piece next?

SPLICE upcoming performances include Glastonbury Festival, Ballet Nights at Theatre Royal Glasgow, as well as touring in a double bill of our work ‘SPLICE | RORSCHACH’ to theatre and rural venues across the UK. CLINQUANT will also be performed in Ballet Nights at Ministry of Sound in the Autumn and we have exciting international interest for our work to be announced soon! 

You will be performing alongside some incredible artists from all around the world, who are you most looking forward to watching perform?

Having performed alongside Gareth Haw previously at Ballet Nights, it will be lovely to watch him again as he’s such a phenomenal dancer. We are of course excited to see everyone as it’s a stellar line up of artists. 

Photo credit: Genevieve Reeves

What do you like most about performing outside of the traditional theatre or studio?

There’s something more relaxed about it, and you can really feel that through the audience which is fun. We are both really used to dancing in unconventional spaces through Voguing and street dance, and it’s often where we see new people get introduced to dance which is lovely. 

Can you tell us three things people don’t know about you – fun facts perhaps?

Faye’s dad was in the band ‘The Foundations’ who famous hit was ‘Build Me Up Buttercup.’

Hannah was a competitive Ice Skater before going to dance school. 

As ekleido we work collaboratively, however in the Ballroom battle scene we’re competing in different teams (therefore we are also enemies!)

Interview with Gareth Haw

Photo credit: Andrew Seidel

Welsh born, Gareth Haw, trained in Chepstow before joining the Royal Ballet Lower and Upper School. Upon graduation, Gareth joined the Semperoper Ballett Dresden in 2015, where he grew through the ranks, before joining the English National Ballet as a First Soloist in 2023. He was promoted to Principal in 2024.

Gareth has danced Principal roles in Watkin and Smith’s Nutcracker; Watkin’s Swan Lake, La Bayadere and Sleeping Beauty; Watkin and Beechey’s The Nutcracker; Dawson’s Giselle. Soloist roles in Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, Symphony in C, and Four Temperaments; Forsythe’s The Second Detail, Artifact, and New Suite; Graham’s Errand into the Maze; Inger’s Walking Mad, and Carmen; Bausch’s Iphigenia auf Tauris; Ashton’s The Dream; Peck’s Heatscape; Ekman’s COW. His created roles include Paris, in Dawson’s Romeo and Juliet; Winter Principal Couple in Dawson’s The Four Seasons.

Gareth, can you tell us what you are currently rehearsing and performing?

I have been pretty busy of late performing as the Prince in Sleeping Beauty and I have just returned from Romania where I performed Giselle Act II and Metamorphosis by David Dawson. I also had the honour of performing the UK première of Slingerland Duet by William Forsythe.

Photo credit: Yoonsik Kim

What made you decide to join the Covent Garden Dance Company and perform at Hatch House this July?

I have been following CGDC for the past two years and really love the ethos. In February I was unable to join the Bahamas cast, but there was no way I could turn down the opportunity to dance with Lauren Cuthbertson. There is only one answer to that question! I have idolised her since I was in school and it was a dream opportunity.

What will you and Lauren be dancing?

We will be performing a double debut! We are both very keen to dance Le Parc as we saw the Paris Opera Ballet performing it a long time ago. We also will be performing Florent Malec’s beautiful piece Moonlight. There is such meaning behind both works that we both wanted to perform them for the first time.

What do you hope people feel when watching you?

If we manage to captivate an audience for a brief moment in time, enable them to forget the day to day, we will have done our job.

Photo credit: Yoonsik Kim

What excites you most about performing at Hatch House?

I love that it is not a conventional setting. Being outdoors rather than in a standard theatre in a big city, brings a different energy to the performance, it changes the atmosphere of the piece and it brings a different style of performance. I can’t wait.

You’ll be performing alongside some incredible artists, who are you most excited to watch?

William Bracewell. He is an extremely unique artist and what he represents as a male dancer is unique; he makes every role his own. It helps that he is also from Wales! I think we are the only two Welsh Principal dancers and that is something lovely. I am a massive fan and have been since I first saw him dance when I was 9 years old. It will be a full circle moment to dance alongside William.

Many children will be coming to watch the rehearsal on the 24th July - how important are these opportunities for future generations of dancers?

I experienced that thrill of watching professional dancers on stage when I was little. I grew up in rural Wales and I remember when I first watched the Royal Ballet perform. It is so important that we branch out of cities to expose a younger generation, include and inspire them. It is our responsibility to ensure ballet is not an elitist form but an accessible art.

What is your favourite role to dance?

I have performed as Albrecht in Giselle recently and it is a key pillar in classical ballet but it also explored the human emotional journey. Male dancers are often in white tights, but Albrecht’s emotional journey allows us to dance with freedom. Albrecht is my favourite role.

Can you share something people don’t know about you?

Before ballet, I was a slalom ski racer and I speak fluent German!

Interview with William Bracewell

After an unforgettable run of dancing Romeo to Marianela Nunez’s Juliet, we had the great privilege of interviewing Royal Ballet Principal Dancer, William Bracewell, before he dives down the rabbit hole into Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Photo credit: Unknown

Welsh dancer William Bracewell joined The Royal Ballet as a Soloist in 2017 and was promoted to First Soloist in 2018, Principal in 2022. Born in Swansea. William trained at the Pamela Miller Ballet School and, from the age of 11, at The Royal Ballet School. Whilst a student, he won the 2007 Young British Dancer of the Year Award and the grand prix at the 2010 Youth America Grand Prix. He joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2010, promoted to first artist in 2012 and to soloist in 2014.

His repertory with The Royal Ballet and BRB includes Des Grieux, Oberon, Polixenes and Florizel (The Winter's Tale) Lead roles in Requiem, The Dante Project, Hamlet and Ophelia, Romeo, Prince Siegfried (Swan Lake), Prince (The Nutcracker), Franz (Coppélia), Oberon (The Dream), The Prince (Cinderella), Ferdinand (The Tempest), Salamander Prince (David Bintley’s The Prince of the Pagodas), First Seminarian (Carmina Burana), Prince Florimund (The Sleeping Beauty) pas de six (Giselle), Rajah/Caterpillar (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), Ted Feltham (The Unknown Soldier), Kulygin (Winter Dreams), Beliaev (A Month in the Country), Dr John Brown (Like Water for Chocolate) and roles in Woolf Works, Dances at a Gathering, Symphonic Variations, Tombeaux, Obsidian Tear, Les Rendezvous, Elite Syncopations, ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café, Theme and Variations, Untouchable, Sylvia, Asphodel Meadows, Corybantic Games and DGV: Danse à grande vitesse.

William Bracewell as Prince Siegfried & Akane Takada as Odile in Swan Lake at the Royal Ballet & Opera House
Photo credit: unknown

His role creations for BRB included Le roi soleil (Bintley’s The King Dances), Alexander Whitley’s Kin and Jessica Lang’s Lyric Pieces. He has created roles for The Royal Ballet in Jessica Lang's Twinkle, Untitled 2023, Yugen, Corybantic Games, Dispatch Duet and The Weathering.

Bracewell's other awards include Best Male Dancer 2023 and Outstanding Male Performance (Classical) 2015 from Critics' Circle National Dance Awards.

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William, can you tell us what you are currently rehearsing and performing? 

It’s nearing the end of our season here at the Royal Ballet & Opera House and the final thing I’m performing here is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I’m also creating a new ballet with Cathy Marsden that will premiere in November 2025.

Photo credit: William Muir.

Can you please tell us what motivated you to join the Covent Garden Dance Company to perform at Hatch House this July?

It’s rare that I get to perform in such a beautiful part of the world so I was thrilled to be asked. Having danced with Sarah Lamb last summer, I was also incredibly keen to continue forming our relatively new dancing relationship.

What are you looking forward to most about performing at Hatch House?

I can’t wait to see the house and gardens and of course share the stage with Sarah both in repertoire we know well and something totally new to myself. I also cannot wait to see the gardens for the first time. After dancing, my second love is horticulture and gardening. I find it such a therapy and escape, if there is any help needed in the garden I’ll be there!

Photo credit: Alice Pennefather

What will you be performing and why did you choose these pieces?

Myself and Sarah Lamb will be dancing an excerpt from La Bayadère and Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella pas de deux. Cinderella is a firm favourite of mine; the precision and detail all Ashton works combined with his musicality is such a joy to perform. I feel Sarah is an absolute master of this way of moving. La Bayadère is new to me, so I’m looking forward to the challenge of tackling something quite different.

When you’re dancing these works, what do you hope the audience feels?

These pieces are quite different from one another so hopefully the audience will be able to take away the contrast and versatility of our dancing. 

You will be performing alongside some wonderful artists from all around the world, who are you most looking forward to watching perform?

I always love seeing people dance that I haven’t before.

Many children will be coming to watch the rehearsal on the 24th July - how important are these opportunities for future generations of dancers?

Seeing dancers of the Royal Ballet perform was what made me want to start dancing more seriously, so I know how important these experiences are.

Photo credit: Alice Pennefather

What is your favourite role to dance?

It’s a tough question but probably of the classical ballets it would have to be Romeo and Juliet or Manon but there are too many to chose from…

Can you tell me three things people don’t know about you – fun facts perhaps?

• I am an excellent whistler (to some people’s annoyance).

• I built all the door frames and doors in my current flat (yes they are a little wonky)

• And my YouTube rabbit hole is electric car videos.

If you are yet to book your seats to watch William Bracewell and Sarah Lamb dance at Hatch House 2025, don’t delay, tickets are selling fast.

Interview with Sarah Lamb

Having just completed a run of sublime performances at the Royal Ballet & Opera House as Juliet in Kenneth Macmillan’s Romeo & Juliet, and ahead of her debut appearance at Hatch House 25-27 July, 2025, we were delighted to interview Principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, Sarah Lamb.

Sarah is an internationally acclaimed Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet. She joined the company in 2004 as a first soloist and was promoted to principal after eighteen months.

Photo credit - Andrej Uspenski

Sarah’s roots lead back to Massachusetts. She was born in Boston and trained with Madame Tatiana Nicolaevna Legat at the Boston Ballet School. In 1998 she was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and awarded a gold medal by President Clinton and performed Sleeping Beauty Act III at the Kennedy Center in 1998. Her many awards include three silver medals at the Third Japan International Ballet Competition in Nagoya (1999), the USA International Ballet Competition (2002). She was awarded the highest medal at the New York International Ballet Competition (2000).

Lamb’s repertory with the Company includes all the leading roles in the classical, dramatic and contemporary repertories as well as the masterpieces of Sir Frederick Ashton and Sir Kenneth McMillan. She created the title role in Wayne McGregor’s Raven Girl and roles in his ballets Carbon Life, Live Fire Exercise, Limen, Chroma, Tetractys, Woolf Works, Multiverse, Yugen and The Dante Project. She also has created roles for the Company in Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale and Electric Counterpoint, Ratmansky’s 24 Preludes, David Dawson’s The Human Seasons and Twyla Tharp’s Illustrated ‘Farewell’.

Sarah has performed at the World Ballet Festival in Tokyo in 2015, 2018 and 2024 and is known by audiences across the globe. In 2023 Sarah received the Positano award for Best Female Dancer.

We cannot wait to watch Sarah grace the Hatch House stage on 25, 26 & 27 July 2025.

Photo credit - Andrej Uspenski

What you are currently rehearsing or performing?

I just finished Romeo and Juliet and am preparing for some performances in Mexico in a couple of weeks. I'm really looking forward to performing in Mexico again; it has been several years since I was there.

What motivated you to join the Covent Garden Dance Company to perform at Hatch House this July?

William Bracewell invited me, and I will always jump at an opportunity to dance with William! We performed for the first time together last summer at the World Ballet Festival, and we had a wonderful partnership, I'm looking forward to dancing together again this summer.

What will you be performing?

William and I are performing Ashton's Cinderella pas de deux, which we performed last summer in Tokyo, and an excerpt from Marius Petipa’s Shades Pas de Deux, from La Bayadère, which is a ballet William hasn't previously performed. 

Photo credit - Andrej Uspenski

What are you looking forward to most about performing at Hatch House?

It's always interesting to perform somewhere new, we are always in London so there are many parts of the UK that I have never seen! 

When you’re dancing these works how does it make you feel, what do you hope the audience feels?

Prokofiev's music for the Cinderella pas de deux in Act 2 is sublime and I hope the audience feels the same as I do when I perform. It is glorious. The pas de deux from La Bayadère is one of longing. Nikiya is a vision to Solor, and he is reunited with her in this otherworldly realm. She needs to exude these qualities of intangible beauty.

You will be performing alongside some wonderful artists from all around the world, who are you most looking forward to watching perform?

I don't know the final cast list but it will be exciting to see some familiar faces or meet new artists!

Photo credit - Andrej Uspenski

Many children will be coming to watch the rehearsal on the 24th July - how important are these opportunities for future generations of dancers?

I think rehearsals are a wonderful way to introduce new audiences. I think rehearsals can be more interesting to watch than performances! Young dancers especially feel closer to the work and the art, and it is so unique to be able to do what you love - for a young dancer to realise his/her dream is edifying. 

What is your favourite role to dance?

That's not a fair question there are too many!

Can you tell us three things people don’t know about you?

I love to read, and I take time every day to read the New Yorker Magazine. 

I used to love drawing, and I still do from time to time though I am not good at finding time for it.

I still don't have a driver's license which is rather remarkable as I lived in America until I was in my early 20s! 

Photo credit - Andrej Uspenski.

Children’s Matinée at Hatch House

We are delighted to introduce a brand-new addition to our weekend of world-class ballet and dance at the beautiful Hatch House near Tisbury: the Children’s Matinée Performance.

In previous years, we’ve welcomed families to attend our open dress rehearsals—a wonderful opportunity for young audiences to experience the magic of ballet in an informal and inspiring setting. However, due to unforeseen delays and the overwhelming popularity of last year’s rehearsal, we felt it was time to reimagine the experience for our younger guests.

This year, we were honoured to collaborate with the extraordinarily talented Courtney Celeste Fox, a celebrated Bahamian ballerina. Not only did Courtney create an exciting new piece for our programme, but she also curated and hosted a fun, interactive matinée performance designed especially for children.

BOOK YOUR SEATS

The 90-minute matinée, taking place between 2.45pm and 4:00pm on Thursday 24th July, includes engaging audience interaction, an introduction to the behind-the-scenes world of theatre (including lighting, music cues, and stagecraft), and two performances from our main programme. Children are then invited to join Courtney on stage to learn and perform a joyful, high-energy choreography—an experience that is as entertaining as it is educational.

Courtney, known for both her artistic excellence and her warm, approachable presence, brings a wealth of experience working with children in performance and education. With technical support from our brilliant chief technician, Ella, the matinée promises to be a magical and memorable event for the whole family.

We are excited to launch what we hope will become a beloved tradition at Hatch House: a children’s performance that inspires, delights, and invites the next generation into the world of dance.

We hope to see you there!

To book, click the button below

Iconique 2025 - Director’s Note

It was a distinct honour to present the second season of Iconique this past March at the renowned Old Fort Bay Club on New Providence Island, in the Bahamas. Across the weekend of March 7th and 8th, our company had the privilege of performing a rich and diverse programme in an open-air setting that remains one of the most exquisite in the world.

Photo credit - Eddy Raphael.

For the first time, we also offered a children’s matinee on Sunday morning—an energetic and joy-filled performance led by the luminous Courtney Celeste Spears, which was met with enthusiasm and delight by the next generation of Bahamian dance lovers.

Lauren Cuthbertson & Robbie Fairchild performing Christopher Wheeldon’s Mercurial Manoeuvres. Photo credit - Eddy Raphael.

The natural elements, once again, proved gracious. As the final notes of our dress rehearsal faded into the evening, the coastal winds calmed, blessing our opening night with near-perfect conditions and an atmosphere befitting the beauty of ballet beneath the stars.

We were delighted to read Mark Monahan’s report on Iconique and our upcoming Hatch House events. You can read the The Telegraph’s esteemed Chief Dance Critic and Arts Editor’s report by clicking the button below.

Among the many artistic highlights of this year’s edition was the creation and world premiere of an original work conceived and brought to life by Bahamian talent. Collaborating with the extraordinary Courtney Celeste Spears and her partner Vernal Adley, alongside acclaimed Bahamian composer Giveton Gelin, we sought to honor the cultural vibrancy of the island itself.

Photo credit: Robyn Damianos.

With the generous support of six local patrons and the creative vision of fashion designer Phylicia Ellis, this new piece emerged as a heartfelt celebration of Bahamian artistry. It is a rare and meaningful occasion when a work speaks so directly to the place in which it is born—this was one such moment.

To welcome choreographic works by some of the most significant figures in the canon of 20th and 21st-century ballet was both a privilege and a profound responsibility. The inclusion of George Balanchine, whose neoclassical innovations redefined the vocabulary of ballet; Maurice Béjart, whose theatrical vision electrified audiences and embraced the existential edge of dance; Benjamin Millepied, whose kinetic modernism continues to resonate with new audiences; and Christopher Wheeldon, whose seamless blend of classical structure and contemporary lyricism positions him as one of the leading choreographers of our time—each contributed to a program that celebrated the ever-evolving art of ballet.

Kateryna Chebykina & Alejandro Virelles performing George Balanchine’s Diamonds’ pas de deux.
Photo credit: Eddy Raphael

In particular, to present two works by Christopher Wheeldon—performed impeccably by Royal Ballet principal Lauren Cuthbertson and Broadway and New York City Ballet star Robbie Fairchild—was a personal milestone. That they accomplished such breath-taking performances with only five days of rehearsal, each learning a new piece in that time, speaks not only to their prodigious talent but to the passion and urgency that defines truly great artistry.

Lauren Cuthbertson & Robbie Fairchild performing Christopher Wheeldon’s Within the Golden Hour.
Photo credit - Eddy Raphael

Set to music by the likes of Georges Bizet, Sergei Prokofiev, and contemporary composer Ezio Bosso, our programme paid homage to the powerful union of choreography and musical composition—a cornerstone of ballet’s history from Petipa and Tchaikovsky to the present day.

Seojun Joon & Mikael Lafon performing Benjamin Millepied’s Nuits s'achève.

To work with a cast of this calibre, in a country of such beauty and warmth, and to contribute—however modestly—to the cultural dialogue of the Bahamas has been one of the great joys of my professional life. Ballet Iconique exists not only as a celebration of movement but as a living testament to ballet’s ability to evolve, to connect, and to inspire.

Matt Brady
Director

Curtain call
Photo credit - Eddy Raphael

Iconique - Bahamas 2025 Programme

After 12 months of planning, we are so delighted to share our full Iconique, 2025 programme with you.

From classical to contemporary, there is something to delight every dance novice and dance connoisseur alike.

Read on and book your seats before it is too late.

Book now

Children’s Matinee

Taking place on 9 March at 11.30am, the Children’s Matinee performance at Old Fort Bay is an exciting event for children, offering a magical and captivating introduction to the world of ballet and dance.

The matinee will feature exquisite ballet excerpts, and fun performances performed by some of the world’s most incredible dancers; showcasing the range as well as the elegance of this art form.

Hosted by the Bahamas’ very own super star ballerina, Courtney Celeste Spears, this show is perfect for all ages! After the performance, children will have the opportunity to ask questions, interact with the dancers and even have the chance to get the photo taken with them!

Interview with Lauren Cuthbertson

Photo credit: Andrej Uspenski

English dancer, Lauren Cuthbertson is a Principal of The Royal Ballet. She studied at The Royal Ballet School, before graduating into the Company in 2002. She became a Principal in 2008.  

Lauren was recipient of the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Female Performance (Classical) in 2004 and 2021. She has performed as a guest artist with Teatro Colón, Teatro di San Carlo, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and The Australian Ballet. She was invited by the Mariinsky Ballet to perform Sylvia (2018), Marguerite and Armand (2019) and The Sleeping Beauty (2020). She is Vice President of the British Ballet Organisation and Patron of London Children’s Ballet and the National Youth Ballet. 

Cuthbertson’s repertory with the Company includes Aurora, Odette/Odile and the Sugar Plum Fairy. Works by Frederick Ashton include the Young Girl in The Two Pigeons, Titania in The Dream, Natalia in A Month in the Country and Marguerite in Marguerite and Armand. She also featured in principal roles in many of Kenneth MacMillan’s ballets including Anastasia, Romeo and Juliet, Manon, Mayerling, Song of the Earth and The Judas Tree. She has also performed leading roles in works by other choreographers including George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Glen Tetley, David Bintley, Liam Scarlett and Alastair Marriott. Created roles for Wayne McGregor include Qualia,  Chroma,  Infra, Acis and Galatea, Live Fire Exercise, Tetractys and Multiverse. Cuthbertson performed Christopher Wheeldon’s Souvenirs while at The Royal Ballet School and went on to work with him closely, creating the role of Alice in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Hermione in The Winter’s Tale. She also worked with Cathy Marston on first joining the Company and went on to create the leading role inspired by Jacqueline du Pré in The Cellist for which she won her 2021 Critics’ Circle National Dance Award. 

How long have you known Matt and been working with the Covent Garden Dance Company?

I have known Matt for over ten years and have worked consistently for the Covent Garden Dance Company over that period. Since having my two small children, I haven’t taken on any extra performances within my schedule, but now feels like the right time. I have an appetite to perform selected works and that is why I really enjoy working with Matt because he is so open to you suggesting works that you are inspired by, and think audiences would love to see you dance. That is why I am coming to the Bahamas this March.

Lauren Cuthbertson & Matthew Golding - Hatch House
Photo credit - Alice Pennefather

What will you be performing and with whom?

I’ll be performing two works by Christopher Wheeldon with Robbie Fairchild. It is our first time dancing together, and I am beyond excited to be performing with him. We’ve both worked separately with Chris, so to come together within his work feels quite special. I’ve danced Golden Hour before, which is one of our pas de deuxs, and the other one - which will be a debut for me - is called Mercurial Manoeuvres. Robbie has danced that work before so between us we have a history with one and are supporting the other one to debut. That feels really beautiful.

What are you looking forward to most about performing at Iconique?

I’m most looking forward to that feeling you get when the music starts and hopefully the audience is captivated and we are also captivated within the work and and we share that moment in time. Performing always feels completely special and unique and this time feels really special; dancing with Robbie for the first time with new repertoire. This is also my first time performing in the Bahamas.

Have you ever performed in the Bahamas before, can you tell us about the last experience? And if not, what are you most looking forward to?

After I had a foot operation a long time ago, I went with a dear friend to the Bahamas to recuperate. It is amazing to come back and think how worried I was to be able to get back to dancing after that foot surgery and questioning if I would every make it back to full fitness. Yet here I am, returning after many years, after sustaining a career and having children. So performing on the island for the first time with that in mind, will feel on a personal level, quite special.

When you’re dancing these works how does it make you feel, what do you hope the audience feels?

When I am performing Golden Hour. I feel really serene and peaceful. Every movement that you take within the Golden Hour, feels meaningful because it is quite a sparse work in terms of steps. So you really have to engage your physicality with every single move and make it as smooth as possible.

Many children will be coming to watch the rehearsal on the 6 March - how important are these opportunities for future generations of dancers?

It’s critical that children have access to the arts and I am so happy that we are going to bring some of what we do to the Bahamas. I certainly haven’t performed here before, but you never know, there may be someone in the audience who is so captivated by the music or the dance or the physicality, or it might make them feel wonderful to watch it. In this day and age with so much screen time, I feel like any art form is ever more important and engaging with each other and sharing in the moment is necessary, so I am really excited about that.

I hope we get to meet the children and talk to them. I always love to speak to children after a performance they’ve seen because they seem to be so receptive. They come out with some really insightful reactions because they are often seeing things for the first time and they have such a refreshing perspective.

What will you be working on after Iconique?

After Iconique, I will be heading back to London and performing in Serenade at the Royal Opera House and then debuting in another beautiful work by Christopher Wheeldon called The Two Of Us, so those are my next two engagements at the Royal Opera House.

Can you tell us something people don’t know about you – a fun fact perhaps?

I work with a perfumer, so for every big ballet that we perform, we work on making a scent for that ballet, so that each character has at least one scent. I have done this for my whole career, so now we have a whole library of scents which is quite unique.

Watch Lauren dancing as the original Alice in Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice in Wonderland.

Interview with Robbie Fairchild

Just a few weeks before Iconique 2025, we caught up with the incredible international artist, Robbie Fairchild, who is soon to partner Royal Ballet Principal Dancer, Lauren Cuthbertson in a stunning Christopher Wheeldon double bill.

ROBBIE FAIRCHILD made his Tony nominated Broadway debut in 2015 as Jerry Mulligan in the Tony Award-winning musical An American in Paris, which he reprised in London’s West End in 2017. He was awarded the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Theater World, National Dance and Astaire Award for this performance and was nominated for the Evening Standard and Drama League Awards.

From 2009 to 2017, Fairchild performed as a Principal Dancer with the New York City Ballet. His other theatre credits include Monster in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein (Signature Theater, Chita Rivera Award), Harry Beaton in Brigadoon (New York City Center), Will Parker in Oklahoma! (Royal Albert Hall, London), Mike Costa in A Chorus Line (Hollywood Bowl), and Bill Calhoun in Kiss Me Kate (Roundabout Theater Company’s 2017 Gala).

Photo credit - Ryan Slack

His television credits include: Soundtrack (Netflix), Mixtape (FOX Pilot), Julie’s Greenroom (Netflix), Oklahoma! (BBC Proms), Romeo in Romeo and Juliet and Carousel Boy in NY Philharmonic’s Carousel (PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center), Dancing With The Stars, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Live with Kelly and Michael, CBS Sunday Morning, and 60 Minutes. Film: Tom Hooper's Cats, An American in Paris Live (West End Production), The Chaperone and NY Export: Opus Jazz.

What have you just been working on?

I have just been in London working on another workshop of The Artist - a stage adaptation of the Oscar-winning movie of 2011, it’s picking up steam and it’s really fun; a dance musical hybrid - like An American in Paris.

Can you please tell us what you are currently rehearsing / performing / working on aside from preparing for Iconique?

I’ve got a lot of Spring and Summer gigs lined up which I am really excited about. There is a lot of prep’ work for me to do; whether it’s choreographing or flying to different cities to meet with different choreographers to make new stuff, so I am really excited.

Photo credit - Erin Baiano

What will you be performing and with whom?

I am so excited to be doing Golden Hour and Mercurial Manoeuvres with Lauren Cuthbertson. We have known each other for so long and because we know each other through Christopher Wheeldon, it will be fun to get to connect on stage via his moves. I am really excited.

What are you looking forward to most about performing at Iconique?

I think I am looking forward to exploring our friendship on stage. I have admired her for years as an audience member and a friend, so to get to dance with her is a huge honour and a treat.

When you’re dancing these works how does it make you feel, what do you hope the audience feels?

When I dance Christopher Wheeldon pas de deuxs, they feel so human; they transcend the classical form they are in, into something that feels so wonderfully personal. And I love that aspect of ballet, that it is something so classical and it can feel so far away, but then moments make it feel really human; Thank you Wheeldon!

Photo credit - Erin Baiano

Have you ever performed in the Bahamas before, can you tell us about the last experience? And if not, what are you most looking forward to?

I have never performed before in the Bahamas, but I have gone scuba-diving there which was heaven. I am very much looking forward to it. I love the people there, I love the culture and it will be fun to get to perform, not just go as a tourist.

You will be performing alongside some wonderful artists from all around the world, who are you most looking forward to working alongside?

I cannot wait to dance with Lauren, but also alongside all of my fellow dancers who I have only been able to see dance online up until now. How exciting!

Photo credit - Paul Kolnik

Many children will be coming to watch the rehearsal on the 6 March - how important are these opportunities for future generations of dancers?

Young audience members are so key. Dance is very unique and very special, but it’s very universal and in a very Tik Tok, Instagram reel world, there is something to be said about sitting down and spectating something that lasts longer than 30 seconds. So it is important to have those moments.

Can you tell me three things people don’t know about you – fun facts perhaps?

I don’t know if people will have gathered this, but I am an adventurer, I am very spontaneous and although I am very outgoing and extroverted, I really love my quiet time too.

Interview with Fernanda Oliveira

With Iconique, Bahamas, 2025 selling fast, we caught up with Lead Principal dancer of the English National Ballet, Fernanda Oliveira.

Read on to discover what Fernanda and her partner, Alejandro Virelles will be dancing at the Old Fort Bay Club, Nassau on 7 & 8 March, 2025.

What are you currently rehearsing / performing?

I’m currently rehearsing for Giselle in preparation for the English National Ballet’s final show of the winter season.

How long you have been working with Matt and the Covent Garden Dance Company?

I’ve known Matt for around 12 years. We’ve worked together on a few projects, but our first performance at Hatch House, was in 2022 when I danced with Fabian Reimair.

What are you looking forward to most about performing at Iconique?

I’m excited to perform for a new audience and share these beautiful pieces. I’ll be performing 3 Prelude by Ben Stevenson and  “Loss” by Ricardo Amarante alongside Alejandro Virelles.

When you’re dancing these works how does it make you feel and what do you hope the audience feels?

I love performing these ballets because opportunities like this don’t come around often; I really hope the audience can feel the joy and emotion they bring.

What are you looking forward to most about performing at Iconique?

It’ll be wonderful to meet new dancers and see the unique energy they bring to the stage.

Many children will be coming to watch the rehearsal on the 6th March - how important are these opportunities for future generations of dancers?

I hope the kids in the audience feel inspired by what we do—I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to share ballet with them.

Can you share something that people don’t know about you?

 I have two kids and I’ve never performed in the Caribbean before.

A video message from Mickaël Lafon

We cannot wait to welcome back the incredible on-stage and in life partnership of Étoile, Myriam Ould-Braham and Coryphée, Mickaël (Paris Opéra Ballet) to the Covent Garden Dance Company stage.

With only two months to go till Iconique, Bahamas and tickets selling fast, watch their video to discover what this world class couple will be dancing on the 7 & 8 March, 2025 at the Old Fort Bay Club, Nassau.

Interview with Courtney Celeste Fox

Courtney Celeste Fox, of Bahamian descent, is a professional dancer and dance educator with the world renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and has performed in over 15 countries including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, and The Netherlands.

Courtney has performed for two sitting US presidents, for President Barack Obama at the G7 summit in Germany in 2015 and for President Joe Biden & First Lady Dr. Jill Biden at the 2023 Governors Association at The White House.

Her work has been featured in publications such as Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, The New York Times, Shondaland, and Vanity Fair and she was a leading figure in The Black Iris Project's "A Mother's Rite" choreographed by artistic director Jeremy McQueen, which was nominated for a New York Emmy.

Ahead of our second Iconique Gala taking place in Nassau, Bahamas, we caught up with award winning, Courtney to discover more about the new and exciting piece she is creating to première on 7 & 8 March 2025.

She shares what impact working with Jazz composer Giveton Gelin has had upon her choreography, to what inspires her most about returning to the stage to dance. We cannot wait to watch Courtney’s Dicky Buckle funded creation in March.

Photo credit: NYC Dance Project

Please tell us what new work you have been creating for Covent Garden Dance Company.

This new work highlights my love of modern dance with jazz music. The full story line is being developed now, but its a solo followed by a duet. It’s set to an original score by Giveton Gelin, Bahamian jazz artist and composer. With costumes designed by Bahamian designer Phylicia Ellis and danced with Bahamian dancer Vernal Adderley.

How did the piece came about?

I was first introduced to Covent Garden Dance, Director, Matt Brady, via word of mouth on the island. In his incredible work with dance, people suggested he connect with me! What’s funny is that Matt thought that when he was coming to meet a “ballet teacher, who’s retired from Alvin Ailey, and lived in New York City for over a decade,” and he was coming to meet an older lady whose dance career was way behind them. As he described it, “in walks, this young beautiful lady,” who he immediately asks “why aren’t you performing?!” I laughed and told him I’d left the stage and was absolutely content in my role as an educator. Well, if you know Matt, you know that his kind spirit and bubbly personality is persuasive and by the end, I was convinced.

What inspired you to create this piece?

I wanted to highlight Bahamian creatives in a way that allows us to show our connection to spirit and soul. This piece was heavily inspired by the music created by Giveton Gelin and I wanted to allow myself the freedom to be inspired by the art around me and go from there.

What has been your favourite moment whilst preparing this piece?

Honestly, rehearsing with Vernal has been such a treat. It’s been so priceless to be in the studio again getting to work. Vernal is an exceptional dancer and an even more exceptional partner! He’s so strong, so caring, and so attentive. Moving like this again has been a gift.

What are you looking forward to most about performing this piece in March 2025?

I’m excited to dance with all that I’ve gained over the last year. I left Alvin Ailey about a year and a half ago and have evolved so much since then. I feel like a different person, having gained so much in my time as a full-time educator. I always believed that who you are as a person and your life experiences directly impact the artist you are on stage. I’m excited to return as who I am now at this season of life.

When you’re dancing this piece how does it make you feel?

Full. Empowered. blessed.

Please tell us about the piece of music you are using.

Giveton Gelin and I came together and I described some imagery to get him started. This piece of music is a beautiful blend of his love of jazz with my understanding of modern dance. It’s absolutely sensational!

How important are charities like the Dicky Buckle Fund for the future of dance?

Funds like these support artists and allow us to do what we love… Create. It’s imperative to the forward momentum of our industry. Their importance of the Dicky Buckle Fund can’t be put into words!

Where will you be taking this piece next?

Hopefully around the world!

You will be performing alongside some wonderful artists from all around the world this year, who are you most looking forward to watching perform?

All of them! Live art is truly life changing and especially to have that here in the Bahamas. It’s so inspiring to watch.

What do you like most about performing in ballet galas such as Iconique?

It allows for so much diversity in what you’re seeing! Going to the theatre to see one ballet company is truly spectacular, but when you get to see multiple dancers from different backgrounds in one setting, it’s a different experience. And it has the ability to bring dance to places that may not always have access!

Can you share three things people don’t know about you?

• I love school and academics. I went to Harvard Business School’s “Crossover Into Business” Programme for professional athletes and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Fordham University with a degree in Dance & Communications.

• I’ve performed for two sitting US presidents, President Barack Obama & President Joe Biden, and had the pleasure of meeting President Joe Biden in the Oval Office after performing at The White House.

• I recently got engaged! My fiancé is incredible and he is the most supportive of my dreams. We’re getting married in 2025.

A video message from Paris…

Photo credit: Little Shao

Fresh from rehearsals, we are delighted to welcome Soloists, Nine Seropian and Andrea Sarri from the Paris Opera Ballet to join the Covent Garden Dance Company.

To discover what they will be dancing at Hatch House 2024, watch their video.

Nine Seropian

Nine entered the Paris Opéra Ballet School at the age of nine where she studied till graduation. She then worked at the Paris Opéra Ballet company as an apprentice, becoming an official member of the company after three years, in 2019.

After her success at the 2021 Paris Opéra Ballet's ‘concours de promotion,’ Nine was promoted to Coryphée (Artist), and in 2024 to the position of Sujét (Soloist).

She most recently danced the Peasant Pas de Deux and the two Willis in the ballet Giselle. Alongside classical ballets, she has worked with many famous contemporary choreographers over the years. These include: Mats Ek, Sharon Eyal, Wayne McGregor, Crystal Pite and Angelin Preljocaj.

Andrea Sarri

Andrea Sarri trained at the Paris Opéra Ballet school from 2008 to 2016, the year in which he won the ‘concours de promotion’ and joined the Company. In 2021 he attained the position of Sujét.

Andrea has played many iconic lead roles such as Puck in Balanchine’s Midsomer Night’s Dream, Bratfisch in Mayerling and Léscaut in Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon.

Photo credit: Julien Benhamou

He has also appeared in Les Indomptés by Claude Brumachon, danced the Pas de Trois in Rudolf Nureyev’s Swan Lake, and recently danced as Prince Albrecht in Giselle by Coralli and Perrot.

Throughout his career he has relished working with some of the world’s most acclaimed choreographers; William Forsythe, Jiri Kilyan and Crystal Pite.

Andrea received the coveted Prix de l'Arop in 2022, which celebrated his artistic growth and secured him as a dancer to watch.

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To enquire about offers, tables, menu and the programme, get in touch via email events@coventgardendance.com or phone: 01749 81 3313

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Hatch House 2024 Programme

Our 15th anniversary performance needed to be extra special and this summer’s programme does not disappoint.

We are delighted to bring you three world premieres of stunning works, especially created for our Hatch House 2024 audiences. We also boast a double bill of exquisite works from the quintessential towering figure of classical ballet, Sir Frederick Ashton alongside Diamonds, created by America’s greatest, most exciting choreographers, George Balanchine.

These works will be performed for our audiences’ delectation, as always by some of the world’s greatest dancers, from the greatest ballet companies in the world. This year art, music and artistry combine with live music from Arne-Christian Pelz, Principal Cellist of Deustche Oper’ and stunning hand drawn projections by contemporary artist Hannah Fowler.

If you haven’t booked your seats for 2025 yet, don’t delay, tickets are selling fast.

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To enquire about offers, tables, menu and the programme, get in touch via email events@coventgardendance.com or phone: 01749 81 3313

For latest news, competitions and events, subscribe to our mailing list and follow us on Instagram.

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Interview with Ksenia Ovsyanick

Between the end of the stunning Staatsballett Berlin season and her busy life as a mum, we were delighted to catch up with Principal dancer, Ksenia Ovsyanick.

A hugely important member of the Covent Garden Dance Company, Ksenia is returning to Hatch House for her tenth year and bringing with her an exciting and unique improvised performance that promises to delight this year’s audience.

British-Belorussian ballet dancer, Ksenia became known for her collaborations beyond the stage with art galleries, artists, fashion designers, musicians and filmmakers. She started her career at English National ballet, joining Staatsballett Berlin in 2016 and over the years performed on stages around the world and winning numerous prestigious dance awards.

Discover more about this year’s performances at Hatch House and how becoming a mother has shaped her dancing in our interview below.

How long you have been working with Covent Garden Dance Company?

I was part of the early performance by CGDC back in 2009/10. And I have been here on numerous occasions since. In fact, I believe I have performed almost at every show in the last 10 years!

Ksenia performing with Dinu Tamazlacaru at Hatch House 2023
Photo credit: Alice Pennefather

What has been your favourite moment whilst performing for CGDC?

I think the locations and performing in the open air are always a very special experience. And the meticulous conditions that Matt creates that enable us to deal with any weather allow to truly enioy performing in such unique settings. 

What are you looking forward to most this year?

This year I’m bringing as a partner, Principal Cellist of Deustche Oper, Arne-Christian Pelz. I think having live music for this evening will be a very special addition and I very much looking forward to bringing to Hatch audience our collaboration with AC.

What inspired you to create the new piece with Arne-Christian?

We have had chances to work with AC before and it inspired me to look for more opportunities for collaboration. Rather than just dancing to the music, communicating with the musician as a partner during the performance creates a very different experience. Instead of telling two parallel stories we create one together in the moment, and while we “speak” in different languages you have to breathe and feel together, and I believe it is palpable for the audience to feel and experience too.

Tell us about the piece of music you are using.

It is classically based but rearranged/recomposed by AC. You will be in for a treat!

What role would you most like to play that you are yet to debut?

Its a long list! There is a lot I still want to do and create.

How important are charities like the Dicky Buckle Fund and Covent Garden Dance Company for the future of dance? 

Dance is one of the least supported art forms, yet it so expressive and relatable. It transcends language bariers, it can portray things you cannot describe in words. It is wonderful to have funds such as Dicky Buckle supporting developments in dance. Sometimes the smallest crops can grow into the biggest harvest. 

Photo credit: Patricio Melo

You will be performing alongside some wonderful artists from all around the world this year, who are you most looking forward to watching perform?

It is always nice to meet new dancers as well as reconnect with those you know. Coming from different places, there is always something you can learn and get inspired from. This year there are quite a few new dancers I haven’t met before and I very much look forward to discovering their art.

How do you juggle your busy life as a ballerina and a mother? 

Its busy… Because I don’t want to sacrifice either time with my son nor the quality of my ballet performances. I guess what gets sacrificed is sleep…

How has being a mother changed you as a dancer? 

The work became very precise and focused, as you can’t afford to waste time. It is very enriching emotionally, giving me more emotions and feelings I can tap into as an actor. Also I had to completely relearn my body and how to use it in dance. As the result of such a process and all the additional training I did, I believe it made me a stronger dancer. 

Can you tell us something people don’t know about you?

I cannot ride a bike. But I can ride a horse. 

Don’t miss Hatch House 2025.

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To enquire about offers, tables, menu and the programme, get in touch via email events@coventgardendance.com or phone: 01749 81 3313

For latest news, competitions and events, subscribe to our mailing list and follow us on Instagram.

Interview with Calvin Richardson

Between performances as Oberon in the Royal Ballet’s Midsomer Night’s Dream, we caught up with newly promoted Principal, Calvin Richardson to find out how his new choreographic work, soon to premiere at Hatch House 2024, is progressing.

Photo credit: Andrej Uspenski.

From what inspires him, to how he balances choreography alongside his performances at the Royal Opera House, Calvin explains why he’s so excited to be choreographing on The Royal Ballet’s First Artists and Hatch House performers, Marco Masciari and Viola Pantuso.

Talk us through your journey with choreography

I’ve always choreographed from when I was at school in Melbourne, right through to Upper School at the Royal Ballet, when I became known for my Dying Swan choreography, which I made in my graduate year.

That took me around the world and from there, I have created solos and duets for galas and a piece here at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre. Then when the pandemic hit, lots of jobs fell through so it was a strange process. Once I came out of the pandemic, my dance career kicked off and I’m a Principal in the company now so the balance has really shifted.

Since my promotion, the focus has been on my dancing, so it’s really nice to have the opportunity to continue nurturing that side of my work as well.

Obviously Marco and Viola are emerging talent within the company. They are amazing artists and so to work with them has been a joyful experience; to be amazed by what they do.

What has been your favourite role since becoming Principal with the Royal Ballet?

Definitely Romeo, The Statement by Crystal Pite and then this year, I performed in Manon with Melissa Hamilton - that was amazing as well. You always have those dreams of like, these are the roles that I want to do. To actually start being able to tick those things off, I have to pinch myself a little bit at times, but it's been a great time.

Photo credit: Andrej Uspenski.

How do you balance your choreography with your dancing?

It’s a balance like everything. When you first start out you’re on stage a lot more, but maybe it’s not the same level of pressure, and then as you work your way up, you’re on stage less, but when you’re on, there’s a bit more pressure to deliver your performance and maintain a certain reputation. So it’s nice to find other things that aren’t always about you, about achieving and about success.

Tell us more about the piece you are choreographing for Hatch House 2024.

I’ve always wanted to create a piece to music by Colin Stetson; I’ve always been a fan. I was listening to his recent album, When We Were That What Wept For The Sea, and I found track The Lighthouse V, which is just beautiful, and I thought it would fit with a lot of images of the natural world. It’s composed by Colin, but it’s featuring Iarla Ó Lionáird who recites poetry throughout.

It’s just a beautiful piece and it’s got a lot of images of the natural world. The Lighthouse evokes images of a journey and when I was doing research on the album that he composed, I discovered that Colin’s father had passed away quite suddenly, so the album was created in a very short space of time and in light of that event.

It’s a bit more of a sombre subject matter, which I didn’t intentionally choose for Hatch, but I just knew that the music spoke to me in a way that would suit the location of the event.

Even just to watch the performance as a whole, in that location is going to be quite the spectacle, and I just thought that it would pair really well with the music’s images of the natural world really nicely.

How does your new piece evoke the natural world?

I want to evoke abstractions of nature in all of its different colours and textures. It highlights the beauty and brutality of our environment, which reflects our own human experiences on this voyage here together.

The dancers in some moments depict waves pushing and pulling and at other times evoke a human, emotional landscape between them. I thought it would be interesting to blur these lines that we enforce in our collective consciousness. The piece seeks to represent this sensed awareness of reality. One where things are not separate but unified by relationship.

What inspired you to create this piece?

Nature has been my inspiration for the movement. The images I’ve been working with are water, life and death journeys and light.

Photo credit: Andrej Uspenski.

My Grandma passed away recently and at the time when I found the music, I was going through that and I think it just spoke to me. It’s not that I am presenting that subject matter as the piece, but I think when I am creating there are always little signs to me and I just follow that even if it’s not directly a presentation of my thoughts or what I am experiencing. But it has been really nice to create movement from a genuine place; I try to maintain authenticity in what I am doing, even if it is not universally the most beautiful.

How much have Viola and Marco influenced the piece?

Marco and Viola are very natural artists and naturally emotive performers in how they use their bodies, so that’s already inherent in what we’re creating, just by being in the studio together. That has been a huge help.

Photo credit: @dancersdiary

Choreography for me has always been a bit of a spontaneous connection that you have with the people in the room. It’s inherent in the work. I always want it to be genuine and authentic in the studio when we’re creating, so I am always working against the idea that I am the choreographer and it’s me trying to tell the dancers what to do and making nice shapes. Obviously sometimes you shift in different roles, but I try to create a space where people can bring their own creativity and have fun with it.

Given the nature of what we do every day, there is always repetition and you are always under the public eye and you’re used to fixing everything to the last detail, so I try to move away from those temptations and sort of move in a felt experience.

Calvin, Viola and Marco in rehearsal at the Royal Opera House.

Why did you want to work with the Covent Garden Company?

I’m really supportive of Matt’s ambition to create a venue to give these sorts of opportunities to people to create new work, especially after the pandemic. I’m really grateful.

To enquire about offers, tables, menu and the programme, get in touch via email events@coventgardendance.com or phone: 01749 81 3313

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It’s our 15th anniversary at Hatch House…

Mara Galeazzi & Gabriele Corrado - Macmillan’s Balcony pas de deux, Romeo & Juliet at Hatch House in 2019.

15 years ago, a quick conversation took place in the 17th Century walled Dutch garden at Hatch House. It was between The Covent Garden Dance Company director Matt Brady and the owner of the gardens, Lady Holly Rumbold.  The latter was being asked if she would mind if the former put a ballet on in her garden.   The response was an emphatic:

‘Oh my gawd yes!’.  

Three months later, the first show was presented to a bijou audience of 120 guests who had been rapidly contacted to try to ensure that the eccentric idea of presenting a ballet in a garden could be realised before the summer passed.

15 years on, Ballet Under The Stars has gone from strength to strength. The walled garden Harlequin Stage has played host to the biggest names in ballet and dance such as Carlos Acosta, Lauren Cuthbertson, Vadim Muntagirov, Valentine Colasante, Myriam Oud Brahm, Mara Galeazzi and too many more to mention in this single blog.

Lauren Cuthbertson & Matthew Golding - Christopher Wheeldon’s, After the Rain:
Hatch House 2018.
Photo credit - Alice Pennefather

For those of you who have not been, the 430 seat dinner theatre is created within the two tiered walled garden to form the dinner theatre. The walled garden is completely covered with a giant bespoke roof for the run of the 4 shows.  Guests arrive generally around 5:30pm to enjoy a drink from the newly created Café Folle Speak Easy cocktail bar and a walk in the sunshine around the gardens.  At 7pm everyone is seated at tables with their party to enjoy their first course of gourmet dining ahead of the first half hour section of performance.  Each half hour of performance takes place after each course of dining.  Each performance section has four short works within it with each work lasting around 5-8 mins.

This year, to celebrate the 15-year milestone, the company has in a way in part returned to their beginnings by inviting the stars of the future to perform alongside some of the more established names.  This year we will be treated to performances by Royal Ballet rising super stars Viola Pantuso and Marco Masciari and they will be joined by newly appointed Birmingham Royal Ballet Principal Beatrice Palma and Max Maslan. 

Viola Pantuso & Marco Masciari
Photo credit: @dancersdiary

The cast list does not end there; with performances by internationally renowned names such as Xander Parish and Ksenia Ovsyanick - who will be accompanied by Virtuoso Cellist Arne Christian Pelz - Hatch House 2024 makes this 15 year celebration a must see. The programme includes works from the greatest choreographers from around the world: Balanchine, Ashton, Petipa and many more.

Ksenia Ovsyanick & Timothy Dutson, Hatch House, 2022. Photo credit: Alice Pennefather

Hatch House 2024 is a feast for the senses for anyone and everyone, especially if you have never been to see ballet or dance.  The combination of the performance and three course dining, in the deeply romantic walled garden is truly something unique and brilliant.  If you can get a ticket….GET A TICKET!

Performance dates are: 25th/26th/27th July 2025

To enquire about offers, tables, menu and the programme, get in touch via email events@coventgardendance.com or phone: 01749 81 3313

For latest news, competitions and events, subscribe to our mailing list and follow us on Instagram.