Our Story

Ballet stars Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, along with impressario Julian Braunsweg, officially established the Company that would become English National Ballet.

Beginning life under the name Gala Performances of Ballet, the Company adopted the name Festival Ballet, then London Festival Ballet until June 1989.

Touring was at the heart of the Company’s plans from the very beginning with the first performances taking place at the King’s Theatre, Southsea, followed by a season at the Pavillion, Bournemouth.

From 1952, seasons were presented at the Royal Festival Hall over Christmas and summer, providing the company with a London base for three months of the year.

Combined with extensive regional and overseas touring in the 1950s, the Company gave as many as 330 performances in an annual season.

London Festival Ballet becomes the first major ballet company to perform in Israel

Due to high demand, the final performance of Giselle was held at the Ramat-Gan sports stadium with an audience of over 18,000 people.

Swan Lake performed for the first time at the Arena in Verona, Italy.

The School was established to nurture and develop a dependable source of talent for English National Ballet, and continues to thrive today.

Deane re-established English National Ballet as a classical ballet company. He programmed mixed bills combining works from the Company’s heritage including Markova’s Les Sylphides and Lander’s Etudes with works by major internationally recognised choreographers George Balanchine, Sir Kenneth MacMillan and Glen Tetley.

Full-evening ballets in the repertoire remained popular; Deane’s own Alice in Wonderland delighted family audiences and his arena spectaculars became a significant part of the touring programme.

Making an immediate impact on the Company, Tamara Rojo was promoted to Principal within a year. Tamara Rojo became Artistic Director of the Company in 2012.

Eagling had previously been a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet and then Artistic Director of Dutch National Ballet before joining the Company.

During his tenure, he commissioned reconstructions of Schéhérazade and Le Spectre de la Rose for the centenary of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, along with fresh interpretations of Firebird by George Williamson and Faun(e) by David Dawson.

Eagling choreographed a number of ballets including the all-male Men Y Men, a new Nutcracker and Jeux, which he created with Sir Kenneth MacMillan. The Company continues to stage his Nutcracker annually at the London Coliseum.

A series of famous ballets, recreated especially for audiences as young as three, including Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Coppelia, which offer students of English National Ballet School their first chance to perform as part of a professional Company on tour.

English National Ballet is only the second ballet company in the world to perform Pina Bausch’s Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), at Sadler’s Wells, as part of triple-bill of 20th century masterpieces also featuring William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated and Hans van Manen’s Adagio Hammerklavier.

The Company moves to our new purpose-built, state-of-the-art home in east London. The Mulryan Centre for Dance gives the Company the space and facilities needed to continue to develop world-class artists, create new works that push boundaries of ballet and expand our programme of public workshops and classes. In 2021, it goes on to be named the London Building of the Year by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Ballet Futures: The Pipeline Project, is a children’s training project giving young dancers from traditionally underrepresented groups (African Diaspora, Caribbean, South Asian and South East Asian heritage) opportunities to realise their full potential.

Run in association with dance schools nationwide, this programme promotes diversity within classical ballet by providing gifted young dancers with the opportunity of sustained professional ballet training from the earliest possible point.

The year opens with the world premiere of Tamara Rojo’s reimagining of the classic ballet Raymonda at the London Coliseum, hailed as ‘A modern classic’ (The Daily Telegraph). Alongside this, the Company shares the UK premieres of William Forsythe’s Blake Works I and Playlist (EP), as well as the world premiere of a new Rite of Spring from renowned choreographer Mats Ek.

Derek Deane’s breathtaking in-the-round production returns to the Royal Albert Hall to critical acclaim. It is also shown in hundreds of cinemas around the world, offering audiences a unique 360° view of one of the most popular ballets of all time.