Following the success of last year’s inagural event, The Royal Ballet School opened its doors in Covent Garden to the public again as part of the UK’s Let’s Dance initiative. The initiative aims to get the nation dancing, and the School was thrilled to welcome people from all walks of life into its studios for free to experience the joy of movement firsthand, many of whom had never stepped foot in a ballet studio before.
The response to the second open day was overwhelming, with over 450 registrations. Throughout the course of the day, The Royal Ballet School ran 16 classes for members of the public to experience ballet, repertoire, contemporary, character, jazz and musical theatre led by the School’s dedicated teachers. The energy and enthusiasm in the building was truly palpable, and the event proved to be a heartwarming celebration of the power of dance to unite, inspire and transform lives.
One dancer rediscovered their love for dance after many years, and an 86-year-old began their dancing journey for the first time. Others travelled from Leeds, Paris and the Netherlands especially for this day. The Dutch dancer said that there were few wheelchair accessible dance classes in the Netherlands, and he was happy to feel so welcomed in the School. Dads and daughters stole the show, and young children discovered the joys of dance with multiple generations of family members.
Participants also had the opportunity to be taught by Royal Ballet Principal Lauren Cuthbertson, and dance alongside special guests Dame Darcey Bussell DBE, Let’s Dance Founder Angela Rippon CBE and Dame Arlene Phillips DBE.
The event also attracted media coverage from ITV London News, further spreading the message of Let’s Dance and its mission to make dance accessible to all.
As participants left the School, the most common remark the School heard was how warm and welcoming the space felt. Here are a few comments from participants about what brought them to the event and how they found the classes:
“It was absolutely amazing. I used to do ballet as a kid, so it brought back those memories. I loved it. Thank you.”
“Being able to see my little one do her thing so beautifully, it almost had me in tears. It’s so special to be able to take a class with your children and dance altogether. I loved it.”
“I hated dance as a kid but now as an adult I want to dance. Walking into the building I thought ‘wow.’ This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it was incredible. I learned that I can enjoy dancing. I will remember this for a very long time, so thank you.”
“The Royal Ballet School has been around for one hundred years, and we saw the opportunity to take a free class so we thought what a great opportunity to come inside the building and experience their world-class teachers. It was really fun and the teachers made us feel comfortable and included, even though we didn’t have any dance experience. It gave me a real insight into how talented the students of the School must be.”
“The class was really fun. Justine is an amazing teacher and I also learned a lot about the history of character, which was really good. It was nice being with a mix of ages, too.”
“I came to Let’s Dance last year and am back again this year because it reignited my love of ballet. The class was fantastic. It was so nice to have a different teacher and learn different exercises in such a great environment.”
“We received messages through some kids groups that this was happening and it sounded like too good an opportunity to pass up. It was really fun. It was nice to do something as a family and to dance at The Royal Ballet School is amazing. We’ll be looking out for it again next year.”
Let’s Dance 2026 was another memorable and meaningful event, one that hopefully inspired those who attended to keep dancing.
