Royal Ballet and Opera launches new initiative to support artistic talents
Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO) announced the launches of a new long-term initiative to support emerging, inspire new artistic work and strengthen the opera and ballet sectors of the performing art.
The initiative, launched on 16th September 2026, is anchored by two programmes, RBO said in a press release on the same day.
The Royal Ballet: FUTUREWORKS: a five-year programme to nurture choreographers working in classical ballet, offering a consistent infrastructure to support their development; in partnership with London City Ballet and with world-leading choreographers Wayne McGregor and Pam Tanowitz leading the first residential workshops.
The Royal Opera: NOW (New Opera Works), a long-term strategy to commission, develop and support ambitious new opera.
"Together, these programmes establish a sustained and clear path for creating new work, moving beyond individual commissions towards long-term investment in talent, experimentation, and artistic growth. They will provide artists with the time, space and support needed to develop ideas, take creative risks, and bring new work to life, while strengthening RBO's commitment to the future of both art forms," RBO said in the press release.
In a separate press release on 15th September, The Royal Ballet gave the details of A Centenary Celebration of The Royal Ballet School.
The Royal Ballet School, The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet will together perform on The Royal Opera House stage in the programme which will run from 8th to 10th October.
The programme includes heritage works from Ninette de Valois, Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, David Bintley and Wayne McGregor, as well as three new pieces specifically created for it by Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon, Cathy Marston and Valentino Zucchetti. For more details, click here.
