Summer 23 Dance in Covent Garden
Summer 2023 welcomes the return to London of the Australian Ballet, says goodbye to a much-loved Royal Ballet ballerina and celebrates a very special birthday
Artists of The Royal Ballet in Corybantic Games © The Royal Ballet 2018. Photo: Andrej Uspenski
General booking opens on Wednesday 13 April at 9am
Saturday 6 May to Tuesday 6 June, main stage, evenings at 7.30pm (mat Monday 29 May at 1pm). Tickets £9 – £170
The centrepiece of The Royal Ballet's winter period, The Sleeping Beauty, re-enters the repertoire in the summer. The mouth-watering choice of casts includes Natalia Osipova and Reece Clarke, Sarah Lamb and Ryoichi Hirano, and Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball.
Matthew Ball and Yasmine Naghdi in The Sleeping Beauty © The Royal Ballet 2017. Photo: Bill Cooper
Friday 9 to Saturday 17 June: main stage 7.30pm (Saturday 10 June at 1pm). Tickets £4 – £105
The final triple bill of the season brings a new one-act work by Royal Ballet resident choreographer Wayne McGregor, about which not much is yet known, except that the costumes are designed by Burberry's chief creative officer Daniel Lee. The score is by the Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir, with lighting design by regular McGregor collaborator Lucy Carter and set design by the late Cuban-born American artist Carmen Herrera, whom McGregor describes as 'a great minimalist artist.'
The second piece in the programme is Royal Ballet artistic associate Christopher Wheeldon's Corybantic Games, set to music by Leonard Bernstein.
The programme concludes with Kenneth MacMillan''s intense Anastasia Act III, with which one of The Royal Ballet's most expressive artists, the ballerina Laura Morera, will bring her glowing career to an end on Saturday 17 June.
Wednesday 7 to Saturday 24 June, Linbury Theatre, 7.45pm. Tickets £3 – £35
Next Generation Festival 2023
Always fascinating, this annual festival provides a glimpse into the developing talent of young dancers, both British and foreign.
This year's edition kicks off with the Finnish National Ballet Youth Company, and continues with the McNicol Ballet Collective, Birmingham Royal Ballet's brand-new youth company, BRB2, in their very first foray into London with Carlos Acosta's Classical Selection, the irrepressible hip-hoppers of the ZooNation Youth Company, The Royal Ballet Upper School and the Rambert School.
All will present new choreography alongside excerpts from repertoire works
Thursday 15 June, Clore Studio, 7.45pm. Tickets £20
Insights: Taking Shape, Next Generation Festival.
This one-off event is billed as 'celebrating the wealth of emerging artists from junior companies and premier dance schools around the world coming together for Next Generation Festival 2023.'
If you're interested, early booking is essential as the capacity of the Clore Studio is very limited.
Sunday 16 July, main stage, 3pm. Tickets £3 – £61
The Royal Ballet School Summer Performance
This is the annual showcase for students of the Royal Ballet School and an opportunity to assess the talent and artistry developed at the UK's premier ballet school. Some of the performers will already have been snapped up by companies both in the UK and abroad.
Wednesday 26 to Sunday 30 July, main stage, 7.30pm (Sunday 30 July at 2.30 pm). Tickets £8 – £155
Carlos at 50
Carlos Acosta in Sight Unseen. Photo: Bill Cooper
Carlos is, of course, the one and only Carlos Acosta, one of the best loved and most engaging principal dancers to have graced the ROH stage. Acosta retired from full-time dancing in 2015, but has admitted that the pull of the stage remains strong, even though his ever-growing roster of other commitments – founder and director of the Havana-based Acosta Danza, artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, and more – necessarily take much of his time and attention.
In this series of performances celebrating his 50th birthday, Acosta will be joined by artists from The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Acosta Danza.
Wednesday 2 to Saturday 5 August, main stage, 7.30pm (mat Saturday 5 August at 1.30pm). Tickets £4 – £115
The Australian Ballet, Jewels
Australian Ballet, Jewels. Photo: Simon Eeles
Not seen in the UK since 2016, the Australian Ballet returns to London as part of an extensive tour to mark its 60th anniversary. This is also the company's first tour under the leadership of artistic director David Hallberg. The work chosen is George Balanchine's glittering Jewels, a challenging full evening ballet in three parts: Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds, which Hallberg describes as 'the ultimate showcase of a ballet company’s technical virtuosity and stylistic refinement.'
Saturday 6 May to Tuesday 6 June, main stage, evenings at 7.30pm (mat Monday 29 May at 1pm). Tickets £9 – £170
The centrepiece of The Royal Ballet's winter period, The Sleeping Beauty, re-enters the repertoire in the summer. The mouth-watering choice of casts includes Natalia Osipova and Reece Clarke, Sarah Lamb and Ryoichi Hirano, and Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball.
Matthew Ball and Yasmine Naghdi in The Sleeping Beauty © The Royal Ballet 2017. Photo: Bill Cooper
Friday 9 to Saturday 17 June: main stage 7.30pm (Saturday 10 June at 1pm). Tickets £4 – £105
The final triple bill of the season brings a new one-act work by Royal Ballet resident choreographer Wayne McGregor, about which not much is yet known, except that the costumes are designed by Burberry's chief creative officer Daniel Lee. The score is by the Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir, with lighting design by regular McGregor collaborator Lucy Carter and set design by the late Cuban-born American artist Carmen Herrera, whom McGregor describes as 'a great minimalist artist.'
The second piece in the programme is Royal Ballet artistic associate Christopher Wheeldon's Corybantic Games, set to music by Leonard Bernstein.
The programme concludes with Kenneth MacMillan''s intense Anastasia Act III, with which one of The Royal Ballet's most expressive artists, the ballerina Laura Morera, will bring her glowing career to an end on Saturday 17 June.
Wednesday 7 to Saturday 24 June, Linbury Theatre, 7.45pm. Tickets £3 – £35
Next Generation Festival 2023
Always fascinating, this annual festival provides a glimpse into the developing talent of young dancers, both British and foreign.
This year's edition kicks off with the Finnish National Ballet Youth Company, and continues with the McNicol Ballet Collective, Birmingham Royal Ballet's brand-new youth company, BRB2, in their very first foray into London with Carlos Acosta's Classical Selection, the irrepressible hip-hoppers of the ZooNation Youth Company, The Royal Ballet Upper School and the Rambert School.
All will present new choreography alongside excerpts from repertoire works
Thursday 15 June, Clore Studio, 7.45pm. Tickets £20
Insights: Taking Shape, Next Generation Festival.
This one-off event is billed as 'celebrating the wealth of emerging artists from junior companies and premier dance schools around the world coming together for Next Generation Festival 2023.'
If you're interested, early booking is essential as the capacity of the Clore Studio is very limited.
Sunday 16 July, main stage, 3pm. Tickets £3 – £61
The Royal Ballet School Summer Performance
This is the annual showcase for students of the Royal Ballet School and an opportunity to assess the talent and artistry developed at the UK's premier ballet school. Some of the performers will already have been snapped up by companies both in the UK and abroad.
Wednesday 26 to Sunday 30 July, main stage, 7.30pm (Sunday 30 July at 2.30 pm). Tickets £8 – £155
Carlos at 50
Carlos Acosta in Sight Unseen. Photo: Bill Cooper
Carlos is, of course, the one and only Carlos Acosta, one of the best loved and most engaging principal dancers to have graced the ROH stage. Acosta retired from full-time dancing in 2015, but has admitted that the pull of the stage remains strong, even though his ever-growing roster of other commitments – founder and director of the Havana-based Acosta Danza, artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, and more – necessarily take much of his time and attention.
In this series of performances celebrating his 50th birthday, Acosta will be joined by artists from The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Acosta Danza.
Wednesday 2 to Saturday 5 August, main stage, 7.30pm (mat Saturday 5 August at 1.30pm). Tickets £4 – £115
The Australian Ballet, Jewels
Australian Ballet, Jewels. Photo: Simon Eeles
Not seen in the UK since 2016, the Australian Ballet returns to London as part of an extensive tour to mark its 60th anniversary. This is also the company's first tour under the leadership of artistic director David Hallberg. The work chosen is George Balanchine's glittering Jewels, a challenging full evening ballet in three parts: Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds, which Hallberg describes as 'the ultimate showcase of a ballet company’s technical virtuosity and stylistic refinement.'
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| What | Summer 23 Dance in Covent Garden |
| Where | Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Covent Garden (underground) |
| When |
06 May 23 – 06 Aug 23, Starting times and dur. vary according to performance |
| Price | £3-£170 |
| Website | Click here to book |