Founder & Royal Ballet Repetiteur

Born in New York and raised in London, Sian's passion for ballet began during her formative years. Her journey in dance education flourished as she honed her skills at the Beverley School of Performing Arts, the Arts Educational Schools, and ultimately The Royal Ballet School. Sian's illustrious career with The Royal Ballet began in 1996, culminating in her well-deserved promotion to First Artist. In 2016, she gracefully transitioned from her role as a professional dancer to assume the esteemed position of Assistant Ballet Mistress of The Royal Ballet. Recognising her exceptional talents and dedication to the art form, Sian was later elevated to the role of Repetiteur in 2021, solidifying her status as an esteemed figure in the ballet world.

Special Guest Teacher

Presenter Darcey Bussell is a former Principal of The Royal Ballet and one of the most famous British dancers of her generation. During her nearly twenty years as a Principal of the Company, she won renown for her unique combination of a tall, athletic physique with soft lyricism. Her extensive broadcast work includes appearing as a judge on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and presenting The Royal Ballet’s cinema simulcasts, broadcast worldwide. 

Bussell trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined the Company in 1988. She was promoted to Principal in 1989 after the premiere of Kenneth MacMillan’s The Prince of the Pagodas, in which Bussell created the lead role of Princess Rose. She retired from the Company in June 2007 with a performance of MacMillan’s Song of the Earth, broadcast live on BBC2. She came out of retirement to dance the Spirit of the Flame at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony, leading a troupe of 200 dancers. 

Her books include Darcey Bussell: A Life in Pictures, the ‘Magic Ballerina’ children’s series and her autobiography. Among the many charities Bussell supports, she is President of the Royal Academy of Dance and Patron of the Sydney Dance Company. She was appointed an OBE in 1995, CBE in 2006 and DBE in 2018. 

Special Guest Teacher

English dancer Gary Avis is Senior Répétiteur and a Principal Character Artist of The Royal Ballet. He joined the Company in 1989 and was promoted to Soloist in 1995 and to Principal Character Artist in 2005. He was made Assistant Ballet Master in 2007 and Ballet Master during the 2009/10 Season, promoted to Senior Ballet Master in 2019. His many roles with the Company include almost all the male Principal Character roles, such as Drosselmeyer (The Nutcracker), Von Rothbart (Swan Lake), and the Step-Sister (Cinderella). He has created many roles for The Royal Ballet. 

In 2011, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by University Campus Suffolk and was awarded the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards for Outstanding Male Classical Performance (2011, 2019). He supports a wide variety of charitable causes, mainly in his home county of Suffolk (Suffolk Community Foundation) and was involved in the creation of World Hunger Day. He is a patron of the Choreographic Development Fund at Dance East, Chelsea Ballet and is on the board of Dance East. He was made an MBE in 2018. 

Special Guest Teacher

Edward Watson MBE is a globally celebrated dancer and former Principal of The Royal Ballet, Royal Ballet School alumnus and Guest Répétiteur with The Royal Ballet.

Edward started his ballet training with The Royal Ballet School as a Junior Associate before attending both White Lodge and Upper School. He joined The Royal Ballet in 1994, was promoted to Principal in 2005, and appointed Répétiteur in 2020.

Edward became a Guest Répétiteur in 2024, working with The Royal Ballet and other leading dance companies worldwide. His repertory includes major works by Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan, and he has created roles in works by Wayne McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, Kim Brandstrup, Siobhan Davies, Alastair Marriott, Cathy Marston, David Dawson, Arthur Pita, Javier De Frutos and Ashley Page, among others.

He has received numerous awards, including an Olivier Award in 2012 for his performance in The Metamorphosis, as well as Critics’ Circle Dance Awards in 2001, 2008, and 2022. In 2015, he was awarded a Benois de la Danse for his performance in The Winter’s Tale and an MBE for services to dance.

Special Guest Teacher

Eric Underwood is an American ballet dancer and former soloist with The Royal Ballet in London. He started his training at the School of American Ballet and danced with American Ballet Theatre before joining The Royal Ballet in 2006. Throughout his career, Eric has been one of the few Black dancers in the company, and he’s used that platform to not only perform with power and grace but also to advocate for greater diversity in ballet.

Outside of dance, he has expanded into the worlds of fashion and modelling, working with brands like GQ and numerous other fashion brands. He’s also worked as an actor, taking on roles in the Netflix series The Diplomat and other film and television. Eric is committed to continuing his efforts to champion representation across the arts.

Special Guest Teacher

Ricardo Cervera, born in Malaga, Spain, began his training locally before joining The Royal Ballet School at sixteen. He entered The Royal Ballet in 1993 and rose to the rank of First Soloist, performing a wide repertoire that included roles such as Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), Lescaut (Manon), and Hans-Peter (The Nutcracker), as well as creating roles in new works by choreographers including Christopher Wheeldon and Wayne McGregor. He retired from the stage in 2015 after more than two decades with the Company.

Transitioning to coaching, Ricardo was appointed Assistant Ballet Master in 2014 and subsequently became Ballet Master in 2016, staging and rehearsing productions across the Royal Ballet's repertoire. In 2019, he joined the Royal Ballet School’s Upper School faculty, where he teaches classical ballet, pas de deux and repertoire.

As a teacher, Ricardo draws on his rich stage experience and deep knowledge of ballet tradition, combining technical precision with a supportive and empathetic approach that nurtures each student’s individual artistic growth.

Special Guest Teacher

Marianela Núñez is an acclaimed Argentine-British Principal Dancer at The Royal Ballet, who joined the company in 1998 and became a Principal in 2002 at the age of 20. Her extensive repertoire includes both classical and contemporary works by renowned choreographers, and she is a recipient of multiple awards, including being named Best Female Dancer by the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards four times.

Special Guest Teacher

Osipova was born in Moscow and began dancing at the age of five. Aged eight she joined the Mikhail Lavrosky Ballet School. From 1995 to 2004 she trained at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography and on graduating entered the corps of the Bolshoi Ballet, where she was promoted to principal in 2010. Her repertory there included Kitri (Don Quixote), Giselle, Nikiya and Gamzatti (La Bayadère), La Sylphide, Esmerelda, Princess Aurora and Swanilda (Coppélia). In 2011 she left the Bolshoi to join the Mikhailovsky Ballet as a principal.

Osipova has appeared as a guest artist with companies around the world. In March 2012 she became a principal of American Ballet Theatre, where she created the title role in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Firebird. Her awards include Golden Masks for her performances in In the Upper Room (2008) and La Sylphide (2009), Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards (Best Female Dancer, 2007, 2010 and 2014, Outstanding Female Classical Performance, 2022), Positano Dance Awards (Best Female Dancer, 2008 and 2011) and a Benois de la Danse Award (Best Female Dancer, 2008).

Special Guest Teacher

English dancer Anna Rose O’Sullivan is a Principal of The Royal Ballet. She trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined the Company in December 2012 as an Artist, promoted to First Artist in 2016, Soloist in 2017, First Soloist in 2019 and Principal in 2021. 

O’Sullivan was born in Harrow and began dancing aged two, training locally before joining The Royal Ballet School, White Lodge. Early performances included the lead role of Sara Crewe in A Little Princess for London Children’s Ballet and Cosette (Les Misérables) and in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on the West End. Roles at the School included a Principal role in Alastair Marriott’s Simple Symphony, pas de deux (Don Quixote) at La Fenice, Venice, and pas de deux (Rhapsody) at Buckingham Palace. Awards include the April Olrich Award for Dynamic Performance and the Phyllis Bedells Bursary (Royal Academy of Dance). In 2010 she reached the finals in the Genée International Ballet Competition and in 2011 won The Royal Ballet School Achievement Award, the Director’s Prize for most promising student and Young British Dancer of the Year. 

Special Guest Teacher

Biomechanics & Movement Coach