Darcey Bussell visits The Royal Ballet School during preparations for The Nutcracker

Former Principal of The Royal Ballet Darcey Bussell visits The Royal Ballet Lower School at White Lodge during their preparations for The Nutcracker at the Royal Opera House. Find out more at http://www.roh.org.uk

The Royal Ballet School is one of the world’s greatest centres of classical ballet training which for generations has produced dancers and choreographers of international renown, including Margot Fonteyn, Anya Linden, Kenneth MacMillan, Lynn Seymour, David Wall, Antoinette Sibley, Anthony Dowell, Marguerite Porter, Stephen Jefferies, Darcey Bussell and Jonathan Cope.

And now there’s a new generation making its mark on the world stage, all of whom trained at the Royal Ballet School – Lauren Cuthbertson, Steven McRae, Edward Watson, Christopher Wheeldon and Liam Scarlett to name but a few.

Admission to the School is based purely on talent and potential, regardless of academic ability or personal circumstances, and 89% of current students rely on financial support to attend the School.

The School offers an eight-year carefully structured dance course, aligned with an extensive academic programme, giving the students the best possible education to equip them for a career in the world of dance.

Our mission is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers for The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and other top international dance companies, and in doing so to set the standards in dance training, nationally and internationally.

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker score was commissioned by the director of the Russian Imperial Theatres, following the resounding success of The Sleeping Beauty in 1890. Marius Petipa created the scenario, which is based on a fairytale by E.T.A. Hoffmann, and Lev Ivanov provided the choreography. The Nutcracker was first performed in 1892 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. It initially had a poor reception, but its combination of enchanting choreography and unforgettable music has since made it one of the best-loved of all ballets.

In Peter Wright’s classic production, the stage sparkles with theatrical magic – a Christmas tree grows before our eyes, toy soldiers come to life to fight the villainous Mouse King and Clara is taken to the Kingdom of Sweets on a golden sleigh. Tchaikovsky’s score contains some of the best-known melodies in ballet, from the flurrying sounds of the Waltz of the Snowflakes to the dream-like Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Julia Trevelyan Oman’s designs draw upon 19th-century images of Christmas, making this a magical production for the festive season.