MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE FONTEYN 2024

A panel of expert and independent judges

Each year we recruit a panel of judges from across the industry, each chosen for their expertise and insight to select the deserving winners of each category*. Here's this year's panel! Read more about their amazing careers.

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Photo: Franks

RAD President, Guest Principal Coach of The Royal Ballet

Dame Darcey Bussell DBE

Darcey Bussell is a former Principal with The Royal Ballet and the most famous British ballerina of her generation. During her nearly 20 years as a Principal, she became renowned worldwide for her unique combination of having a tall and athletic physique whilst dancing with soft lyricism.

Darcey trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined the Company in 1988. She was promoted to Principal in 1989, aged just 20, after the premiere of Kenneth MacMillan’s The Prince of the Pagodas, in which she had created the lead role. Darcey 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.

Darcey’s extensive broadcast work includes being a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, many documentaries for the BBC and she has presented The Royal Ballet’s worldwide cinema relays since 2014. She remains a Guest principal coach at The Royal Ballet and is Artist Laureate of The Royal Ballet School.

Her books include Darcey Bussell: Evolved, Darcey Bussell: A Life in Pictures, the ‘Magic Ballerina’ children’s series and her autobiography. In 2015 she founded DDMIX (diverse dance mix), a dance fitness charity, aimed at getting dance fitness to be part of PE in state schools.

Darcey became the President of the Royal Academy of Dance in 2012.

Photo: Courtesy of Alessandra Ferri

Artistic Director Designate of Wiener Staatsballett

Alessandra Ferri OMRI

Described by the New York Times as “one of the greatest dramatic dancers of all time,” Alessandra Ferri trained at the Scuola del Teatro alla Scala in Milan before moving to the Royal Ballet School in London. Aged 17, she joined The Royal Ballet and was appointed Principal dancer two years later.

Sir Kenneth MacMillan immediately entrusted her with his most famous ballets and created several for her, one of which, Valley of Shadows, led to her winning her first Olivier Award at the tender age of 21.

Invited in 1985 by Mikhail Baryshnikov to join the American Ballet Theatre as Principal Dancer, where she performed all the roles of the classical repertoire while working with some of the greatest choreographers of the 20th century, including Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Agnes De Mille, Anthony Tudor and Jiri Kylian. It was there that MacMillan created Requiem for her and Baryshnikov, with music by Andrew Lloyd Weber.

In 1992, she became a permanent guest at Teatro alla Scala where she was appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta, a title created by Marius Petipa in 1894 and given to only two Italian dancers.

In 2015, she resumed her collaboration with The Royal Ballet, where Wayne McGregor created the role of Virginia Woolf for her in Woolf Works, for which she won her second Olivier Award.

Throughout her career, Alessandra has been a guest of many prestigious companies, around the world. In recent years, she has also dedicated herself to teaching and holding rehearsals for the principals of The Royal Ballet, La Scala, and American Ballet Theatre. Alessandra has recently been appointed as the next Artistic Director of the Wiener Staatsballett.

Photo: Courtesy of José Alves

Freelancer and Former Leading Artist with Ballet Black

José Alves*

José started ballet at 13 at the Adalgisa Rolim Ballet School in Brazil and joined the Bolshoi Theatre School in 2007, graduating in 2008. At the 2010 Youth American Grand Prix in New York, he won a scholarship to the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company. Unable to raise the funds to travel to New Zealand, he stayed in Brazil, dancing with the Ballet Company of the Young and appearing in Ricky Martin's "Samba" music video.

In 2012, José moved to Poland to join Teatr Muzyczny w Łódz and later Ballet Black for the 2012/13 season, rising to Senior Artist by 2014. He performed in works by Javier de Frutos and Will Tuckett and created roles like Demetrius in Arthur Pita's A Dream Within a Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Son in Mark Bruce’s Second Coming. After a year with Polski Teatr Tańca in 2015, he returned to Ballet Black in 2016.

In 2017, José performed in Martin Lawrance’s Captured and Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa’s Red Riding Hood. He led Ballet Black's World Ballet Day live stream, performing in Ludovic Ondiviela's Dopamine, broadcast by the BBC. In 2018, he played Oberon in A Dream Within A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Philemon in The Suit, winning the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award.

From 2019 to 2022, José performed in new works and co-created Say It Loud for Ballet Black's 20th anniversary. During the pandemic, he led online classes and was featured in his biography. In 2022, he performed in Ivan Putrov’s Men In Motion gala.

*José will be judging at The Fonteyn semi-finals only.

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Photo: Joe Plimmer

Director of The Royal Ballet

Kevin O'Hare CBE*

Kevin O’Hare was born in Yorkshire. Having started dancing at an early age, he trained at The Royal Ballet School from the age of 11 and, through an exchange programme, Royal Danish Ballet. On graduating he joined Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet under the direction of Sir Peter Wright CBE and was promoted to Principal in 1990 at the same time as the company relocated to Birmingham, becoming Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Performing across the UK and worldwide, he danced all the leading classical roles including Siegfried, Florimund, Albrecht and Romeo (in the first performance of Kenneth MacMillan’s new production of Romeo and Juliet for BRB), and created the role of Amynta in David Bintley’s full-length Sylvia. He also danced in major works by Ashton, Balanchine, Cranko, MacMillan, Van Manen, Tharp and Tudor. During his performing career he worked with Ashton, De Valois, MacMillan, Bintley and Wright, among others, as well as creating many roles. He has made guest appearances with companies all over the world, and produced many galas and choreographic evenings.

He retired from dancing in 2000 to work with the RSC, training in company management. He returned to BRB as Company Manager in 2001 and joined The Royal Ballet as Company Manager in 2004. He was appointed Administrative Director in 2009 and Director in July 2012.

He is on the board of The Royal Ballet School and Northern Ballet and is a Trustee of the Frederick Ashton Foundation and Patron of the Ballet Association and The Cecchetti Society Trust. In July 2014 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Hull. He was appointed a CBE in 2018.

*Kevin will be judging at The Fonteyn final only.

Judges for the Choreographic and Musicality Awards

generously supported by the Lynn Wallis Bursary Fund

Photo: Teresa Walton

RAD Vice President and former Director of The Royal Ballet

Dame Monica Mason DBE

Born in Johannesburg, Monica came to England at the age 14 and trained with Nesta Brooking and at The Royal Ballet School. She joined The Royal Ballet in 1958 and was promoted to Principal in 1968. She created The Chosen Maiden in Kenneth MacMillan’s The Rite of Spring in 1962, and went on to dance a wide repertory including the 19th century classics. She was appointed Principal Répétiteur in 1984, Assistant to the Director, Anthony Dowell, in 1988, and became Assistant Director in 1991.

In 2002 Monica became Director of The Royal Ballet, the same year she was awarded an OBE and received the Achievement in Dance Award from the Dance Teachers’ Benevolent Fund. In 2008 she was appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire for her services to dance and was awarded the Gold Medal by the Governors of The Royal Ballet on her retirement in 2012, after 54 years at The Royal Opera House. She received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award from the RAD in 2011, and the Olivier Special Award in 2012. She is an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda’s College, Oxford, and Kings’ College, London, and from 2013-2021 was Chairman of The Royal Ballet Benevolent Fund / Dance Professionals Fund. Monica is a Vice President of the RAD.

Photo: David Eustace

Choreographer and former Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet

Ashley Page OBE

Ashley trained at the Royal Ballet School, entering The Royal Ballet company in 1975 and becoming a principal dancer. He worked closely with leading choreographers including: Kenneth MacMillan, Frederick Ashton, Glen Tetley, Richard Alston, and David Bintley.

Ashley choreographed his first work in 1984 (A Broken Set of Rules for The Royal Ballet ) and subsequently created many works for The Royal Ballet and other companies in the UK and internationally, developing a reputation for often daring collaborations with designers, fine artists, and composers. His Fearful Symmetries won both a Time Out Dance Award and an Olivier Award in 1994/95, and his Room of Cooks was nominated for an Olivier Award in 1999. Both works were commissioned by The Royal Ballet.

After 27 years with The Royal Ballet, he became Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet in 2002, re-energising and redeveloping them into an internationally renowned modern ballet company and winning numerous awards, critical acclaim, and new audiences.

Since 2012 Ashley has been freelancing as a choreographer, opera director, and artistic advisor, working with many ballet, contemporary dance, and opera companies and created the choreography for the ballet film sequences in the Vienna New Year’s Day Concert 2023, which was televised in over 90 countries.

"We are absolutely delighted that this distinguished faculty and panel of Judges have taken time away from their very busy schedules to be with us for the Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition 2024. Their combined expertise and knowledge will be an invaluable resource for the participants and we look forward to working with them to provide an exciting and rewarding experience for all involved."

- Artistic Director Alexander Campbell and Lynn Wallis Producer of The Fonteyn

Commissioned Choreographer: Andrew McNicol

Andrew McNicol is a freelance British choreographer and founding Artistic Director of McNicol Ballet Collective. Noted as “a man on a mission. One of the UK’s most talented young choreographers, and already with a large portfolio of successes." Backtrack, Deborah Weiss 2023.

Andrew has choreographed internationally including for Joffrey Ballet (Chicago), The Royal Ballet (London), Royal Ballet of Flanders (Belgium), BalletX (Philadelphia), twice

for New York Choreographic Institute (New York), Tulsa Ballet (Oklahoma), National Ballet Portugal (2024), Jacob’s Pillow (USA), Junior Ballet Antwerp (Belgium), as well as for the Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet School (currently Artistic Associate) among others.

McNicol's work stands out for its poetic beauty and deep connection between movement and music. His ability to blend the classical ballet vocabulary of his training with a refreshing modern sensibility, results in works that exude an emotional physicality and inventiveness. Drawn from human relationships, McNicol brings fresh impulses to both narrative and musically driven works for the purpose of expressing the human experience.

In 2021, he launched his own company, McNicol Ballet Collective, to create new ballet-based work with a collective of international artists “a daring project from McNicol... that of course, only adds to the excitement.” Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper. Most recently, the Collective presented Devotions, Three Modern Ballets in 2023, to critical acclaim at the Linbury Theatre ROH and across the UK. “His dance, and his dancers, come loaded with artistry.” David Mead, Seeing Dance, 2023.

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Photo: Yellowbelly

A world class faculty to coach our candidates

Meet our Faculty, Fonteyn Producer, Benesh Choreologist, and Pianists who will work with all candidates during The Fonteyn week 1-8 September 2024*.

Alexander Campbell

Faculty

Photo: Rob Moore

Isabel McMeekan

Faculty

Photo: courtesy of Isabel McMeekan

Samira Saidi

Faculty

Photo: courtesy of Samira Saidii

Justine Berry

Faculty

Photo: Helen Murray

Darren Parish

Faculty

Photo: Drew Tommons

Lynn Wallis, OBE

Producer

Photo: David Tett

Mayumi Hotta

Benesh Choreologist

Photo: courtesy of Mayumi Hotta

Rebecca Leshures

Pianist

Photo: courtesy of Rebecca Leshures

Richard Norris

Pianist

Photo: courtesy of Richard Norris

Mark Brown

Pianist

Photo: courtesy of Mark Brown

Photo: Emily Nuttall

Guest Performance at the final:
Harris Beattie & Saeka Shirai from Northern Ballet

Harris Beattie and Saeka Shirai will perform the iconic balcony scene where Romeo (Harris) declares his eternal love for Juliet (Saeka). Adapted by Christopher Gable CBE and Massimo Moricone, Romeo & Juliet is one of Northern Ballet’s most beloved and critically acclaimed productions, which is currently touring the UK.

Harris Beattie is an RAD alumni and previously took part and won gold medal plus the choreographic and audience choice award at the Genée International Ballet Competition in 2017. He was the first person in the history of the competition to win all three. Harris Beattie also won the Royal Academy of Dance Phyllis Bedells Bursary in 2015. Last month, he was promoted to Junior Soloist at Northern Ballet.

Saeka Shirai is from Osaka, Japan, with extensive training and performance experience. She trained at the Yuki Ballet Studio in Japan and further honed her skills at Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Her professional career includes four years with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and two years with Poznan Opera Ballet. In 2016, she won a silver medal at the prestigious Varna International Ballet Competition.

*Line-up subject to change

MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE FONTEYN 2024

A panel of expert and independent judges

Commissioned Choreographer: Andrew McNicol

A world class faculty to coach our candidates

Guest Performance at the final:
Harris Beattie & Saeka Shirai from Northern Ballet

Corporate Partners

Supporters

The Dame
Margot Fonteyn Scholarship Fund

Live Stream Partner

If you are interested in sponsoring The Fonteyn, please be in touch with us via email.

What

When

Where

MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE FONTEYN 2024

A panel of expert and independent judges

Commissioned Choreographer: Andrew McNicol

A world class faculty to coach our candidates

Guest Performance at the final: Harris Beattie & Saeka Shirai from Northern Ballet

Corporate Partners

Supporters

The Dame Margot Fonteyn Scholarship Fund

Live Stream Partner

If you are interested in sponsoring The Fonteyn, please be in touch with us via email.

Guest Performance at the final:
Harris Beattie & Saeka Shirai from Northern Ballet

The Dame
Margot Fonteyn Scholarship Fund