International dance competition 2026

RAD President, Guest Principal Coach of The Royal Ballet 

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.

Trained at The Royal Ballet School, Lynn Wallis graduated into The Royal Ballet Touring Company in 1965. She returned to the School as Ballet Mistress in 1969 and was later appointed Deputy to the Ballet Principal, Barbara Fewster. In 1984, she was invited by Erik Bruhn to join the National Ballet of Canada as Artistic Co-Ordinator, subsequently becoming Co-Artistic Director with Valerie Wilder. In 1990, she was appointed Deputy Artistic Director of English National Ballet, and in 1994, Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dance, a position she held until her retirement in 2016. She was shortlisted (2001) for the European Women of Achievement Awards and nominated (2004) for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for her work on staging Ashton’s Monotones I and II for San Francisco Ballet. She was awarded an OBE for services to dance in 2015. She is a Fellow of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Dance. She is a Trustee of the Benesh Institute Endowment Fund, and was appointed a Trustee of The Frederick Ashton Foundation in 2018. 

Francesca Hayward is a Principal of The Royal Ballet. She trained at The Royal Ballet School from 2003 to 2011. While a student, Hayward won the 2009 Lynn Seymour Award for Expressive Dance, the 2010 Young British Dancer of the Year and both the silver medal and the Audience Choice Award at the 2010 Genée International Ballet Competition. She joined the Royal Ballet in 2011 and was promoted to Principal in 2016. Francesca has won Best Emerging Artist (2014) and Best Female Dancer (2016, 2019) at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. 

Her repertory with the Company is extensive and includes roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Mayerling, Manon, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Like Water for Chocolate, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, La Fille Mal Gardée, The Dream, and Onegin. 

Kevin O’Hare started dancing at an early age. On graduating from The Royal Ballet School, he joined Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet and was promoted to Principal in 1990. 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. 

Mthuthuzeli November, born in Cape Town, South Africa,  began dancing at the age of 15 and graduated in 2014. He made his choreographic debut with the Cape Dance Company in 2014. It was there that he also created the works Visceral and SUN – The Rite of Passage. He performed with the Cape Dance Company and in a South African production of West Side Story before joining Ballet Black in September 2015.  

Since then, Mthuthuzeli has created several award-nominated or award-winning works for stage and film with Ballet Black, including the Laurence Olivier Award-winning INGOMA in 2019/2020. He received the Emerging Artist Award from the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) in South Africa.  

Mthuthuzeli choreographed and performed for British artist Stormzy at the Glastonbury Festival in 2019. He was also commissioned by Cape Town Opera and Cape Town City Ballet to choreograph a film production of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. The Grange Festival invited him to create a piece for the production of Precipice (2020). 

In 2022, he was nominated for Best Soloist in a Production at the Black British Theatre Awards and for Best Classical Choreography at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards for his piece The Waiting Game. Most recently, he won Best Choreography at the Black British Theatre Awards 2023 for his piece Nina: By Whatever Means, created for Ballet Black.  

Mthuthuzeli November continues to create and stage works worldwide, collaborating with the Paris Opera Ballet (France), Washington Ballet (USA), the Royal Ballet (UK), Northern Ballet (UK), TanzLuzern (Switzerland), Cape Town City Ballet (SA), Ballett Zürich (Switzerland), Ballet am Rhein (Germany), Staats Ballett Karlsruhe ( Germany), Dutch National Ballet (Netherlands), Joburg Ballet (South Africa), and Gibney Company (USA)  

In 2025, Mthuthuzeli was appointed Charlotte Ballet’s Resident Choreographer, where he has created 3 world premieres : From Africa with Love (2023), Vibes and Variations (2024) and As I Am (2025).  

RAD President, Guest Principal Coach of The Royal Ballet 

Ana Maria Campos is an internationally respected ballet teacher, coach, tutor, and examiner with more than thirty years of experience in Brazil, Europe, and North America. Her students have earned places in prestigious professional schools and companies and now perform worldwide. Currently teaching at Escola do Futuro Artes Basileu França, she is widely recognised for inspiring dancers through her expertise, dedication, and passion for ballet education and artistic excellence. 

Leanne trained at The Royal Ballet School before graduating in The Royal Ballet Company where she danced in a much of the company’s  repertoire as well as creating new roles.  

After 10 years in the company Leanne took a sabbatical to create the role of Lise Dassin in the musical An American in Paris on Broadway where she was nominated for a Tony award before bring the show to Londons West End.  

Leanne currently teaches at The Royal Ballet School.  

Mthuthuzeli November, born in Cape Town, South Africa,  began dancing at the age of 15 and graduated in 2014. He made his choreographic debut with the Cape Dance Company in 2014. It was there that he also created the works Visceral and SUN – The Rite of Passage. He performed with the Cape Dance Company and in a South African production of West Side Story before joining Ballet Black in September 2015.  

Since then, Mthuthuzeli has created several award-nominated or award-winning works for stage and film with Ballet Black, including the Laurence Olivier Award-winning INGOMA in 2019/2020. He received the Emerging Artist Award from the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) in South Africa.  

Mthuthuzeli choreographed and performed for British artist Stormzy at the Glastonbury Festival in 2019. He was also commissioned by Cape Town Opera and Cape Town City Ballet to choreograph a film production of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. The Grange Festival invited him to create a piece for the production of Precipice (2020). 

In 2022, he was nominated for Best Soloist in a Production at the Black British Theatre Awards and for Best Classical Choreography at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards for his piece The Waiting Game. Most recently, he won Best Choreography at the Black British Theatre Awards 2023 for his piece Nina: By Whatever Means, created for Ballet Black.  

Mthuthuzeli November continues to create and stage works worldwide, collaborating with the Paris Opera Ballet (France), Washington Ballet (USA), the Royal Ballet (UK), Northern Ballet (UK), TanzLuzern (Switzerland), Cape Town City Ballet (SA), Ballett Zürich (Switzerland), Ballet am Rhein (Germany), Staats Ballett Karlsruhe ( Germany), Dutch National Ballet (Netherlands), Joburg Ballet (South Africa), and Gibney Company (USA)  

In 2025, Mthuthuzeli was appointed Charlotte Ballet’s Resident Choreographer, where he has created 3 world premieres : From Africa with Love (2023), Vibes and Variations (2024) and As I Am (2025).  

Ricardo Cervera was born in Malaga. After attending a summer school at The Royal Ballet, he was invited to join the Upper School and entered the Company on graduation in 1993.

He was promoted to First Artist in 1996, Soloist in 1999 and First Soloist in 2002. His repertory with The Royal Ballet included Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), Lescaut (Manon), Bratfisch (Mayerling), Hans-Peter/Nutcracker (The Nutcracker), Arthur Troyte Griffith (Enigma Variations), Colas and Alain (La Fille mal gardée), Jester (Cinderella), Hilarion and pas de six (Giselle), Antigonus (The Winter’s Tale) and Monkey (‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café).

He was appointed Assistant Ballet Master in 2014, Ballet Master in 2016, and retired as a dancer in 2015. Ricardo trained as a répétiteur on the Frederick Ashton Foundation’s mentoring scheme.

He has been invited to teach ballet and masterclasses in numerous countries including Japan and Spain. He has also taught in renowned Summer Schools such as Yorkshire Ballet Seminars and The Royal Ballet School.

Ricardo joined The Royal Ballet School as Ballet Teacher in 2019.

Helen Crawford trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1999. Following a distinguished performing career spanning two decades, she was promoted to First Soloist in 2009. Helen retired from the stage in 2019 and was subsequently appointed Répétiteur with The Royal Ballet.

During her career she performed a wide-range of classical and contemporary repertoire. Notable roles included Lise in La Fille mal gardée, Myrtha in Giselle, Olga in Onegin, Lescaut’s Mistress in Manon, Mitzi Casper in Mayerling, the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, and the Rose Fairy in The Nutcracker. Her repertory also included works such as Les Biches, Les Noces, L’Après-midi d’un Faune, Concerto, Birthday Offering, La Valse, Serenade, Agon, The Four Temperaments, Jewels, and Symphony in C. She also originated roles in contemporary works including Wayne McGregor’s Qualia and Diana and Actaeon in Metamorphosis: Titian 2012.

Helen holds the Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma from The Royal Ballet School and is now an established international coach, specialising in the mentoring of vocational students at pre-professional level. She has delivered masterclasses and workshops throughout Europe and China, including for The Royal Ballet School Intensive Courses, Shanghai Ballet School, Valencia Endanza, and the Malvern Ballet Seminars.

Helen is currently part of the Frederick Ashton Foundation’s Benesh Stagers Programme and is training in Benesh Movement Notation as a future Ashton répétiteur. Through shadowing distinguished Ashton stagers and répétiteurs who worked directly with Frederick Ashton, she is developing specialist expertise in the teaching, coaching, and staging of Ashton’s ballets. Her work focuses on preserving the stylistic integrity and artistry of Ashton’s choreography while inspiring the next generation of dancers.

Her recent projects include staging Les Patineurs for the Ballett-Akademie München at the Bayerische Staatsoper, and in June she will stage Rhapsody for Vienna State Ballet.

Cira was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA where she began dancing at the age of 8. After graduating from the School for Creative and Performing Arts in 2004, she moved to NYC as an apprentice with the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble. After a few months, she became a full member and danced many works from the DTH repertoire under the guidance of Arthur Mitchell.  

In 2008, she joined BalletBlack in London, UK, where she has created many roles with numerous choreographers from around the world. In 2013, was nominated for Outstanding Classical Female at the Critics Circle National Dance Awards, as well as Best Female Dancer nominee in 2021. In 2017, Cira worked with Freed of London and Balletblack to create the first Brown and Bronze pointe shoe for the well known shoemakers. 2019 danced at the Glastonbury Pyramid stage with artist Stormzy as well as guested with Scottish Ballet in Helen Pickett’s The Crucible at EIF. In 2022, she won Best Soloist in a Dance Production at the Black British Theatre Awards.  

Cira has taught for the Balletblack Junior Ballet School for many years as well as Yorkshire Ballet Summer Seminars and open classes throughout the U.K.  

In 2020, she joined as a guest artist with Fabula Collective in their production of Human, dancing the lead role in Lady Macbeth, choreographed by Christopher Marney at the New National Theatre in Tokyo, as well as the lead in his piece titled “Eve” that premiered at Sadlers Wells in September 2022. In 2024, she returned to the stage with London City Ballet, under the directorship of Chris Marney, for a short tour and revived her role as “Eve”. 

Since retiring from BalletBlack in December 2022, she took on the role as Director at  Yorkshire Ballet Seminars and continued the legacy and stellar reputation of the wonderful establishment for three years. She is now dedicating her passion for dance, coaching and teaching to ballet lovers throughout the UK. 

Alexander trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined Birmingham Royal Ballet on graduation. He joined The Royal Ballet as a Soloist in 2011 and was promoted to First Soloist in 2012 and Principal in 2016.

Alexander was born in Sydney and trained at Academy Ballet, Sydney, before joining The Royal Ballet School. In 2003 he won the silver medal at the Genée International Ballet Competition and was a Prix de Lausanne finalist. He joined Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) in 2005, and was promoted to first soloist in 2009.

Alexander Campbell started as Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dance in April 2024, following his role as Principal of The Royal Ballet, a position he held from 2016-2024.

Carrie trained at Tring Park, gaining a Bronze medal at the Genée International Ballet Competition and Young British Dancer of the Year Competition. She has performed internationally with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Ballett am Rhein (Soloist), New Adventures, The Phantom of the Opera, and the McOnie Company. 

Carrie is a graduate of the Professional Dancer’s Teaching Diploma and has a permanent teaching position at London Studio Centre. She has been a guest teacher for New Adventures and Yorke Dance Project, and has taught for the RAD’s Bedells Bursary and International Summer Schools. She is former Associate Artistic Director of National Youth Ballet and has worked as Rehearsal Director for McNicol Ballet Collective. 

Carrie is an HCPC-registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist. She lectures in Performance Psychology at The Royal Ballet School.  

Justine joined London City Ballet at the age of seventeen and enjoyed an international performing career spanning 19 years. While still dancing, she graduated from the Royal Academy of Dance’s Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma (PDTD) in 2003 with Distinction. 

Justine has taught for the Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet School, Central School of Ballet, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Laine Theatre Arts, amongst others. She has taught Benesh Movement Notation at the Royal Ballet School, anatomy at London Studio Centre and held the role of Ballet Mistress and répétiteur for many small-scale touring companies. 

For the Royal Academy of Dance, she has taught many programmes, summer schools, workshops and CPD activities. Justine is Subject Lead, Ballet and Contemporary at Bird Conservatoire. 

Justine has extensive experience in dance teacher education. She was Lecturer in Dance Education for the Faculty of Education at the RAD from 2019 to 2022. She taught on programmes including The Professional Dancers’ Postgraduate Certificate and the BA (Hons) in Ballet Education. She was significantly involved in the Academy’s Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma UK for many years, including tutoring, assessing, and reshaping the programme. Justine was its Programme Manager (UK and China) from 2019 until 2022. Justine has been a faculty member for the Bedells Bursary and Fonteyn International Ballet Competition. 

Justine has taught Character technique and repertoire at the Royal Ballet School since 2018 including on UK and international Intensive programmes. She works with the Royal Ballet School’s Teacher Training department, including as an Affiliate Programme Artistic Manager, tutor for the Inspire seminars and tutor and assessor for the Diploma in Dance Teaching.  

Other roles include former Chairman of the Royal Academy of Dance’s London and Middlesex Regional Advisory Board and Trustee of the Academy 2016 -2019, then since 2024 and serves on the Artistic sub-committee. Justine is a member of The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing.  

Justine has a keen interest in music in dance education. She holds a Level 7 Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching (University of the Arts) and the Master of Teaching (Dance) from the University of Surrey/ Royal Academy of Dance.  

Austrian movement director and director Johannes Stepanek is a former First Soloist of The Royal Ballet and has worked as an Assistant Director and revival director on several productions for The Royal Opera.  

Johannes was born in Austria and studied at the Ballet School of Vienna State Opera, where he joined the company in 1996. In 2000 he became a member of The Royal Ballet, where he was promoted to First Soloist and performed an extensive repertory including classical and contemporary works. He created roles for choreographers including Liam Scarlett, Kim Brandstrup and Wayne McGregor. Since retiring from dance, Stepanek has worked widely as an Assistant Director and Movement Director. Away from The Royal Opera, he has assisted Javier De Frutos on Les Enfants Terribles at the Barbican and was guest repetiteur for Swan Lake for a revival with The Royal Ballet. He regularly assists and revives productions for directors Barrie Kosky, Christof Loy, Oliver Mears, Claus Guth, Amy Lane and others.  

Future plans include the Ring  Cycle  at The Royal Opera, work with The Royal Ballet, Salzburg Festival and Festival Aix en Provence. 

Richard graduated in piano performance and accompaniment from the Royal College of Music, and has played at the RAD since 2000 and Tring Park School since 2002. 

A composer and arranger, he has written original ballet scores for orchestra, including Northern Ballet and London Children’s Ballet productions, and arranges ballet music for piano. 

Playing for the Genée, he has travelled extensively with the RAD, and has also lived and worked in Japan and Cape Town. 

Canadian pianist Rebecca Leshures is a performer, accompanist and pedagogue currently based in the UK. She holds an MM in Piano Performance from Manhattan School of Music, a BM in Piano from Westminster Choir College and an ARCT Performer’s Certificate from the Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music. Rebecca was a finalist in the 2004 Canadian National Music Competition and performed in Carnegie Hall as a finalist of the 2009 Young Musicians Competition. She was also a prizewinner at multiple competitions in the USA. As a dance accompanist Rebecca has worked with numerous ballet schools including the Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet School, RAD,  ArtsEd and Young Dancers Academy and was Associate Pianist at the Royal Ballet Company. 

Matthew Mills began accompanying classes at a local ballet school at the age of fourteen. Since then, over a career spanning more than thirty years, he has established a reputation as a creative and sympathetic dance pianist. He has accompanied classes and examinations at London Studio Centre and ArtsEd London, and has served as resident pianist at Barnes Ballet School, London, since 2001. Matthew has worked at the Royal Academy of Dance since 2025, regularly playing for everything from Dance to Your Own Tune classes to Vocational CPD programmes. HIs recording of Bernard Hughes’s solo piano music, Bagatelles, was released in 2023 to critical acclaim; he is also a regular contributor to Pianist magazine.