The Royal Ballet has announced its 2026/27 season, bringing together a wide span of repertoire that moves between established masterworks and newer choreography, with a clear emphasis on both lineage and ongoing development within the company.
At the centre of the season is a focus on Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor, marking 20 years in the role. His 2006 work Chroma returns, a piece that has become closely associated with a shift in the company’s physical language, alongside the revival of MADDADDAM, his large-scale, multi-sensory work inspired by Margaret Atwood’s trilogy. Together, they frame a sustained relationship between choreographer and company that continues to shape its contemporary output.
McGregor’s work also anchors a larger mixed bill, Disruptors, which brings together a group of choreographers working across different approaches to ballet vocabulary. Pam Tanowitz’s Or Forevermore will be performed alongside Never Known by Royal Ballet dancer Joshua Junker, with a pas de deux by Akram Khan completing the program. The grouping places emerging and established voices in direct conversation, reflecting a continued interest in expanding the choreographic range seen on the main stage.
Alongside this contemporary focus, the season returns to a number of defining works from the company’s repertory. Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon opens the season, followed by Song of the Earth as part of a mixed program with Jerome Robbins’s Dances at a Gathering. These works foreground the dramatic and musical depth that has long underpinned the company’s identity.
Frederick Ashton’s choreography is given deserved attention in Landmarks: Unmissable Ashton, a program spanning three decades of his work, including Symphonic Variations and Daphnis and Chloë.
The season also retains its major classical titles. Liam Scarlett’s Swan Lake returns, alongside Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker, continuing its annual place in the company’s Christmas programming. These works remain central to the company’s relationship with its audiences, new and returning.
A further moment of celebration comes with the centenary of The Royal Ballet School, marked by a mixed programme bringing together dancers from The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the School itself. A suite from Ninette de Valois’s Checkmate opens the programme, followed by unique performances of Ashton’s Birthday Offering combining dancers from both companies. Completing the evening will be an exciting array of works from other choreographers associated with the School and companies.
Sitting alongside the RBS centenary celebrations is Madam, a tribute to Royal Ballet Founder Ninette de Valois, co-curated by Director Kevin O’Hare and Principal Guest Artist Lauren Cuthbertson. Weaving excerpts from Madam’s ballets with conversation, discussion and film, the programme delves into the enduring impact of this seminal figure of British ballet
Beyond the main stage, the Linbury Theatre season remains active and varied. Among the projects announced are The McRae/Vassilev Project, bringing together Steven McRae and violinist Vasko Vassilev in a new collaboration directed by Natalie Abrahami, with choreography by Loughlan Prior inspired by Paganini. There is also Madam, a tribute to founder Ninette de Valois co-curated by Kevin O’Hare and Lauren Cuthbertson, combining excerpts, discussion and film. Pam Tanowitz returns for a further Linbury collaboration with Principal William Bracewell, while Danish company Kammerballetten makes its debut with Stay Tuned, a chamber ballet by Sol León and Paul Lightfoot. Guest companies including Ballet Black, Northern Ballet and London City Ballet will also appear across the season.
Emerging talent remains part of the picture as well, with the return of the Next Generation Festival and International Draft Works, both positioned as platforms for choreographers and performers still at the beginning of their careers.
In announcing the season, Director of The Royal Ballet Kevin O’Hare placed clear emphasis on the balance between inheritance and movement forward. “At this time in The Royal Ballet School’s centenary year when we reflect on the incredible legacy of ‘Madam’, our founder Dame Ninette de Valois, it’s wonderful to usher in a new Season filled with masterworks that have shaped and defined the Company over the years,” he said. He pointed in particular to the company’s return to Ashton and MacMillan, the enduring pull of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, and the continuing importance of McGregor’s contribution, describing a season that moves “from strong foundations to renewal.”
The new season is a promising balance between past and present. Canonical works sit alongside newer choreography as part of the same offering, with the company continuing to perform its history while steadily adding to it.