Bigger ballerinas and unconventional gender pairings are the future of the art form, the new head of the Royal Ballet School has said in his first interview since taking charge.
Iain Mackay, artistic director of the school, said studios were focusing on strength-based training for both sexes as ballet moved away from the “slim” female fixture of the classical ballet repertoire.
“Audiences want dancers they can relate to,” Mackay said, when asked whether this included plus-sized ballerinas on main stages. “Absolutely … I think this is already happening. They have been required to be more physical than ever before. Dancers that can tell a story, but dancers that are incredibly capable technically.”
Mackay said that in contemporary ballet classes at the school, which has one