Four Year 7 students from The Royal Ballet School appeared in the Princess of Wales’ Mother Nature: Summer film, marking the second installment in Her Royal Highness’s seasonal video series released during July 2025.
Students danced beyond White Lodge gates in Richmond Park, capturing movement that celebrates natural abundance and human connection. Their participation represents the second royal initiative involving school students within eight months, following performances at Westminster Abbey’s Together at Christmas service in December 2024.
Seasonal video series and royal narration
Catherine’s narration emphasises growth, creativity, and interpersonal bonds during summer months. “Summer is a season for abundance. Just as the flowers bloom and the fruits ripen, we too are reminded of our own potential for growth,” the Princess states.
Her message continues: “It is the time to ignite our inner fire and explore our own creativity, passions, and dreams. As we bask in the sunlit hours, friends and families come together, playing, connecting, being present.”
Mother Nature: Summer features individuals across the United Kingdom engaging with outdoor environments through art, movement, and storytelling. Royal Ballet School students joined this broader celebration of creativity and natural connection.
White Lodge campus and Richmond Park setting
Royal Ballet School students performed within Richmond Park’s protected landscape surrounding White Lodge, where Years 7-11 complete Foundation and Development Programme training. Richmond Park encompasses 2,500 acres of ancient oak trees, varied ecosystems, and over 600 red and fallow deer.
Year 7 students, aged 11-12, begin full-time classical ballet training while balancing academic coursework and residential life adjustments. Their film participation demonstrates developing performance capabilities alongside the school’s commitment to opportunities beyond traditional instruction.
Filming “beyond the gates” positioned students within Richmond Park’s natural environment, reinforcing themes of seasonal celebration while showcasing the unique landscape where Royal Ballet School students live and train.
Educational integration and Royal Protocol
Royal collaborations connect classical dance training to cultural and social contexts. Students experience ballet as both artistic discipline and communication medium capable of addressing environmental awareness, seasonal observation, and community themes.
School participation supports royal initiatives while exposing students to professional media production environments. Such experiences complement technical training through alternative performance contexts and collaborative creative processes involving film crews, directors, and production teams.
Students observe adaptation of live performance techniques for recorded media, preparing them for contemporary career demands that increasingly include digital platforms alongside traditional stage work.
Foundation programme context and student development
Year 7 represents the initial stage of The Royal Ballet School’s full-time training pathway, where students establish fundamental classical techniques while adapting to institutional expectations. Foundation Programme students focus on posture, coordination, basic ballet vocabulary, and performance confidence development through graduated exposure to public presentation opportunities.
Richmond Park’s natural amphitheater provided an unconventional performance space compared to traditional studio environments or formal theaters. Students adapted their movement quality to outdoor conditions, accounting for uneven terrain, natural lighting variations, and environmental factors that influence artistic expression.
Film participation required students to maintain technical precision while responding to directorial guidance and camera positioning. This dual focus develops versatility essential for professional careers, where dancers must balance artistic integrity with production requirements across multiple performance mediums.
The Royal Ballet School’s approach emphasises experiential learning that extends beyond technical instruction. Students encounter varied performance contexts throughout their training, preparing them for careers requiring adaptability across traditional companies, contemporary ensembles, and emerging digital platforms.
Historical precedent and royal patronage
The Royal Ballet School maintains longstanding connections to the monarchy through patronage relationships and ceremonial appearances. King Charles III serves as the institution’s Patron, having assumed the role in May 2024 following Queen Elizabeth II’s 65-year patronage.
Royal family members regularly attend school performances and maintain involvement in institutional development. Princess Margaret served as President until 2002, with King Charles assuming the presidency role in 2003 before becoming Patron. Lady Sarah Chatto currently holds the President position.
Student involvement in royal initiatives reflects institutional relationships while providing authentic performance experiences. Westminster Abbey appearances and Richmond Park filming demonstrate how royal collaborations create learning opportunities that combine artistic development with protocol awareness and public presentation skills.
Royal patronage brings publicity to the institution while highlighting achievements and contributions to British cultural heritage. Student participation in high-profile projects reinforces the School’s position within national cultural institutions supporting royal initiatives.
Summer performance season coordination
Film participation occurred during the School’s Summer Performance period, concluding with the annual Summer Performance at the Royal Opera House on July 12, 2025. Critics praised the eight-show season across three venues, with Bachtrack’s Jonathan Gray calling it “quite simply, the best Royal Ballet School performance I have seen in years.”
Summer Performance 2025 featured 212 students ranging in age from 11 to 19, performing across the Royal Opera House main stage, Linbury Theatre, and Opera Holland Park. Students demonstrated capabilities in classical repertoire alongside new choreographic works, with performances drawing sold-out audiences of family, friends, supporters, and industry professionals.
Year 7 students participated in both Mother Nature filming and Summer Performance preparation, demonstrating ability to adapt performance skills across different contexts while maintaining training schedule commitments. Ballet Position critic Teresa Guerreiro described the season as “a dazzling show of technique, professionalism and sheer joy of dancing.”
Royal Ballet School emphasizes pride in supporting the Princess of Wales’ vision while recognizing opportunities for students to participate in projects highlighting young people’s roles in creating “a more mindful and compassionate future.”
Professional development through media work
Students gain practical experience translating movement for camera work, understanding lighting considerations, and collaborating with production teams while maintaining artistic integrity. These skills prove valuable as ballet companies expand digital content creation and filmed productions.
Royal film projects provide professional development opportunities unavailable through standard curricula. Students contribute specialized movement capabilities to broader artistic visions while observing collaborative processes involving multiple creative disciplines.
Contemporary dance careers require versatility across traditional stage performance, digital media, and collaborative artistic projects. Royal Ballet School graduates increasingly encounter opportunities in film, television, and online content creation alongside conventional company positions.
Film work demands different technical approaches compared to live performance. Students learn to project movement quality for camera capture rather than audience distance, adjust timing for recorded rather than immediate response, and maintain consistency across multiple takes while preserving spontaneous artistic expression.
Mother Nature: Summer represents contemporary integration of classical dance education with social initiatives, demonstrating how traditional ballet training contributes to environmental awareness and intergenerational connection through artistic expression.
Institutional impact and future opportunities
Royal collaborations enhance the School’s public profile while providing authentic learning experiences that extend beyond traditional performance contexts. Student involvement demonstrates institutional commitment to cultural engagement and social responsibility alongside technical excellence.
Princess of Wales initiatives create precedent for future collaborative projects involving Royal Ballet School students. Such partnerships potentially expand to address other social themes including community engagement, cultural heritage preservation, and artistic accessibility initiatives.
School leadership views royal collaborations as opportunities to showcase student capabilities while contributing to broader cultural conversations. These projects demonstrate how classical ballet training remains relevant to contemporary social discourse and artistic expression across multiple platforms and audiences.
