The Royal Ballet School is delighted to welcome Iain Mackay as its new International Artistic Manager. Mackay will direct the School’s international Intensive Courses, masterclasses, and auditions in this part-time role.
Glasgow-born Mackay completed his training at The Royal Ballet School himself, where he learnt alongside his ‘heroes’ — stars of The Royal Ballet like Darcey Bussell, Sylvie Guillem, Deborah Bull, Tetsuya Kumakawa, Irek Mukhamedov, and Jonathan Cope. He describes sharing classes with such dancers as an “incredible experience”, especially as his peers spoke different languages, came from different backgrounds, and practised different styles of dance alongside ballet. He remembers dancing as Albrecht (from ‘Giselle’) at Opera Holland Park as one of his favourite school memories.
Iain Mackay’s Ballet Career
In 1999, once Mackay had completed his ballet training, the Birmingham Royal Ballet invited him to join the company and promoted him to Principal in 2003. He then joined Corella Ballet Spain in 2007 and danced principal roles before rejoining Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2010. During his dance career, Mackay worked with some of the industry’s top choreographers, dancers, and musicians. He particularly enjoyed performing ‘Sleeping Beauty’ in Japan with Tamara Rojo. In 2014, he became the Royal Academy of Dance’s first male dance ambassador and trustee.
When Mackay retired from his professional ballet career in 2018, he became the director of the Yorkshire Ballet Seminars. In 2020, he also became a governor of The Royal Ballet Companies. He is now looking forward to starting his new role with The Royal Ballet School in the new year.
‘Great Honour to Be Joining The Royal Ballet School’
Mackay’s role will involve opening opportunities, like virtual auditions, for dancers around the world to enjoy a Royal Ballet School education. He is keen to expand the School’s international programmes and training offerings. The School is dedicated to diversifying its dance curriculums so young dancers of all backgrounds can access world-class teaching.
“It’s a great honour to be joining […] The Royal Ballet School,” Mackay says. “My time at the School had a huge impact on my development as a young dancer and created opportunities for me to go on to enjoy a wonderful career in the professional world of dance. The Royal Ballet School is a world leader in dance training. Being able to take the School’s work to other countries and create opportunities for students to have a Royal Ballet School experience […] is really exciting. There is so much talent across the world who will go on to be the stars of the future and excite new audiences. To be able to help support these young dancers at the start of their journey and through the School’s ethos and inspiring teaching is really exciting to me.”
“I believe Iain’s knowledge, experience, and appetite to help advance The Royal Ballet School’s international profile will be of great benefit to the School,” adds Christopher Powney, the School’s artistic director. “I look forward to welcoming him.”
About The Royal Ballet School
As one of the world’s most prestigious centres of classical ballet training, The Royal Ballet School helps young dancers become exceptional performers, many of whom go on to join The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and other leading ballet companies around the world.
The School has produced generations of infamous dancers and choreographers. From Anya Linden, Antoinette Sibley, Margot Fonteyn, Kenneth MacMillan, David Bintley, and Anthony Dowell to more recently trained dancers like Lauren Cuthbertson, Francesca Hayward, Delia Mathews, Samara Downs, Marianela Nuñez, Marcelino Sambé, Matthew Ball, Steven McRae, Edward Watson, Brandon Lawrence, Christopher Wheeldon, and Vadim Muntagirov, The Royal Ballet School shapes generation upon generation of unrivalled talent.
The School admits new students based purely on their dance potential. Academic ability and personal circumstances have no bearing on the admissions process. As a result, 88% of current students receive financial support to attend the School.
All dancers team their high-level dance training with broad academic curriculums that prepare them for their post-ballet careers. Students also receive a high level of psychological health support through the School’s Healthy Dancer Programme, which invests in each dancer’s long-term physical, emotional, and mental health.
The School also offers an extensive Training and Access Programme, which extends access to the School’s unique resources to primary school children, dance teachers, and the public.
Learn more about The Royal Ballet School.
