Empowering young people through dance

National Youth Ballet cultivates and nurtures talent in young people, who will create the ballet of the future. Our programmes aim to challenge perceptions about what ballet can be and who it is for.

For over 30 years NYB has provided transformational opportunities for young people to participate in, create and perform classical and contemporary ballet. We offer two programmes of activity that enable young people from all backgrounds to explore and develop their innate creativity.

Our annual Performance Company is a unique, intensive programme that replicates the experience of working in a professional company and provides a key stepping-stone to a future career in the performing arts. Our alumni make up 10% of the dancers and choreographers in major British ballet companies including The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Rambert and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, and many more have gone on to work in dance and related industries worldwide.

Our Learning and Participation programme encompasses three strands of activity: Beyond Ballet®, an unparalleled initiative that supports emerging creative artists from all areas of the theatre industry in the early stages of their professional careers, Moving Minds which offers health and wellbeing workshops focusing on building physical and mental resilience and confidence in young people and All In! which explores how ballet can be created, taught and delivered in a more inclusive way for all dancers.