Residential Performance Company 2025 – New Season Announcement
National Youth Ballet’s
Residential Performance Company 2025
Echoes of Tomorrow
We are pleased to announce that our 2025 Residential Performance Company Season, Echoes of Tomorrow, will bring together, young dancers, aged 9-18, from across the UK, to explore powerful themes of sustainability, the natural world, and the legacy we leave for future generations, through the inspiring platform of ballet.
Selected through national auditions, these young dancers will form a company and work with a brilliant creative team for six days at Elmhurst Ballet School this August, culminating in two studio theatre sharings at Elmhurst Ballet School, Birmingham on Saturday 16th August 2025. They will each perform in one repertoire revival and one new creation, developing their versatility and depth in knowledge across both classical and contemporary styles to reflect the industry requirements of the profession, and support their development as the dancers of tomorrow.
This year’s season showcases a powerful balance of legacy and innovation as we reflect on our past and look forward to the future, and will include:
Four Repertoire Revivals
These will comprise our ‘recycled’ element by bringing existing works back to life through the voices and reinterpretations of a new generation of dancers:
- Excerpts from Merlin created for Northern Ballet – Choreographed by Drew McOnie, Re-staged by Carrie Johnson, with kind permission of Northern Ballet
- Swing Time – Choreographed by Ruth Armstrong, Rehearsal Direction by Lukas Hunt
- The Red Balloon – Choreographed by Emily-Jane Boyle, Re-staged by Ciara Clayton
- Utopia – Choreographed by Charlie Brittain, Re-staged by Kaine Ward
Four New Works
Each of these works will respond to the themes of connection, progress, and positive change, and will be created for the company by an inspiring line-up of professional choreographers:
Beyond Ballet® Suite
A trio of new short works will be choreographed by three young artists on NYB’s Beyond Ballet® programme:
NYB All In!
A short film inspired by the themes of storytelling, nature, and recycling will be choreographed by Beyond Ballet® artists:
We are also thrilled to be supported by a wider team of creatives, including:
- Technical Director: Andrew Ellis
- Head of Costume: Émilie Depauly-Viguié
- Stage Manager: Anna Freire Camacho
- Drama Coach: Araminta Wraith
- Beyond Ballet® Assistant Costume Supervisors: Mattia Mollica, Megan Tubbs
- Beyond Ballet® Assistant Lighting Designer: Harry Hincks
- Beyond Ballet® Assistant Stage Manager: Kiara-Ann Atkinson
- Beyond Ballet® Rehearsal Directors: Gabrielle De Souza, Rebecca Armstrong
This season is the first in a new two-year cycle and builds on National Youth Ballet’s belief that by supporting young people and giving them a supportive platform to explore ideas through ballet, we are sending meaningful echoes into tomorrow and helping to shape a more sustainable industry of tomorrow.
Beyond Ballet is currently supported by the Abderrahim Crickmay Charitable Settlement and Idlewild Trust.
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Jo Meredith — We are really excited by Amelia O’Hara’s vision for Echoes of Tomorrow and can’t wait to welcome a stellar group of creatives to work with the NYB companies. We are looking forward to welcoming local dancers to take part in our NYB All In! film and students from the Birmingham Royal Ballet Dance Track programme to be involved in a creative day of dance. We are pleased to be hosting our second Performance Company Intensive at Elmhurst Ballet School.
Echoes of Tomorrow perfectly captures NYB’s value of sustainability. Amelia O’Hara’s artistic voice reflects her passionate commitment to blending reinterpreted repertoire with dynamic new works celebrating progress and change. Integrating elements of NYB All In!, Beyond Ballet®, and our ongoing wider outreach, this summer NYB will create a ballet for and of the future with a creative team to engage and inspire everyone. — Barbara Palczynski
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