In October 2024, The Royal Ballet School announced that Kevin Emerton[1] [2] will become one of its Pre-Professional Year Ballet Teachers in January. Emerton is an esteemed dancer who has performed with The Royal Ballet for 17 years and teaches company classes.
Given his expertise in the demands of professional classical ballet, Emerton has much to offer The Royal Ballet School’s oldest students on the full-time training programme[3] [4] . He is also experienced in the School’s repertoire and holistic training ethos, which will help him mentor these students.
Kevin Emerton’s Illustrious Ballet Career
Emerton began his ballet training at age 11. He started at Elmhurst Ballet School and then moved to The Royal Ballet School, where he trained at Upper School for three years. He graduated straight into The Royal Ballet in 2007 and became a First Artist in 2014.
He performed in a broad collection of the company’s heritage, classical, and contemporary repertoire, including revivals of works by Kenneth MacMillan, Frederick Ashton, and George Balanchine. On top of this, he performed in modern ballets by choreographers like Christopher Wheeldon, Crystal Pite, Wayne McGregor, and Liam Scarlett.
In 2022, Emerton completed The Royal Ballet School’s Diploma of Dance Teaching[5] [6] . Since then, he has supported the School and other institutions as a Guest Teacher alongside his performance career. At The Royal Ballet School, he has rehearsed students for ballets like The Cellist and The Dante Project.
From Professional Dancer to Royal Ballet School Teacher
Emerton’s enjoyment of teaching dance roots back to his days as a young student. Even then, he would watch his teachers, collecting an “encyclopedia”[7] of details of how they would teach and approach steps.
Having learnt from a huge variety of teachers and choreographers from around the world, he has been able to absorb information from “almost a different teacher every two weeks, each with different styles and attitudes.”
As a teacher, it inspires Emerton to see students “develop, grow, and flourish.” He already experiences this within The Royal Ballet, where he has become “almost a father figure” to many of the “fantastic dancers” in the company.
Now, with his plans to “give back artistically” at The Royal Ballet School, he will find supporting future professional dancers “extremely gratifying.” He is keen to join the School as he wants “to work and learn from like-minded professionals striving to create new ideas and push innovation forward in dance training.”
Although ballet historically had a rigid structure, Emerton admires the recent industry shift in training to support students at all levels. This “is something I felt when applying for the Diploma of Dance Teaching and speaking with the team at The Royal Ballet School,” he says.
He also admires the range of modules on offer at the School. “There are many different things, rather than just vocabulary or terminology, where you’re told this is a tendu, a glissé, or a jeté,” he says.
“It’s more focused on how you approach the whole student, give feedback, reflect on your own practice, and all the different aspects of dance encompassed in one course.”
Completing The Royal Ballet School’s Diploma of Dance Teaching
The Royal Ballet School’s Diploma of Dance Teaching challenged Emerton, pushing him “outside [his] comfort zone” as he worked through the course’s “many modules and topics, writing essays and breaking down different concepts.” This process was both “full-on” and a “fun learning curve” that made him rethink how he had been treated in his career, both as a student and as a professional.
However, the training didn’t only focus on ballet. The depth of education extended well beyond the art form to help Emerton become an effective, empowering teacher.
For example, he studied psychology modules that focused on different stages of child development. These modules pulled back the curtain on different ways of thinking, helping him understand “what people are going through from their own perspective[s].”
Emerton studied for his Diploma while performing as a Royal Ballet dancer. His working days usually began at 9 a.m. and stretched through to 10 or 10.30 p.m. Because of this, finding time to study wasn’t always easy.
However, The Royal Ballet School helped him balance his training with his performance career, understanding what it is like to be a professional dancer while studying. At the time, Emerton was also rehabilitating from surgery, and re-learning “from the ground up” was rewarding. “There was always something for me to focus on,” he says.
Reflecting On the Diploma of Dance Teaching
Having completed the Diploma, Emerton has a newfound sense of how teaching should be. “I have gained a form of enlightenment,” he says. “The Diploma has given me the confidence to always push myself constructively and not be afraid to be vulnerable.”
His favourite part of the course was the reflective practice module, which gave him “a new outlook on life.” Many dancers are self-critical. Used to criticism, it’s easy to become a perfectionist.
The module helped him reflect on constructive criticism rather than negative criticism. “There are always connotations of being told what to do and what not to do, whereas no one has told you how and why,” he says.
Ahead of starting in his new position, he says, “I am thrilled to be returning to The Royal Ballet School[8] [9] as a teacher. I am truly looking forward to guiding, nurturing, and collaborating with the next generation of young dancers.”
About The Royal Ballet School
Entry into The Royal Ballet School is based solely on a student’s talent and potential in classical dance, musicality, and artistic expression, irrespective of academic ability or household income. On average, 88% of students receive financial assistance to pursue the School’s full-time training.
The School’s comprehensive dance curriculum of up to eight years operates alongside a thorough healthcare programme[10] [11] , ensuring all students receive the physical and psychological support they need to thrive in performance-related careers.
Full-time training aside, The Royal Ballet School extends its unparalleled expertise to budding dancers worldwide via its tailored programmes for children and dance educators.
