The Queen celebrates 75 years of English National Ballet

During the event, Her Majesty met staff, dancers, and supporters to recognise the company’s celebrated heritage, its innovative creation of new works, and its learning and engagement programme. 

The Queen became Royal Patron of English National Ballet in June 2024, and visited their East London home, the Mulryan Centre for Dance, in September 2024.

The Queen hosted the reception in the Centre Room at Buckingham Palace, during which Aaron S. Watkin, the Artistic Director of English National Ballet and Sir Rupert Gavin, the Chairperson, said a few words before Lead Principal Ballerina Sangeun Lee performed the ‘The Dying Swan’.

Her Majesty met Sangeun Lee along with dance advocate and former chairperson of English National Ballet, Angela Rippon and Dame Arlene Phillips before meeting guests including from the Company’s Dance for Parkinson’s and ENBYouthCo programmes.

The Company was founded in 1950 as London Festival Ballet by Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, with a pioneering ambition to take ballet beyond opera houses. Their mission to this day is to open up the possibilities of ballet, taking ballet to new places - creatively, emotionally and physically. They do this through their performances across England and around the world; through their distinguished orchestra, English National Ballet Philharmonic; and through their wide-ranging digital content and platforms. 

Programmes include ENBYouthCo for young dancers, and creative health initiatives Dance for Parkinson’s and Dance for Dementia, supporting thousands of people each year to bring wellbeing, connection and joy.