Royal Ballet School - Prima Ballerina Assoluta

Prima Ballerina Assoluta

One of the most notable items of trivia relating to the Royal Ballet School is that it has trained three of only a small number of dancers in history to have been recognised as Prima Ballerina Assoluta, the ultimate honorary title for a ballerina. Entirely trained at the Royal Ballet School and dancing her entire professional career with the Royal Ballet, Margot Fonteyn was appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the company in 1979. Having trained at the Royal Ballet School for several years from 1959 to 1966, Eva Evdokimova would go on to become an international guest ballerina, being recognised as a Prima Ballerina Assoluta following her performances with the Kirov Ballet in the late 1970s. Most recently, Royal Ballet School graduate Alessandra Ferri was appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta of La Scala Theatre Ballet in 1992. Another British ballerina, Alicia Markova, was also tutored by Royal Ballet school founder Ninette de Valois, and would go on to be a leading ballerina with the Ballets Russes, the first Prima Ballerina of the Royal Ballet, a founder ballerina with American Ballet Theatre, and co-founder of English National Ballet who now recognise her as the companies Prima Ballerina Assoluta. Although not trained at the Royal Ballet School, this direct connection with school founder Ninette de Valois brings the total up to four.