White Lodge Reunion: Now we Are 70!

On Sunday 21 August, a historic reunion took place at White Lodge. Around 30 of the Lower School’s first boarders gathered in the Sarah Dorfman Salon for lunch, drinks and reminiscences. The event was entitled Now We Are 70 and was the idea of former student, Prudence Bury Fuchs, following her own landmark birthday.


Some of the visitors came from as far away as the USA and many of the alumni hadn’t seen each other for several years. The group was taken on a tour of White Lodge; they visited the studios and classrooms of yesteryear. Some even warmed up at the barre in the Pavolva Studio, whilst others sat down at classroom desks as if preparing for a Geography lesson! The tour also included visits to the facilities that have been added since the 1950s with visitors particularly impressed by the new Bussell/Stock Studio, the new boarding houses and dining hall. The tour culminated with a special briefing given by Royal Ballet School Development Manager Jim Fletcher who answered a wide variety of questions put to him from within the group.


A generous donation was made to The Royal Ballet School’s Student Hardship Fund which raises money for students who are struggling with day to day costs of living.


Pictured: Participants of the Now we Are 70 reunion on the staircase of the King’s Building, White Lodge.
Photo: Jim Fletcher