Interview with Sarah Lamb
Having just completed a run of sublime performances as Juliet at the Royal Ballet & Opera House and ahead of her debut appearance at Hatch House 2025, we were delighted to interview Principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, Sarah Lamb.
Having just completed a run of sublime performances at the Royal Ballet & Opera House as Juliet in Kenneth Macmillan’s Romeo & Juliet, and ahead of her debut appearance at Hatch House 25-27 July, 2025, we were delighted to interview Principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, Sarah Lamb.
Sarah is an internationally acclaimed Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet. She joined the company in 2004 as a first soloist and was promoted to principal after eighteen months.
Photo credit - Andrei Uspenski
Sarah’s roots lead back to Massachusetts. She was born in Boston and trained with Madame Tatiana Nicolaevna Legat at the Boston Ballet School. In 1998 she was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and awarded a gold medal by President Clinton and performed Sleeping Beauty Act III at the Kennedy Center in 1998. Her many awards include three silver medals at the Third Japan International Ballet Competition in Nagoya (1999), the USA International Ballet Competition (2002). She was awarded the highest medal at the New York International Ballet Competition (2000).
Lamb’s repertory with the Company includes all the leading roles in the classical, dramatic and contemporary repertories as well as the masterpieces of Sir Frederick Ashton and Sir Kenneth McMillan. She created the title role in Wayne McGregor’s Raven Girl and roles in his ballets Carbon Life, Live Fire Exercise, Limen, Chroma, Tetractys, Woolf Works, Multiverse, Yugen and The Dante Project. She also has created roles for the Company in Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale and Electric Counterpoint, Ratmansky’s 24 Preludes, David Dawson’s The Human Seasons and Twyla Tharp’s Illustrated ‘Farewell’.
Sarah has performed at the World Ballet Festival in Tokyo in 2015, 2018 and 2024 and is known by audiences across the globe. In 2023 Sarah received the Positano award for Best Female Dancer.
We cannot wait to watch Sarah grace the Hatch House stage on 25, 26 & 27 July 2025.
Photo credit - Andrei Uspenski
What you are currently rehearsing or performing?
I just finished Romeo and Juliet and am preparing for some performances in Mexico in a couple of weeks. I'm really looking forward to performing in Mexico again; it has been several years since I was there.
What motivated you to join the Covent Garden Dance Company to perform at Hatch House this July?
William Bracewell invited me, and I will always jump at an opportunity to dance with William! We performed for the first time together last summer at the World Ballet Festival, and we had a wonderful partnership, I'm looking forward to dancing together again this summer.
What will you be performing?
William and I are performing Ashton's Cinderella pas de deux, which we performed last summer in Tokyo, and an excerpt from Marius Petipa’s Shades Pas de Deux, from La Bayadère, which is a ballet William hasn't previously performed.
Photo credit - Andrei Uspenski
What are you looking forward to most about performing at Hatch House?
It's always interesting to perform somewhere new, we are always in London so there are many parts of the UK that I have never seen!
When you’re dancing these works how does it make you feel, what do you hope the audience feels?
Prokofiev's music for the Cinderella pas de deux in Act 2 is sublime and I hope the audience feels the same as I do when I perform. It is glorious. The pas de deux from La Bayadère is one of longing. Nikiya is a vision to Solor, and he is reunited with her in this otherworldly realm. She needs to exude these qualities of intangible beauty.
You will be performing alongside some wonderful artists from all around the world, who are you most looking forward to watching perform?
I don't know the final cast list but it will be exciting to see some familiar faces or meet new artists!
Photo credit - Andrei Uspenski
Many children will be coming to watch the rehearsal on the 24th July - how important are these opportunities for future generations of dancers?
I think rehearsals are a wonderful way to introduce new audiences. I think rehearsals can be more interesting to watch than performances! Young dancers especially feel closer to the work and the art, and it is so unique to be able to do what you love - for a young dancer to realise his/her dream is edifying.
What is your favourite role to dance?
That's not a fair question there are too many!
Can you tell us three things people don’t know about you?
I love to read, and I take time every day to read the New Yorker Magazine.
I used to love drawing, and I still do from time to time though I am not good at finding time for it.
I still don't have a driver's license which is rather remarkable as I lived in America until I was in my early 20s!
Photo credit - Andrei Uspenski.
Children’s Matinée at Hatch House
Join us for this Hatch House first - Courtenay Celeste Fox will inspiring the next generation in this interactive and fun Children’s Matinée.
We are delighted to introduce a brand-new addition to our weekend of world-class ballet and dance at the beautiful Hatch House near Tisbury: the Children’s Matinée Performance.
In previous years, we’ve welcomed families to attend our open dress rehearsals—a wonderful opportunity for young audiences to experience the magic of ballet in an informal and inspiring setting. However, due to unforeseen delays and the overwhelming popularity of last year’s rehearsal, we felt it was time to reimagine the experience for our younger guests.
This year, we were honoured to collaborate with the extraordinarily talented Courtney Celeste Fox, a celebrated Bahamian ballerina. Not only did Courtney create an exciting new piece for our programme, but she also curated and hosted a fun, interactive matinée performance designed especially for children.
The 90-minute matinée, taking place between 2.45pm and 4:00pm on Thursday 24th July, includes engaging audience interaction, an introduction to the behind-the-scenes world of theatre (including lighting, music cues, and stagecraft), and two performances from our main programme. Children are then invited to join Courtney on stage to learn and perform a joyful, high-energy choreography—an experience that is as entertaining as it is educational.
Courtney, known for both her artistic excellence and her warm, approachable presence, brings a wealth of experience working with children in performance and education. With technical support from our brilliant chief technician, Ella, the matinée promises to be a magical and memorable event for the whole family.
We are excited to launch what we hope will become a beloved tradition at Hatch House: a children’s performance that inspires, delights, and invites the next generation into the world of dance.
We hope to see you there!
To book, click the button below
It’s our 15th anniversary at Hatch House…
It’s our 15th anniversary of Ballet Under The Stars performances at Hatch House. Find out where it all began and what you can expect from Hatch House 2024.
Mara Galeazzi & Gabriele Corrado - Macmillan’s Balcony pas de deux, Romeo & Juliet at Hatch House in 2019.
15 years ago, a quick conversation took place in the 17th Century walled Dutch garden at Hatch House. It was between The Covent Garden Dance Company director Matt Brady and the owner of the gardens, Lady Holly Rumbold. The latter was being asked if she would mind if the former put a ballet on in her garden. The response was an emphatic:
‘Oh my gawd yes!’.
Three months later, the first show was presented to a bijou audience of 120 guests who had been rapidly contacted to try to ensure that the eccentric idea of presenting a ballet in a garden could be realised before the summer passed.
15 years on, Ballet Under The Stars has gone from strength to strength. The walled garden Harlequin Stage has played host to the biggest names in ballet and dance such as Carlos Acosta, Lauren Cuthbertson, Vadim Muntagirov, Valentine Colasante, Myriam Oud Brahm, Mara Galeazzi and too many more to mention in this single blog.
Lauren Cuthbertson & Matthew Golding - Christopher Wheeldon’s, After the Rain:
Hatch House 2018.
Photo credit - Alice Pennefather
For those of you who have not been, the 430 seat dinner theatre is created within the two tiered walled garden to form the dinner theatre. The walled garden is completely covered with a giant bespoke roof for the run of the 4 shows. Guests arrive generally around 5:30pm to enjoy a drink from the newly created Café Folle Speak Easy cocktail bar and a walk in the sunshine around the gardens. At 7pm everyone is seated at tables with their party to enjoy their first course of gourmet dining ahead of the first half hour section of performance. Each half hour of performance takes place after each course of dining. Each performance section has four short works within it with each work lasting around 5-8 mins.
This year, to celebrate the 15-year milestone, the company has in a way in part returned to their beginnings by inviting the stars of the future to perform alongside some of the more established names. This year we will be treated to performances by Royal Ballet rising super stars Viola Pantuso and Marco Masciari and they will be joined by newly appointed Birmingham Royal Ballet Principal Beatrice Palma and Max Maslan.
Viola Pantuso & Marco Masciari
Photo credit: @dancersdiary
The cast list does not end there; with performances by internationally renowned names such as Xander Parish and Ksenia Ovsyanick - who will be accompanied by Virtuoso Cellist Arne Christian Pelz - Hatch House 2024 makes this 15 year celebration a must see. The programme includes works from the greatest choreographers from around the world: Balanchine, Ashton, Petipa and many more.
Ksenia Ovsyanick & Timothy Dutson, Hatch House, 2022. Photo credit: Alice Pennefather
Hatch House 2024 is a feast for the senses for anyone and everyone, especially if you have never been to see ballet or dance. The combination of the performance and three course dining, in the deeply romantic walled garden is truly something unique and brilliant. If you can get a ticket….GET A TICKET!
Performance dates are: 25th/26th/27th July 2025
To enquire about offers, tables, menu and the programme, get in touch via email events@coventgardendance.com or phone: 01749 81 3313
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Interview with Beatrice & Max
Ahead of an exciting international tour, we caught up with Birmingham Royal Ballet partners and Principals Beatrice Parma and Max Maslen.
Ahead of an exciting international tour and fresh from her promotion to Principal in March, we caught up with Birmingham Royal Ballet partners, Beatrice Parma and Principal, Max Maslen.
Beatrice & Max dancing Hobson’s Choice by David Bintley.
Photo credit: Bill Cooper.
Italian born, Beatrice Parma is a Principal dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB). Originally from Livorno, Italy, she trained at Accadamia Teatro alla Scala and English National Ballet School. Upon graduating, Beatrice worked for three years in Turkey in a company in Mersin, before joining the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Her partner in life and on the stage, Max Maslen, Principal of BRB, was born in Bradford where he trained locally until the age of 16, before moving to London to train full time at Central School of Ballet.
Can you tell us three things people don’t know about you?
“I am a hobbyist DJ, I play guitar in a band and I can’t sing!”
Max“I’m the happiest by the sea, I love watching Formula 1, I can’t go to bed without fluffing the sofa’s cushions.”
Beatrice
What has been your favourite role that you have danced?
“Juliet is without a doubt my favourite role that I’ve performed so far. I love how in MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet the choreography meets the music perfectly. Performing this role is always so special as you can bring so much individuality to it.”
Beatrice
“My favourite role I have performed would have to be Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. The sword fighting, the drama and fun make each show unique!”
Max
What role would you most like to dance that you are yet to debut?
“A dream role of mine has always been Marguerite in the Lady of the Camellias by John Neumeier. I remember watching it at the Teatro alla Scala when I was younger and completely falling in love with the role. The choreography is absolutely stunning and I would love the challenge of performing such a complex and dramatic role.”
Beatrice“The role I would love to perform is Sergeant Francis Troy in David Bintley’s Far from the Madding Crowd. Some of the pas de deux are extremely challenging and I’d love to have a chance to dig deep into the character.”
Max
What has been the highlight of your year with BRB?
Carlos Acosta promoting Beatrice to Principal
Photo credit: Birmingham Royal Ballet
“My highlight of the season has to be watching my girlfriend get promoted to Principal dancer on stage after her performance of Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. It’s a special moment for anyone and even more so knowing all the hard work and dedication that she put in.”
Max“Getting promoted to principal was not only the most special moment of this season with BRB, but of my career. Carlos walking on stage and announcing the promotion after my Aurora show is a moment I will forever cherish. I never expected to get to the top so I’m so grateful and honoured to start next season as a Principal dancer of the company.”
Beatrice
What are you looking forward to most about dancing at Hatch House with the Covent Garden Dance Company this year?
“Galas are always a great opportunity to meet new people and dancers. I’m looking forward to dancing in such a beautiful location and get inspired by all the other dancers performing there.”
Beatrice“I’m looking forward to being able to meet other artists from around the world and to try and learn and take inspiration from them.”
Max
Beatrice Parma - Nutcracker
Photo credit: Bill Cooper
What will you be dancing?
“We will be performing Sir Frederick Ashton’s wedding pas de deux from La Fille Mal Gardée and another Ashton iconic pas de deux - Rhapsody.”
Beatrice
What inspired you to dance these pieces?
“We chose these pieces as we’ve performed them before, got to grips with the way they move and flow, and now can push them to go further.”
Max“We are about to perform La Fille Mal Gardée with BRB next season so we thought it would also be a nice addition to the evening as it’s just a beautiful pas de deux.”
Beatrice
When you’re dancing these pieces together how does it make you feel?
“Being together in life, it’s always nice to share moments not only off stages, but on as well. It adds onto memories we’ve built together.”
Beatrice“We’ve always enjoyed performing together! it’s usually only outside of the company that we get to choose what repertoire we dance together as well!”
Max
Beatrice in Juliano Nunes’ Interlinked
Photo credit: Tristan Kenton
You will be performing alongside some wonderful artists from all around the world this year, who are you most looking forward to watching perform?
“I’m excited to watch everyone perform, there’s always things you can learn from different dancers and get inspired in a different ways”
Beatrice“I wouldn’t want to say individually who I’m looking forward to see perform, but more the collective and how each artist will bring something completely different to the evenings.”
Max
What do you like most about performing for events such as this?
“I’d say the most special thing about Galas like this one, is how dancers from all over the world come together for a few days sharing what we love.”
Beatrice