Sir Robert Falcon Scott
The Royal Navy officer whose Antarctic expeditions made him one of Britain’s best-known polar explorers.
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Captain George Vancouver: charting the Pacific coast
The King’s Lynn-born Royal Navy officer led a four-year expedition whose surveys shaped knowledge of the north-west Pacific.
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Henry Hudson: the search for a passage through the north
The English navigator’s voyages ranged from the Arctic to North America. They left a contested legacy of exploration, trade and colonisation.
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Sir Alexander Mackenzie: across North America to the Pacific
The Scottish explorer’s 1793 crossing reached the Pacific by land, north of Mexico, and helped define a life spent in the fur trade.
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Sir John Franklin: Arctic exploration and its human cost
The Royal Navy officer led two Arctic land expeditions before his 1845 attempt to cross the Northwest Passage ended in disaster. The searches that followed expanded knowledge of the region and left a complicated legacy.
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Sir Walter Raleigh
The Elizabethan courtier backed the Roanoke venture, sought El Dorado and wrote in the Tower of London.
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Sir Richard Francis Burton: explorer, soldier and scholar
From a disguised pilgrimage to Mecca to expeditions in East Africa, Burton’s life joined exploration, military service, diplomacy and controversial literary work.
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David Livingstone: exploration, mission and a contested legacy
The Scottish doctor and missionary travelled across central Africa, publicised the slave trade and became one of Victorian Britain’s most celebrated figures.
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Sir Ernest Shackleton
The Anglo-Irish explorer turned an Antarctic crossing that failed into a story of survival, seamanship and leadership.
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Sir Francis Drake
Seafarer, privateer and vice-admiral whose circumnavigation and campaigns against Spain made him a celebrated—and contested—Elizabethan figure.
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James Cook: charting the Pacific
A Yorkshire-born Royal Navy officer mapped coastlines across the Pacific and Southern Oceans. His achievements in navigation and science sit alongside a record of violence, dispossession and colonial ambition.
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Lauren Cuthbertson: from dance school to Royal Ballet principal
The English ballerina trained at the Royal Ballet School, rose through the company’s ranks and originated roles in two major Christopher Wheeldon ballets.
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Matthew Ball: a Royal Ballet principal shaped by the stage
From the Royal Ballet School to demanding leading roles, Matthew Ball’s career has combined steady progression with performances under pressure.
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English National Ballet: a touring company built for wider audiences
Founded by Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin in 1950, the company has carried ballet across Britain and beyond while making room for new choreographers and forms.
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Wayne Sleep: from the Royal Ballet to the West End
The Royal Ballet dancer became a senior principal, created Mr Mistoffelees in Cats and carried his experience into film, television and support for young performers.
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Royal Ballet School
Founded by Ninette de Valois in 1926, the school combines classical ballet training with academic education at White Lodge and Covent Garden.
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Birmingham Royal Ballet: a company shaped by movement
Founded at Sadler’s Wells in 1946, the company moved to Birmingham in 1990 and built a repertoire that ranges from classic story ballets to new work.
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Gillian Lynne: a life shaped by movement
From the Sadler’s Wells Ballet to Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, Gillian Lynne made choreography central to British musical theatre.
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John Neumeier
The American choreographer trained in London whose work brought literary drama and musical ambition to ballet.
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Johan Kobborg: from Royal Danish Ballet to the Royal Ballet
The Danish dancer became a principal at two major companies, partnered Alina Cojocaru on stage and later turned to directing and choreography.
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Robert Helpmann: dancer, actor and choreographer
The Australian artist became a leading figure in British ballet, then carried his theatrical range across stage, film and opera.
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Ninette de Valois: building a home for British ballet
An Irish-born dancer, choreographer and director created institutions that shaped ballet in Britain and helped establish the art form in Turkey.
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Christopher Hampson: choreographer and director
From the Royal Ballet School and English National Ballet to leading Scottish Ballet, Hampson has built a career as a choreographer and arts leader.
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Viviana Durante: a dramatic force in British ballet
From early training in Rome to principal roles at the Royal Ballet, Durante built an international career with enduring ties to British dance.
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Kevin O’Hare and the Royal Ballet’s changing repertoire
A former principal dancer, O’Hare became director of the Royal Ballet in 2012, taking responsibility for a company balancing its classical inheritance with new work.
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Sarah Lamb: from Boston Ballet to the Royal Ballet
The American-born dancer joined the Royal Ballet in 2004, became a principal in 2006 and has performed roles across its classical and contemporary repertory.
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Steven McRae
From tap lessons in Sydney to principal dancer at the Royal Ballet, Steven McRae has performed across classical and contemporary repertoire.
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Marianela Núñez: a career shaped on the Royal Ballet stage
Born in Buenos Aires, Núñez became a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, performing leading roles across its classical and contemporary repertory.
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Tamara Rojo: a dancer who reshaped English National Ballet
Born in Canada and trained in Spain, Rojo became a principal dancer at the Royal Ballet before leading English National Ballet from 2012 to 2022.
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Darcey Bussell: a career in British ballet
From the Royal Ballet stage to television and dance education, Bussell has brought ballet to audiences in Britain and beyond.
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Monica Mason: dancer, teacher and Royal Ballet leader
Born in Johannesburg, Monica Mason spent more than half a century with The Royal Ballet, moving from the corps to its artistic directorship.
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Michael Somes: a leading man of British ballet
A Royal Ballet principal, frequent partner of Margot Fonteyn and collaborator of Frederick Ashton, Somes helped shape the company on stage and behind the scenes.
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Natalia Osipova: a Russian ballerina at the Royal Ballet
From Moscow training and the Bolshoi to a principal role in London, Osipova has made a distinctive contribution to British ballet.
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Richard Alston: choreographing movement to music
The British choreographer shaped contemporary dance through work for Rambert, The Place and his own company.
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John Cranko: the choreographer who transformed Stuttgart Ballet
Born in South Africa, Cranko trained and began his career in Britain before becoming a leading choreographer and artistic director in Germany.
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Michael Clark: ballet, punk and a new language of dance
The Scottish dancer and choreographer brought classical technique into conversation with punk, fashion, music and visual art.
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Marie Rambert: the teacher who helped shape British ballet
The Polish-born dancer founded a school and company that gave new choreographers room to develop, helping to change the course of dance in Britain.
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Carlos Acosta
The Cuban-born dancer brought athleticism and international experience to the Royal Ballet before becoming director of Birmingham Royal Ballet.
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Jonathan Cope: a Royal Ballet career in roles and reinvention
From principal dancer to répétiteur, Jonathan Cope’s Royal Ballet career included major roles, new creations and a return to the stage after an early retirement.
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Alina Cojocaru: a career across British ballet
From training in Bucharest and Kyiv to principal roles in London, Cojocaru built an international career with deep ties to British ballet.
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