Rupert Pennefather (born 7 May 1981) is a former principal dancer of

the Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

Company. He joined the company in 1999 and was promoted to principal status alongside his pas-de-deux partner

Lauren Cuthbertson Lauren Louise Cuthbertson (born 11 June 1984) is an English ballet dancer, ballerina and a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. Early life and education Lauren Cuthbertson was born in Devon in 1984. She began studying dance at a ...

in June 2008, following well-received performances in

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

at the Royal Opera House. He left the company in August 2015. Pennefather has gained acclaim despite several setbacks, including failing the annual assessment at the company's White Lodge school at 12, and 'being asked to leave' The Arts Educational School, Tring Park at 15. Pennefather continued his training in his home town of

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

under Julie Rose, a former Royal Ballet member, and his tenacity saw him accepted into the Royal Ballet Company in 1999. He sustained a tendon injury as a soloist in 2002, and was out of action for 18 months. Upon full recovery in 2004 he was selected for the principal role of Paris in Romeo and Juliet by prima ballerina

Sylvie Guillem Sylvie Guillem (; born 23 February 1965) is a French ballet dancer. Guillem was the top-ranking female dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet from 1984 to 1989, before becoming a principal guest artist with the Royal Ballet in London. She has ...

, and Aminta in Sylvia by director Dame

Monica Mason Dame Monica Margaret Mason (born 6 September 1941) is a former ballet dancer, teacher, and director of The Royal Ballet. In more than a half-century with the company, she established a reputation as a versatile performer, a skilled rehearsal d ...

, which 'proved to be his breakthrough'. Pennefather's potential to enter the canon of great British ballet dancers alongside such greats as Anthony Dowell, David Wall and Jonathan Cope is closely coupled with the fact that his peer and pas-de-deux partner

is also British-born, bringing them progressively more attention as the next Anthony Dowell and Antionette Sibley in the British media. According to Jonathan Cope, "they are very much in sync with each other... I'm quite excited about it".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennefather, Rupert Living people 1981 births English male ballet dancers Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet National Dance Award winners People educated at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts