Sarasota Ballet welcomes two Royal Ballet School graduates

Sarasota Ballet recently announced that two Royal Ballet School graduates will be joining the company of Sarasota Ballet: Lily Howes and Barny Sharratt.

Howes studied at The Royal Ballet School since she was 11 years old and is originally from England. Barny Sharratt trained with The Royal Ballet School for eight years and is also from England.

The Royal Ballet School is one of the premiere classical training schools in the world. It’s known that thousands apply here and only a few get in.

Sarasota Ballet School has some history with The Royal Ballet School. Director Iain Webb studied a year there. And as the story goes, when he auditioned for the Royal Ballet School initially and they told him he had no talent. It wasn’t until he received a scholarship to Stuttgart Ballet that Royal Ballet School also offered him one.

Assistant Director Margaret Barbieri also studied at The Royal Ballet School before joining Birmingham Royal Ballet.

The two newcomers will be in good company with soloist Ricki Bertoni who similarly trained at The Royal Ballet School for five years.

Will Tuckett, who is currently choreographing “The Secret Garden” and has choreographed around one ballet a season since 2011, also trained at The Royal Ballet School.