Christopher Saunders

Christopher Saunders is a British Rehearsal Director and Principal Character Artist of The Royal Ballet whose career with the company spans more than four decades. He joined the Company in 1983 after training at The Royal Ballet School and became one of the defining interpreters of major character roles in the repertory, combining theatrical authority with deep stylistic knowledge.

Born in Gosport, Saunders first trained with Joan Stevenson in dance, singing and tap before entering The Royal Ballet School in 1975. He rose through the company steadily, was promoted to Soloist in 1991 and Principal Character Artist in 1997, and later extended his influence beyond performance through coaching and staging work. He was appointed Ballet Master in 2001 and became Rehearsal Director in 2017.

His stage repertory reflects the range and depth of the great Royal Ballet character tradition. His many roles have included the title role in Don Quixote, Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker, Von Rothbart in Swan Lake, Monsieur G.M. in Manon, Tsar Nicholas II in Anastasia, Elgar in Enigma Variations, Yslaev in A Month in the Country and Kostcheï in The Firebird. He also created roles in works including Tombeaux, Love’s Fool, The Seven Deadly Sins and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

As a répétiteur, ballet master and rehearsal director, Saunders has shaped Royal Ballet performance culture far beyond his own appearances. He has worked closely on the MacMillan repertory with Dame Monica Mason and Monica Parker, on Balanchine with Patricia Neary, and on works by Christopher Wheeldon and many others. That experience has made him an important transmitter of repertory knowledge across generations of dancers at Covent Garden and well beyond it.