David Pickering

David Pickering was born in Barnsley and brought up in Leeds. He studied dancing at the Jean Pearce School, Ratcliffe Academy and The Royal Ballet School, dancing the Man with the Rope in The Rake’s Progress in the 1990 School performance. He joined the Company in 1990 and was promoted to First Artist in 1994 and Soloist in September 1999.

His roles with the Company include the Swedish Prince, Lilac Fairy Cavalier and the Wolf in The Sleeping Beauty, Benno and the Mazurka in Swan Lake, Danse Arabe and the Mouse King in The Nutcracker and Wilfred in Giselle.

In the Kenneth MacMillan repertory he appears as Paris in Romeo and Juliet, Count Hoyos in Mayerling, Andres in Different Drummer, ‘He’ in My Brother, My Sisters, Prince Philip in Mayerling and a workman in The Judas Tree.

Frederick Ashton roles include a courtier, the Winter Cavalier and one of the Prince’s Friends in Cinderella, Matvei in A Month in the Country, the Yellow Couple in La Valse, Pan in Daphnis and Chloë, the Fox in Tales of Beatrix Potter, Richard P Arnold and Basil G Nevinson in Enigma Variations, Birthday Offering and Les Patineurs.

He also dances in many other works, including Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial, Symphony in C and Serenade (Fourth Movement Boy), David Bintley’s Galanteries (Pas de deux), the Rag Mazurka Boy in Nijinska’s Les Biches, Terrestrial in Anthoy Tudor’s Shadowplay, the Groom in Nijinska’s Les Noces, the Spanish Suitor in Natalia Makarova’s The Sleeping Beauty, the Lead Hungarian couple in Nureyev’s Raymonda Act III and the Spanish Prince and the Wolf in Monica Mason and Christopher Newton’s production of The Sleeping Beauty.

He has created roles in Tom Sapsford’s new works for the 1997 and 1998 Dance Bites tours, All Nighter and Horseplay, the Blue Boy in Michael Corder’s Masquerade for the 1999 Tour and Christopher Wheeldon’s There Where She Loves.

Television appearances with The Royal Ballet include La Valse at the 1997 Farewell Gala.

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