The Royal Ballet School Partners With Strictly Stars

The Royal Ballet School has partnered with Strictly Come Dancing Stars, Nadiya Bychkova and Karim Zeroual.

Children learning ballet (Image: Pexels)

The stars will be ambassadors for the Primary Steps on Demand platform. This is a creative dance programme for schools aimed at pupils aged between 7-11 years old.

The programme has been introduced following the success of the in-person Primary Steps programme which launched in 2022. 

The new digital programme has been expertly created by The Royal Ballet School to encourage movement and arts in schools, enabling schools to confidently teach dance to their pupils.

It includes full lesson plans; movement guides; dance classes with live music; footage from Royal Ballet dancers and webinars for teachers.

What do the Strictly Come Dancing stars have to say?

Nadiya and Karim will help increase the programme’s reach, helping children everywhere enjoy dance. 

Nadiya Bychkova

Nadiya Bychkova grew up in Ukraine and started dancing at four years old. She is a world and European champion in ballroom and Latin and has taken part in the Bosnian version of Strictly Come Dancing. In 2017, Nadiya joined BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, where she has featured as a professional dancer since. 

Nadiya commented: ‘In today’s world, it’s more important than ever to nurture creativity and self-expression. This programme gives young people the opportunity and skills to be curious with movement, collaborate and express themselves  creatively and confidently. I can’t wait to get started!’

Karim Zeroual

Karim Zeroual is a television presenter and theatre performer, well-known for his role on CBBC. In 2019, Karim featured on the seventeenth series of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, where he was a runner-up in the competition with partner Amy Dowden.

Karim said: ‘This platform encompasses everything I love about dance: fun, creativity and energy! I am very excited about the  programme, and I look forward to working closely with The Royal Ballet School to spread the word.’