Leanne Benjamin OBE, AM, world-renowned ballet coach and former Principal Dancer of The Royal Ballet.

Her remarkable career includes principal roles with Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and The Royal Ballet. A Prix de Lausanne laureate and multi-award winner, she now coaches leading dancers globally and shares her story in her memoir Built for Ballet.

In honour of her career with The Royal Ballet, the Leanne Benjamin Awards were launched at a public masterclass at The Royal Ballet School on 12 June 2014. The awards were created and will be administered by The Tait Memorial Trust, of which Leanne Benjamin is a Patron.[11] The awards are scholarships for young Australian and New Zealand ballet dancers studying in the UK.[12]

In January 2014, Leanne Benjamin was awarded the Critics’ Circle de Valois award for outstanding achievement.[13]

Benjamin now works as a coach for both the Royal Ballet and other companies.