Students Honoured at Royal Ballet & Opera House Design Challenge Awards Ceremony

Images: Royal Ballet & Opera Design Challenge 2025 – ©2025 Scarlett Cook

Five talented students from East Sussex College received national recognition at the prestigious Royal Ballet & Opera Design Challenge 2025 awards ceremony, held at the Royal Ballet & Opera House on Monday 16th June.

Winners Indigo-Pacha Reynolds (Costume Design) and Jaina Chandler (Marketing Strategy) were joined by Maia Poole-Wilson and Viola Doncheva, who were both commended for their outstanding work in Set and Costume Design respectively. Summer Baker, who received a commendation in Hair, Wigs and Make-Up Design, was sadly unable to attend.

The Royal Ballet & Opera Design Challenge is a national, skills-based competition that gives students the opportunity to respond to a professional brief inspired by a Royal Ballet or Opera production. It’s designed to uncover and nurture new creative talent, improve access to roles in theatre design, and help young people build hands-on experience for careers in the creative industries. This year’s brief was based on The Winter’s Tale, and challenged students to develop original concepts across categories such as Costume, Set, Marketing, and Hair and Make-Up Design.

The awards were presented by none other than Alex Beard, CEO of the Royal Opera House, who was recently knighted in the King’s Birthday Honours.

The event gave students the chance to explore behind the scenes at one of the most iconic performance venues in the world. Alongside a backstage tour and insights from industry professionals, the students were celebrated for their exceptional creativity in front of proud tutors, peers, and invited guests.

James DiBiase, Course Leader for Art & Design at East Sussex College, said: “It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to be recognised at such a prestigious venue. To see their talent celebrated at the Royal Ballet & Opera, and to witness them receiving awards from Alex Beard himself, made for a truly memorable occasion. We're incredibly proud of all five students for their creativity, commitment and professionalism.”

James attended the ceremony alongside tutor Rob Cunningham, who filmed and edited the students’ shortlisted video entries, and Rene de-Lange, East Sussex College’s newly appointed Fashion & Textiles teacher at Lewes, who joined the team in January.

The students’ award-winning work, which was inspired by The Winter’s Tale, will remain on display in the Linbury Foyer at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, until 1st July 2025.

Their success marks another standout moment for the College, which continues to provide opportunities for young creatives to gain real-world experience and forge strong links with the creative industries.