[Royal Ballet logo]

The
Bridge of Aspiration

The generous and symbolic gift to The Royal Ballet School
donated by

Thomas and Deirdre Lynch. John and Anya Sainsbury. Harry and Carol Djanogly. The Ashden Trust. Robert and Ricki Gail Conway. Charlotte Heber Percy. Christopher and Jo Holdsworth Hunt. The Mark Leonard Trust. The J J Charitable Trust. Simon and Virginia Robertson. The Mercers Company. The Headley Trust

January 2003

This plaque marks the contribution of David Norman
Chairman of Governors
The Royal Ballet School
2000-2009

to the development of The Royal Ballet School and to the construction of The Bridge of Aspiration

The bridge connects the High School of Ballet with the Royal Opera House in London. It was placed in 2003 when the school moved to this location.
The "curled" bridge is built of glass squares surrounded by aluminum, each of which is at an angle to the one before it, so that in summary, a spiral structure is obtained.

Note that the lower sign gives credit to those who contributed to placing the upper sign...

The bridge was photographed in 2024 Click for a larger image Click for a larger image

As you can see in the following photo taken that day, the sign is on the wall of the Royal Ballet School (in the upper left corner you can see the beginning of the bridge) Click for a larger image

The design of the bridge won the "Civic Trust Awards" in 2004 - an award given since 1959 to an exceptional architectural work in the field of construction as can be seen on the sign below the sign
CIVIC TRUST AWARD
2004

as well as an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects for 2004
ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS
REGIONAL ARCHITECTURE AWARD
2004
Click for a larger image Click for a larger image