THE walled garden at Hatch House near Tisbury is a beautiful place at any time of the year, but it is at its most magical in July when the Covent Garden Dance Company brings its mini-festival, Ballet Under the Stars, nicknamed the “Glyndebourne of dance”, this year from 25th to 27th July.

Founder-director Matt Brady created a unique formula 15 years ago, when he first brought world-class dance to this rural corner of Wiltshire. While offering guests the glamour and panache of international dancers in an intimate setting, the evening also included a gourmet dinner – a feature that is unique to Hatch (patrons at most country house opera seasons bring picnics or enjoy a separately-billed dinner at an on-site restaurants .

Over three nights, principal dancers and rising stars from some of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world, perform on a stage set in the romantic 17th century walled Dutch garden at Hatch. The shows have become a red-letter day of the summer social calendar.

The performance programme will, as always, take place in three 30-minute sections, between a course of gourmet dining with paired wines. The walled garden is covered by a bespoke roof to create a dinner theatre, allowing the audience to enjoy the mixed bill of classical, neo-classical and contemporary dance, come rain or shine.

Post show guests are invited to continue their evening with cocktails and dancing in the ‘Café Folle’ cocktail bar late into the summer’s night.

In March, Matt Brady took this ballet event to the Bahamas for the second time and in an exciting programme for the local audience, he is bringing two of the Bahamian dancers to Hatch – the celebrated Courtney Celeste Fox and Vernal Adderley.

Four principal dancers from two of the most prestigious British ballet companies, English National Ballet and The Royal Ballet, will be performing under the stars at Hatch – Lauren Cuthbertson, guest principal with the Royal Ballet, makes a long-awaited return partnered this year by Gareth Haw, an ENB principal, making his Hatch debut; Sarah Lamb and William Bracewell, both Royal Ballet principals, are also making their Ballet Under the Stars debut.

Lauren Cuthbertson studied at The Royal Ballet School before graduating into the company in 2002. She became a principal in 2008. In 2022 she performed in the Platinum Party celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II. She is vice president of the British Ballet Organisation and Patron of London Children’s Ballet and the National Youth Ballet. Gareth Haw trained at both the lower and upper schools of The Royal Ballet. He joined ENB in 2023 and was promoted to principal last year.

American dancer Sarah Lambjoined the Royal Ballet as a soloist in 2004, and was promoted to principal in 2006. Her repertoire includes leading roles in ballets by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, August Bournonville, Kenneth MacMillan, Alastair Marriott, Jerome Robbins, John Cranko and Liam Scarlett. William Bracewell, like Gareth, is a Welsh dancer. From the age of 11 he trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined the Royal Ballet as a soloist in 2017, and has been a principal since 2022. The 2025 line-up is completed by Hatch audience favourite, Xander Paris.

Every year, through the Dicky Buckle Fund, a charity created by Matt to support young dancers and choreographers to bring new works to the stage, a new work is premiered at Hatch. This year, two young, talented dancers, Faye Stoeser and Hannah Ekholm of Ekleido, will perform Clinquant, the work they have created and choreographed, supported by the charity. Ekleido’s distinctive choreographic voice combines contemporary dance with street dance style including voguing, threading and bonebreaking.

Photographs from Hatch 2024, by Alice Pennefather