Royal Ballet chief quits after threat of revolt by dancers

The head of the Royal Ballet has quit suddenly a year after taking up one of the most coveted posts in the arts. And he has infuriated his fellow executives at the Royal Opera House with a leaving statement that implies the Royal Ballet is more interested in "heritage" than "the future of ballet".

The resignation of Ross Stretton comes weeks after The Independent revealed that dancers in the company were on the point of mutiny against his leadership. They had discussed a motion of no confidence and called in representatives of their union, Equity. Mr Stretton's resignation apparently had as much to do with this breakdown in company unity as academic debates over the heritage and future of choreography.

Senior insiders in the company said last night that Mr Stretton had failed to galvanise the company and had few admirers among the critics, and that his management style did not gel with the rest of his team.

Mr Stretton, 50, who is married with three children, is an Australian and came from the Australian Ballet company to head the Royal Ballet, which contains stars of such stature as Darcey Bussell and Sylvie Guillem. Though he forged good relationships with some dancers, the protest meeting and Equity involvement was a huge embarrassment to the Royal Opera House chief executive, Tony Hall, who had reduced many prices, increased access and improved the Royal Opera House's public profile in his first 15 months in the job.

In their protest meeting, dancers accused Mr Stretton of making frequent last-minute changes of casts, which were annoying for them and for audiences who had paid to see certain dancers.

Mr Stretton will not work out any notice period. The Royal Opera House confirmed that he had left for good yesterday.

The Royal Ballet, founded by the late Dame Ninette de Valois, has had a succession of distinguished figures at its helm including Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Sir Frederick Ashton and Sir Anthony Dowell. Mr Stretton was appointed director in March 2000. He took up his post in August last year, after Sir Anthony's retirement.

Mr Stretton's remarkably short tenure ended with further acrimony yesterday when he issued a statement that, in effect, cocked a snook at the Royal Ballet. The statement said: "Even though I have enormous respect for the great heritage of this company, my interest lies primarily in developing the future of ballet, and that is what I want to spend my time doing."

A Royal Opera House spokesman said: "Of course the Royal Ballet is interested in the future of ballet. It is quite wrong to say that we are not. But I am not going to comment on Ross Stretton's comment."

An analysis by The Independent of the Royal Ballet's summer season showed that, out of 22 shows, only two appeared with the cast originally announced. Among the disappointments for people who bought tickets – some of them costing as much as £65 – was the absence of Darcey Bussell from Don Quixote and Tamara Rojo from Onegin.

Martin Brown, a spokesman for Equity, said: "There have been several meetings at which our members have expressed disquiet over a number of management matters." Concerns were also apparent during his tenure as director of the Australian Ballet, where his allegedly authoritarian style earned him the nickname "Stress Rotten". Within 18 months of his appointment – replacing Maina Gielgud, a niece of the late Sir John, in that role – 23 dancers had left the company.

Sir Colin Southgate, chairman of the Royal Opera House, said: "It is with deep regret that I have accepted the resignation of Ross Stretton with immediate effect. I would like to thank him for his work over the last 12 months and in the period building up to his arrival here. The Royal Ballet has been introduced to some new and interesting works under Ross's stewardship."

The opera house board is reported to be in no hurry to appoint a new director. For the time being, Monica Mason, the assistant director, will run the company, with Anthony Russell-Roberts continuing as administrative director.