Christopher Saunders staged Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote in 2022 and 2026.

Christopher is Rehearsal Director and a Principal Character Artist of the Royal Ballet. He trained at the Royal Ballet School and entered the Company in 1983, promoted to Soloist in 1991 and Principal Character Artist in 1997. He was appointed Ballet Master in 2001 and Rehearsal Director in 2017. Christopher was born in Gosport and trained with Joan Stevenson in dance, singing and tap. He made his professional debut aged nine in Gypsy with Angela Lansbury. His many roles with The Royal Ballet include the title role in Don Quixote, Lord Capulet (Romeo and Juliet), Drosselmeyer (The Nutcracker), Von Rothbart (Swan Lake), Monsieur G.M., Tsar Nicholas II (Anastasia), Elgar (Enigma Variations) and Kostcheï (The Firebird). Saunders has rehearsed and staged many of the ballets in The Royal Ballet repertory by de Valois, Ashton, MacMillan, Acosta, Balanchine, Robbins and Wheeldon. He has worked as a stager for major companies across Europe, Japan, USA, Australia and Canada.