 In 1984, Dowell was appointed assistant to Norman Morrice, director of the Royal Ballet.A year later he was made associate director, and in 1986 he was promoted to the post of artistic director of the company.During his tenure, he succeeded in checking declining technical standards among the soloists and the "corps de ballet", and he encouraged and nurtured many world-class talents, among them Darcey Bussell, Jonathan Cope, Sylvie Guillem, and Carlos Acosta.