Royal Academy of Dance
Moving Forward A CASE FOR SUPPORT
Patron: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Foreword
Dame Darcey Bussell dbe President, Royal Academy of Dance It has been my privilege to hold the position of President of the Royal Academy of Dance for over seven years, and now, to take on the role of President of the Centenary Appeal. As the RAD celebrates its centenary in 2020, we have established a bold vision to 2050. Building on our rich heritage, it will give us the means necessary to ensure that many more members and communities locally, nationally and internationally get to participate in and experience the positive attributes of dance. I know first-hand the remarkable contribution the RAD makes to the art of classical ballet worldwide, and to so many forms of dance. It is very important to me that the RAD continues to provide the very best quality of training, but also that it instils the enjoyment and love of dance in as many people as possible, through collaborations and a wide range of opportunities to participate in and watch dance.
Photo: Elliott Franks
Our new global headquarters in London – a new home for dance – will support this ambition through significantly enhanced facilities and resources, not just for our staff, students and teachers but also our community partners and audiences. We’d be delighted to share our plans with you and invite you to support us in our ambition to continue to teach and inspire the world to dance.
Photo: Spiros Politis
Photo: Johan Persson
Dame Monica Mason dbe
Luke Rittner cbe
Centenary Appeal Chair
Chief Executive
During my career as a dancer, a teacher, and as Director of The Royal Ballet, I grew to appreciate just how fundamental the RAD is to countless generations of dancers, teachers and people of all ages who love dance.
One hundred years is a significant milestone for any organisation to reach, but few do so in the robust good health with which the RAD is looking forward to its second century.
“The doors of our new home will be open to everyone. From our neighbourhood community in Wandsworth to our worldwide membership, our new headquarters will be a place to learn, perform, teach and inspire. In short, a home for dance.” Luke Rittner CBE
We have a bold vision for the future, and a vital element of that is the creation of a new centre for dance, happily remaining in Battersea which has been our home for almost 50 years. We are not only doubling our space, we are creating world-class facilities to match our reputation and our ambition. Our students and teachers will have the space to learn, to teach, to choreograph, rehearse and perform, and we will open our doors to our communities and together we will bring the building to life – a place for all to enjoy. I look forward to sharing our plans with you in full. Photo: David Tett
I am honoured to have the opportunity to chair the Centenary Appeal to secure the premises which will support and build on the RAD’s remarkable legacy for years to come.
Photo: Baron
Adeline Genée (pictured top right), a famous dancer known for making ballet popular with the British public, was its first president. In 1928 Queen Mary became our first patron, and in 1936 we became the RAD after receiving a Royal Charter from King George V. We received our coat of arms the following year. Throughout our history we have retained a strong connection with the professional ballet world. Adeline Genée remained at the helm until 1954 and was followed by Margot Fonteyn (pictured left), who remained president until her death in 1990. Stepping into her shoes was Antoinette Sibley (pictured top left), who took the position shortly after retiring from the stage. Darcey Bussell became president in 2012, only the fourth in our nearly 100-year history.
Photo: Photopress
Photo: Helen Grigoriadou
Celebrating 100 years
The Royal Academy of Dance was established in 1920 by an eminent group of international dance professionals, representing the leading ballet styles of the day: Adeline Genée, Phyllis Bedells, Edouard Espinosa, Lucia Cormani and Tamara Karsavina. Their aim initially was to improve the standards of dance teaching in the UK.
Today, the RAD is one of the world’s most influential dance education and training organisations. Our headquarters is in London, with an additional 36 offices around the world, serving 89 countries. There are over 13,000 members, over 1,000 students in full-time or part-time dance teacher training programmes, and each year our renowned classical ballet syllabus is taught to thousands of young people worldwide, with almost 250,000 going on to take our exams. Despite our rich heritage and success, we are now limited by the shortcomings of our current headquarters: we have simply outgrown our home. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to dance and to experience the unique joy that it brings. However, we need accessible, high-quality spaces and facilities in order to make that aim a reality.
A new home for dance Our new headquarters will include: • seven full-size dance studios with sprung floors and high specification sound equipment (with two studios capable of being divided into two smaller, soundproofed spaces), • studio theatre (seating 188) with full lighting rig and sound desk to be used for both RAD and community partner performances, • a library and publicly accessible archive that will house and display many original costume and dance artefacts, as well as the RAD’s large heritage collection of notated ballets,
Our next century: an ambitious global plan
• a space to host guest lectures and speakers, creating a new facility for the dance research and dance education community,
• establishing our new global headquarters in Battersea as a dynamic dance hub through exciting creative collaborations,
• expanding our membership by 75%, and doubling the number of students taking RAD exams annually to 500,000, and
• investing in our community engagement and wellbeing programmes, and connecting to local and national community groups,
• increasing our global reach with new RAD-branded programmes in new locations, including initiatives in China, India and North America.
Photo: WinkiPop Media
Our Centenary Appeal will enable us to achieve our ambitions to 2050, which include:
• a new shop and large café for members, visitors and the community to enjoy, and • a large welcoming reception space that will be used to host exhibitions and pop-up events by local and national artists, schools, youth and community groups.
Photo: WinkiPop Media
• meeting spaces available for use by community partners,
We are celebrating our centenary in 2020 with an ambitious global plan and a new purpose-built global headquarters to facilitate our ambitions.
Studios 2, 3 and 4
Interior architecture
Dance School entrance
Studio 7 (showing ability to subdivide)
Studio theatre
Student common room
Office and meeting facilities for 150 staff in total (additional on first floor)
Lecture room
The new home for the Royal Academy of Dance is imagined as a continuation of the city, with rooms and spaces connected by a network of indoor streets and urban plazas. Dance is all about connection; with the music, with a partner, with yourself or with an audience – we wanted to reflect that in the interior and to encourage dancers, students, teachers, staff and visitors to connect in the space. In creating these intersections both in and outside of the studio spaces, we aim to embody the ethos of the community of dance.
Café (open to the public) RAD shop
Studio 5 and 6
Main reception and community exhibition/ event space Studio 1
“It is a rare opportunity to work with the RAD to express its prestigious history and the values it embodies through architecture. The interior spaces in turn reflect the RAD’s position at the heart of the global dance community.” Takero Shimazaki
Library, incorporating RAD and Benesh historical archive
Home is where our story begins…
Mlindi Kulashe
As an international organisation, the RAD isn’t defined by one place: our strength lies in the varied and valuable experiences of our teachers worldwide. We are committed to making our new headquarters a home for dance, for all. And we are committed to making our programmes, projects and facilities as accessible (physically and financially) to our diverse communities wherever they are, to partners and members, young and old.
First Soloist, Northern Ballet Through RAD teacher Dianne Cheesman, in Cape Town, Mlindi was not only taught the syllabus, but also about work ethics, dedication and resilience. 10 years on from his first experience of the Genée International Ballet Competition in 2009, (he competed again in 2011 on home soil, winning a medal) he is choreographing Mamela as part of Northern Ballet’s 2019 Mixed Programme.
The first step is to throw open those doors and say “Come on in!”
Photo: Lisa Stonehouse
Gerard Charles, Artistic Director
Photo: Michael Slobodian
The RAD is many things to many people, and dance comes in so many forms. Ballet is a part of our heritage and a big part of our future, but it is not all that we do. Today’s dancers need to be versatile and need exposure to a wide range of movement disciplines. We also need to respond to our community’s needs. Contemporary and street dance, musical theatre, tap, chair-based dancing, Pilates, conditioning and somatic practices all have a place, and bring joy to so many. Dance is the thread that binds us together, but the quality of the teaching and learning is what keeps us together and will move us forwards.
Thousands of dance students each year develop their love of dance with an RAD dance teacher, using the RAD syllabus to guide their development – a quarter of a million students take an RAD exam each year. One of the key roles of an RAD teacher is to set the stage for a first step into the world of dance, and our teaching members have profound and enduring relationships with their students. Supporting and nurturing emerging dancers is a focus for the future.
“The Genée prepared me for working as part of a company. I met David Nixon (my current boss) when he was judging in 2011. But what I got from my early RAD training – from Dianne – was support, encouragement and belief in my potential.”
Wellbeing projects Lorna Scott RAD Graduate “The RAD has been a huge influence on me and my training, not only as a dancer but also as a teacher.
RADiate provides subsidised dance classes to children on the autism spectrum, including children with moderate to severe and complex learning difficulties, and those who are non-verbal.
Our wellbeing-oriented programmes, such as Silver Swans™, Project B and RADiate, already serve, local, national and selected international communities. Through the Centenary Appeal, these programmes, and others to come, will be scaled up for delivery across the country.
“Dance, by its very nature, is a natural mode of language. It stimulates the mind and allows us to communicate both emotionally and cognitively in non-verbal ways. My own son has autism, and I know how important initiatives like RADiate are in nurturing children in a creative environment at their own pace.” Photo: David Tett
Photo: courtesy of Lorna Scott
I started ballet training at the age of 3 and went on to take all the vocational level exams. Through great RAD teaching, and the developing syllabus work, I fulfilled my dream of dancing professionally for 14 years. Then, on retiring, the RAD’s Professional Dancers Teaching Diploma allowed me to carry on the RAD’s vision through my own teaching."
Photo: David Tett
Michael Nunn obe
Trudie Baker Silver Swan “I read an article about the Silver Swans initiative, ballet for the over-55s, and couldn’t believe my luck, for once. At 56, age was not against me! I mentioned it to Mum who is 80 and to my utter surprise she asked to come with me, and we’ve been going together ever since. Mum’s balance has improved and I’m walking taller…
But the best part is that we lose ourselves to the music and we’ve found our inner ballerinas!”
Support our ambition
Contact newhomefordance@rad.org.uk or visit royalacademyofdance.org/newhomefordance to find out more
An innovative model Through an innovative model – involving the sale of our existing building to developers, Avanton, and the purchase of their nearby site – we have succeeded in securing the vast majority of the funding required from the sale of our current building and the purchase of our new building on a 999-year leasehold basis. This package has contributed £16 million towards the capital cost. This means that RAD now needs to raise a total of just £3.5 million to realise our vision in full, keeping the fundraising target to an achievable minimum.
RAD Royal Patron Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II RAD President and Centenary Appeal President Dame Darcey Bussell DBE RAD Board of Trustees Chair – Guy Perricone
An international charity with a national reach The RAD is a membership organisation that receives no state funding. We are a Registered Charity in England and Wales (registration number: 312826), working internationally across 89 countries and at the heart of Wandsworth’s diverse community.
Our new community engagement strategy will develop and deliver programmes in collaboration with local dance, arts and community partners to identify and meet the needs of the diverse community within the borough of Wandsworth.
Get involved
“That was a fantastic feeling, that really touched me… That’s why you do this profession, to move the audience.” Francesca Hayward, Principal, The Royal Ballet, on winning the Audience Choice Award and silver medal at Genée 2010, London
Photo: Spiros Politis
There are lots of ways to get involved and to champion the future of the RAD; from volunteering to making a donation, we value support at all levels.
FSC logo
Photo: Project B pop-up – Samantha Lane
RAD Centenary Appeal Chair – Dame Monica Mason DBE
The Royal Academy of Dance is a Registered Charity in England and Wales No. 312826 Royal Academy of Dance 36 Battersea Square, London SW11 3RA
Photos: front – David Tett; back – Ahmet Celik, D Senses Celik – 2016 Members’ Photo Competition