From students to teachers, from adults taking up ballet in later life or using their dance training to pivot into a new career – the RAD forms a supportive thread through many dancing lives. We follow varied RAD stories from Brazil, Greece, Australia and the UK.

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, died on 8 September aged 96, after reigning for 70 years. She had been Patron of the RAD since 1953.

This issue of Dance Gazette brings together three pairs of dance people to share and compare experiences. Dancers in different styles, RAD teachers of different generations, RAD directors in different countries – do they share more than divides them? Deirdre Kelly listens in.

Q&A interview with Baryshnikov and a report from the award ceremony at Buckingham Palace.