‘What does the RAD actually do?’ is a question I was often asked when it was announced that I had accepted the role of Artistic Director. After encountering this perspective several times, it led me to wonder what I had gotten myself into… does anyone know what this 105-year-old organisation does?!
In truth, everyone who asked me that question knew of the Academy and its purpose; perhaps they had taken examinations as part of their training or knew of people competing in The Geneé or The Fonteyn (as it is now known). But the question persisted… what does the RAD actually do?
When I started in April last year, I was fairly confident that I knew the breadth of what the RAD does; that confidence was somewhat misplaced. The RAD does an enormous amount of work, and I am willing to bet that no single member will have accessed or experienced every single area that the RAD provides for. The scale of output and reach that the RAD has developed is simply staggering.
‘I was advised: try to be a little bit better than the day before and aim to leave a place in a better state than when you found it’
It is an astonishing story of success; a story of enthusiasm for an art form apparently on the verge of decline for a large part of its existence; of the global language that the RAD speaks; and most of all it is a story about teachers. Teachers who have spread the love of dance around the world, who have inspired generations of participants to love dance in their own way and, often, to become teachers themselves.
I have had the enormous privilege to have been part of important and historic organisations throughout my career. The Royal Ballet School, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet provided my training and performing career. Early in my career with Birmingham Royal Ballet, a former dancer advised me to focus on trying to be a little bit better than I was the day before and to always aim to leave a place in a better state than when you found it: ‘that’s the responsibility we should bear.’ It remained a guiding principle for the remainder of my performing career, it shaped my thinking and determined how I behaved, and it will absolutely be the driving force for my time here at the Academy. I aim to respect it, to take responsibility for it and to leave it in a better state than when it welcomed me.
