My aspiration for the RAD is to influence and change who and what audiences see on professional stages around the world – and also to influence the audiences themselves.
What does that mean in practice? It means we want to provide opportunities for people new to ballet and dance to engage with us, and to see the RAD as a place for them. We want to ensure that people who take up dance are encouraged and excited to keep dancing throughout their lives in ways they find relevant and engaging.
It also means that we aim to educate our participants, students and teachers about the vast range of opportunities within ballet and dance. We hope they will always feel confident about challenging us, and that they have the voice and agency to shape what we do in the future.
All of this helps explain why I’m delighted that the RAD is making some bold and exciting changes to our offer, including an enormously ambitious first step: our brand-new Musical Theatre syllabus.
‘Musical Theatre participants will enhance their performance skills and identify their unique artistic voice’
The RAD has, since its inception, been a ballet-centric organisation – so you could argue that as Artistic Director, it is my responsibility to consider how best to support ballet dancers (and particularly young ballet dancers) as they develop their skills.
Yet the main reason I considered this new syllabus to be vital and important for the RAD is that it is my sincere and firm belief that by undertaking high-quality musical theatre training, classical ballet dancers themselves will reach a higher standard.
By undertaking the progressions and pathways offered within the RAD’s Musical Theatre syllabus, participants will enhance their performance skills and be encouraged to identify their unique artistic voice. In addition, they will broaden their understanding of the wider performing arts context, learning that ballet and musical theatre are interdependent, mutually influential art forms.
By emphasising this greater versatility and diversity we hope to encourage even more people to find enjoyment in performance. Drawing from sport, we now know that multi-activity practice and participation is strongly related to becoming a world class athlete. Similarly, ballet dancers and performers of the future can benefit from different styles and approaches – not only to grow their skills but to build a lasting connection with dance and performance. Providing a range of opportunities helps support everyone, whatever their ambition, to thrive.
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