The Royal Academy of Dancing's summer programs - England

Dance Magazine, Jan, 1996 by Margaret Willis

The competing cacophony of pianos pounding out themes from Sleeping Beauty and La Bayadere and the stampings of black and red character shoes echoed in the wooden-columned hallway. In classrooms off the hall, young girls with their hair tightly pulled back and flushed, rosy faces concentrated on their teachers' commands. In the boys' class, young students soared across the room in contemporary leaps. Summer school was in full swing.

The Royal Academy of Dancing (RAD) in Great Britain offers a variety of summer courses to students and teachers from every part of the world. For ten- to fourteen-year-olds, there is a one-week junior students' course which requires a standard of RAD pre-elementary or elementary levels. Students aged fifteen and over, who have reached a minimum RAD elementary standard, enroll in the two-week senior course.

The international summer school classes are normally held at the headquarters of the RAD, which is situated by the River Thames in Battersea, London. The two-storied building on a cobbled courtyard offers bright, airy studios for work and study. Students are housed in a nearby residence hall, with chaperons for the younger dancers.

In 1995, to celebrate the Academy's seventy-fifth anniversary, the senior course was moved from London to the rolling countryside of Hertfordshire, thirty-five miles northwest of the bustling capital. Of the one hundred nineteen students who gathered for the elementary, intermediate and advanced classes, only five were from the U.K. Students came from thirty-two countries as far away as New Zealand, Peru, India, and Indonesia. Thirty-five students were awarded scholarships by the RAD in honor of its anniversary. These students, who without this support might not have been able to attend, also found additional sponsorship to help cover travel expenses through the generous support of airlines, businesses, private individuals, and through local fund-raising.

Thirteen-year-old Jessica Ward from New Jersey, one of two Americans to attend the summer school, was the recipient of the American award. En route between character and repertoire classes, Jessica explained that this was not only her first trip to England but also her first trip abroad. "It's been fun meeting all the other students from around the world," she said.

We've obviously had some communication problems with so many languages, and have often had to use sign language. But it's not too much of a problem in class; everyone seems to understand what to do there." Jessica, who was to start studying at the School of American Ballet in September 1 995, added that she would certainly like to come back to England next year.

Older students take an average of four classes per day, each lasting between one and one-and-a-half hours. The senior curriculum includes classical dance, character, repertoire, pointe, contemporary dance, and dance arrangement. The junior course, held in London, included classical and contemporary classes, character, percussion, and repertoire. In 1995, at the RAD's thirty-first summer school, such luminaries of the British ballet world as Pamela May, Julia Farron, Anthony Dowson and the new artistic director of the RAD, Lynn Wallis, all taught classes.

In their free time, students enjoy excursions, such as theater trips. Jessica saw English Notional Ballet's production of Romeo and Juliet and the popular musical Grease. She and the other young dancers spent their day off relaxing on a river trip and also enjoyed a farewell barbecue and disco.

In 1996 both courses will be held at the RAD headquarters. The dates are as follows:

Junior: Monday, August 5, to Friday, August 9. Application deadline: June 21. Senior: Monday, August 12, to Saturday, August 24. Application deadline: June 28.

Applicants are required to send three recent photos showing:

1 .First arabesque en l'air in profile.

2. Demi-plie in First Position, arms in second position, en face.

3. Degage devant ouverte, arms in fourth position.

For further information write to:

The Education and Training Department Royal Academy of Dancing 36, Battersea Square London, SW11 3RA, U.K.