Royal Academy of Dance

The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) is a UK-based examination board specialising in dance education and training, with an emphasis on classical ballet. The RAD was founded in London, United Kingdom, in 1920 as the Association of Teachers of Operatic Dancing, and was granted a Royal Charter in 1935. Queen Camilla is patron of the RAD, and Darcey Bussell was elected to serve as president in 2012, succeeding Antoinette Sibley who served for 21 years.

The RAD was created with the objective to improve the standard of ballet teaching in the UK. In pursuit of improving instruction, a new teaching method and dance technique was devised for the Academy by a group of eminent European dancers. The RAD is one of the largest dance organisations in the world with over 13,000 members in 85 countries, including about 7,500 who hold Registered Teacher Status. There are currently about 1,000 students in full-time or part-time teacher training programmes with the RAD, and each year about 250,000 candidates enter RAD examinations worldwide.

RAD exams are recognised by the national qualifications regulators of all four UK nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) with selected exams also carrying a UCAS tariff towards university admission. The RAD is also a validated awarding body of the Council for Dance Education and Training. The RAD works in partnership with the International Dance Teachers' Association. Royal Academy of Dance is charity 312826 registered in England and Wales.

On 18 July 1920, Phillip J. S. Richardson, then Editor of Dancing Times magazine, organised a dinner for eminent dance professionals at the former Trocadero Restaurant in Piccadilly. The diners included five special guests, representing the principal methods of ballet training in use at that time.

Other guests included Ninette de Valois, the founder of England's Royal Ballet company, and Anton Dolin, the co-founder of English National Ballet. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the poor quality of dance training in Britain at that time and following further meetings, the Association of Teachers of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain was formed, with Adeline Genée as its first President. The Association would be the predecessor of the RAD.

In 1921, the Association established headquarters at the offices of Dancing Times magazine in London and the first Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced level examinations were held in the years that followed, with the first Children's syllabus being published and then examined in 1923 and 1924. In 1927 a scholarship scheme was introduced for students studying dance with an Association member and in 1928, Queen Mary consented to become Patron of the Association of Teachers of Operatic Dancing.

In November 1930, the first issue of Dance Gazette was published containing a historical review of the Association's first ten years. 'Dance Gazette' is still the official magazine of the RAD, now digitally distributed quarterly to all fully paid members. In 1931, the first Genée International Ballet Competition for female dancers was held in London, with awards for male dancers being introduced later in 1939. The competition is the RAD's flagship annual event, named after Dame Adeline Genée DBE. The competition was introduced as an additional incentive for candidates who had passed the Solo Seal examination, and has taken place almost every year since 1931, even during the Second World War. In 1934, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden agreed to an alliance with the Association and a Grand Council of men & women was formed to act as a governing body to advise the executive committee.

In 1935 King George V approved the granting of a Royal Charter for the Association of Teachers of Operatic Dancing. The charter was eventually affixed with his Great Seal in 1936, and the Association of Teachers of Operatic Dancing officially became the 'Royal Academy of Dancing' (RAD). The following year in 1937, a coat of arms was designed by the College of Arms in London.