Royal Academy of Dance

The RAD is one of the world’s most influential dance education organisations. Our exams set standards in classical ballet and we are a global leader in Continuing Professional Development for dance. Founded in 1920 to set standards for dance teaching within the UK, today we have a presence in 84 countries, with 36 offices and around 14,000 members worldwide. We count more than 1,000 students in our teacher training programmes and more than a quarter of a million students are being examined on our syllabi. We support our membership through the knowledge, and expertise of our highly qualified staff and through conferences, workshops, training courses and summer schools. Our Faculty of Education is dedicated to meeting the needs of our current and future dance teachers by providing dance teacher education programmes and qualifications. Our exams are recognised by Ofqual and contribute to UCAS points.

Now in our 95th year, we continue to promote and develop excellence in dance. Our syllabi are taught around the world and thousands of students are enrolled on our many dance courses and study programmes. Our alumni have gone on to work with the most prestigious dance companies and to become the best teachers. And, as part of our social responsibility remit, we continue to bring dance into a growing range of communities and schools.

To fulfil our aims, we rely upon the efforts of our directors and the passion and guidance of our president, vice presidents and our board of trustees. We are not required to comply with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, however, in the interest of openness and transparency, we publish documents on our work and practices.