Royal Academy of Dance

Selected by

Dame Darcey Bussell, President of the Royal Academy of Dance

Darcey Bussell is a former Principal with The Royal Ballet and the most famous British ballerina of her generation. During her nearly twenty years as a Principal, she won worldwide renown for her unique combination of having a tall and athletic physique whilst dancing with soft lyricism. Darcey trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined the Company in 1988. She was promoted to Principal in 1989, aged just 20, after the premiere of Kenneth MacMillan’s The Prince of the Pagodas, in which she had created the lead role. Darcey retired from the Company in June 2007 with a performance of MacMillan’s Song of the Earth, broadcast live on BBC2. She came out of retirement to dance the ‘Spirit of the Flame’ at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony.Darcey’s extensive broadcast work includes being a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, many documentaries for the BBC and she has presented The Royal Ballet’s worldwide cinema relays since 2014. She remains a Guest principal coach at The Royal Ballet and is Artist Laureate of the Royal Ballet School. In 2015 she founded DDMIX (diverse dance mix), a dance fitness charity, aimed at getting dance fitness to be part of PE in state schools. Darcey became the President of the Royal Academy of Dance in 2012.
Location

Royal Academy of Dance, 188 York Road, London SW11 3JZ
Contact

info@rad.org.uk
+44 (0) 20 7326 8000
www.royalacademyofdance.org
Architecture

Takero Shimazaki Architects
t-sa.co.uk

The Royal Academy of Dance is a world leader in dance education and training, and has been teaching the world to dance for over 100 years. Through an international network of dance teachers they support and connect a global community of more than 400,000 students and dancers of all ages and abilities in more than 80 countries.

“In 2022 RAD t-sa began working with the Royal Academy of Dance as they prepared to relocate from existing premises in Battersea to a new purpose-built headquarters just half a mile away. The new building was to inhabit the ground floor of an ongoing residential development, the external walls of which were already in place. Working together with the CEO, Luke Rittner, and other RAD stakeholders, the buildings expansive footprint was re imagined as a continuation of the city where studios and spaces for learning would feel like buildings, connected by a generous network of indoor ‘streets’ and ‘urban plazas’ to be shared by dancers, staff and many other visitors. The finished building space over 5000sq.m. and features a 188 seat Studio Theatre, seven fully equipped dance studios with spring floors, a shop, library, cafe and office accommodation as well as generous public foyers and circulation spaces. Dance is celebrated and can be felt throughout as large internal windows provide view into the studios and animate the ‘streets’ that serve them, blurring the edges of public and private space.

White internal walls provide a subtle backdrop for the expressive movements taking place and a canvas for artworks celebrating the Academy’s rich history. The predominantly neutral palette is offset with highlights of red defining spaces intended for gathering. Existing concrete structures were left exposed and supplemented with vertical door and window surrounds which serve to emphasise the generously tall spaces. The buildings completion coincides neatly with RAD’s centenary year, representing a new chapter in the Academy’s history.”

Takero Shinazaki Architects
Interesting facts

On May 8th 2022 RAD welcomed 600 Wandsworth residents into the building. Inside over 450 people of all ages took part in taster classes, from African dance and drumming to musical theatre, ballet and contemporary.
Resources

www.t-sa.co.uk

Dame Darcey Bussell checking out the new Academy during the building works. Photo by Elliot Franks

...our new home for dance is a home for dance for all.

Royal Academy of Dance headquarters.

The RAD has a proud heritage spanning 100 years and is committed to inspiring the world to dance by way of our excellent dance teachers in 85 countries and our first class ballet syllabus. Our stunning new global headquarters now reflects our vison and ambition for the future, to continue to grow to bring dance into the lives of many more people and communities in the UK and around the world. And that is why it is one of my favourite buildings; our new home for dance is a home for dance for all.

The magnificent reception area at RAD © David Grandorge

As a dancer, I love the studios. All seven of them are light, bright and have great height and of course, they have Harlequin sprung floors to keep our dancers safe. Everything about the building is more open and accessible; from the very visible location through to the openness of the interior as well as the activities happening inside, one feels very connected to dance as soon as you walk through the door.

In addition, we are finally able to showcase a wide range of dance performances, both amateur and professional, in our 188-seat performance space, the Aud Jebsen Studio Theatre. It is a truly beautiful and purposeful building and as President, I could not be more proud and thankful to everyone who has made this happen.

...our new home for dance is a home for dance for all.

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