WA Silver Swans Take Part in Class Viewed by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall formally opened the new state-of-the-art Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) global headquarters last Thursday, followed by a tour of the building given by RAD Chief Executive, Luke Rittner, CBE, and President, Dame Darcey Bussell.

Created as a new international home for dance, the new building in Battersea will enable the RAD to expand on its 100-year commitment to high-quality dance education and to bring the transformational power of dance to more people, regardless of age, ability, or location.

The enhanced education and training facilities for students and teachers include seven large dance studios, a café and a shop. The new building is now also home to a long-wished-for 193-seat performance space to showcase the RAD’s dancing talent. On display for the first time will be a fully accessible archive showcasing the RAD’s extraordinary collection of 75,000 artefacts, books, programmes, letters, relics and costumes, which can be viewed by appointment with the archivist. The Duchess, Vice-Patron of the RAD since 2020, toured the new building and learnt about how the space is being used to expand on the Academy’s work in the local community through a network of outreach and wellbeing initiatives.

The Duchess was introduced to RAD students training to become dance teachers, each of whom are passionate about shaping and influencing the future of dance. She then continued her visit with a look at a RAD Silver Swans ballet class with Silver Swans Licensee, and The Duchess’ own teacher, Sarah Platt, delivering a class in the London studio. They were joined remotely by a class from Taylor Ballet School in Claremont, WA and their teacher Jamelia Gubgub for this special occasion. Her Royal Highness is herself a ‘swan’, as part of her ongoing commitment to championing active aging. 

“As the very proud Vice-Patron of the RAD, I would like to congratulate everybody who has made this wonderful new building possible. Having had a very short tour of it, seeing its complete magnificence, it’s just doing so much for so many young people – and old people like me. As a Silver Swan myself, I was inspired by my first visit here to try it out and I have been doing it ever since,” said HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.

To learn more about RAD’s new home visit www.royalacademyofdance.org