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On Point: Royal Academy of Dance at 100

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  • Rooms 103 – 106, Theatre & Performance

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Explore the 100-year history of the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance. Discover a host of costume, designs, film and unique material from the last century including shoes worn by Dame Darcey Bussell DBE at her 2007 farewell performance.

Display Highlights

Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev
Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev during rehearsals for the 1963 RAD gala. © GBL Wilson
Pupils from RAD's Step Into Dance programme
Pupils from RAD's Step Into Dance programme. © Foteini Christofilopoulou
Costume design by Claud Lovat Fraser for 'Jack in the Green'
Costume design by Claud Lovat Fraser for 'Jack in the Green', about 1921, England. Museum no. S.4-2012. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Adeline Genée in 'A Dream of Roses and Butterflies'
Adeline Genée in 'A Dream of Roses and Butterflies'. Photo by Hugh Cecil.
Faculty of Education
Faculty of Education, 2018. Photo by Tim Cross.
Ballet exercises for athletes
Ballet exercises for athletes. © Ali Wright, Dance Gazette
Karsavina coaching Fonteyn in role of The Firebird
Tamara Karsavina coaching Margot Fonteyn in role of The Firebird. Photo by Douglas Elston, 1954.
Karsavina in Russian dance costume
Tamara Karsavina in Russian dance costume, 1929. Dress by Natalia Gontcharova. Photographer unknown.
Harlequin Statue
Harlequin statue by Alfred Gilbert for Production Club (RAD), date unknown. Presented to the RAD in 1924 by Stanislas Idzikowski. © Ali Wright, Dance Gazette
Dame Darcey Bussell DBE, Carlos Acosta and Gary Avis in Song of the Earth.
Dame Darcey Bussell DBE, Carlos Acosta and Gary Avis in The Song of the Earth, ROH, 2007. Part of the Graham Brandon Collection, THM/110. Image by Graham Brandon. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
costume design
A Dream of Butterflies and Roses, costume design, by Wilhelm, 1915, London. Museum no. S.797-2017. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
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Background image: Harlequin statue by Alfred Gilbert for Production Club (RAD), date unknown. Presented to the RAD in 1924 by Stanislas Idzikowski. © Ali Wright, Dance Gazette