RAD Community Open Day 2022

On Sunday 8 May we threw open our doors to our neighbourhood and welcomed over 600 Wandsworth residents to our new building. The sun shone and the fun started outside with four groups of young musicians from the World Heartbeat Music Academy playing relaxed and funky music to draw people in.

Inside, over 450 people of all ages took part in taster classes, from African dance and drumming, to musical theatre, ballet, and contemporary. Over 60 performers performed in a showcase with a 200 strong audience (including babes in arms), and after open auditions, a panel of Dame Darcey Bussell, Joshua Tuifua, and Joanne Ward awarded bursaries to three young dancers. The winners, in three age groups from 4 to 17 years-old, will be entitled to one year’s tuition at the RAD dance School, plus two free dance workshops.

With face-painting, scavenger hunts, arts and crafts, and ice-creams the event had a lovely family-friendly feel, which is exactly what we wanted. We hope that everyone left feeling that the RAD is their home for dance as much as it is ours.

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