Why Dance Matters Royal Academy of Dance

We launch the new season of Why Dance Matters with a vital figure in African contemporary dance. Wesley Ruzibiza discovered dance almost by accident – he was studying financial management at the University of Rwanda when he decided to sample a dance class. It set him on the path to becoming a choreographer and co-Artistic Director of the École des Sables in Senegal, one of the world’s most influential training organisations (their production of Pina Bausch’s Rite of Spring is an international sensation). Wesley grew up in turbulent times: Rwandan, he was raised in Kinshasa in Congo; the family was imprisoned for almost a year during the civil war. He recently created a festival around the idea of Tolerance – there’s no one better to ask about dance’s role in troubled times.
 
Wesley Ruzibiza is a dancer, choreographer and co-Artistic Director of the École des Sables in Senegal. He is also Associate Professor at the CPARC research centres in Bordeaux, National University of Rwanda and Muda Africa School of Dance in Tanzania. His productions have toured all over the world and he co-founded the award-winning Amizero Company, with the University of Rwanda’s Centre for the Arts, and created the international festival EANT in 2012, one of the first professional contemporary platforms in East Africa.
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RAD is an independent educational charity and does not receive regular government funding. Every penny we make goes back into the work we do. You can support us by either naming a seat as part of our Name A Seat Campaign or making a donation.
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In 2021, Naomi Smart qualified as a teacher from the Royal Academy of Dance. ‘Never thought dance teaching was an option for me but here I am – Deaf people can do anything.’ What are the particular challenges around ballet and dance teaching for a Deaf teacher? How did Naomi create a way of teaching that works for her and her students, and what advice would she have for teachers trying to make their classes as inclusive and welcoming as possible?
Naomi Smart is an RAD teacher based in London. She is also a writer and Deaf awareness activist, and is researching a PhD about community dance at Kings College London.
Find out more about the work of the RAD
Read a transcript of this episode
Follow the RAD on social media and join the conversation with host David Jays:
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Facebook @RoyalAcademyofDance
Twitter @RADheadquarters
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David Jays @mrdavidjays
Sign up to our mailing list to keep in touch!
RAD is an independent educational charity and does not receive regular government funding. Every penny we make goes back into the work we do. You can support us by either naming a seat as part of our Name A Seat Campaign or making a donation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Patrick Makuakane is a dance maker, teacher and hula master and recently received a fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation. The fellowships are given to preeminent artists and thinkers and are popularly known as the ‘genius’ awards. Patrick is a passionate and thoughtful advocate for hula, a form of dance inextricably linked with Hawaii’s history and culture. Born in Honolulu, Patrick is now based in San Francisco, where he has built a vibrant community of hula dancers and students. He speaks to us from Hawaii.
 
Patrick Makuakāne studied hula with several kumu hula (master teachers) and received the title of kumu hula himself in 2003. He has been the director and founder of Nā Lei Hulu i ka Wēkiu, a community-centred hula company and cultural organisation, since 1985. He also serves as a spiritual and cultural advisor for the Native Hawaiian Religious Spiritual Group at San Quentin State Prison. His company has performed at venues in New York, San Francisco, Hawaii and New Orleans. He was awarded a Fellowship by the MacArthur Foundation in 2023.
Find out more about the work of the RAD
Read a transcript of this episode
Follow the RAD on social media and join the conversation with host David Jays:
Instagram @royalacademyofdance
Facebook @RoyalAcademyofDance
Twitter @RADheadquarters
YouTube / royalacademydance
David Jays @mrdavidjays
Sign up to our mailing list to keep in touch!
RAD is an independent educational charity and does not receive regular government funding. Every penny we make goes back into the work we do. You can support us by either naming a seat as part of our Name A Seat Campaign or making a donation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Silver Swans programme is one of the Royal Academy of Dance’s most life-enhancing initiatives. Silver Swans are people of 55 and over taking a specially-designed programme of RAD ballet classes: some are experiencing dance classes for the very first time, and describe how Silver Swans fosters physical and emotional wellbeing. Rebecca Yates, an RAD teacher in north east England has developed a committed community of Silver Swans. But what are the charms and challenges of teaching people old enough to be your parents? And has Rebecca herself been changed by her teaching?
 
Rebecca Yates is Founder and Director of Complete Ballet CIC. She took her first classes at the Kathleen Burdon School of Ballet at the age of six, progressing through the full RAD examination syllabus and achieving RAD Registered Teacher Status in 2012. She has since become officially licenced to teach RAD’s Silver Swans and is a Practical Teaching Supervisor for the RAD to assess and support trainee dance teachers.
Find out more about the work of the RAD
Read a transcript of this episode
Follow the RAD on social media and join the conversation with host David Jays:
Instagram @royalacademyofdance
Facebook @RoyalAcademyofDance
Twitter @RADheadquarters
YouTube / royalacademydance
David Jays @mrdavidjays
Sign up to our mailing list to keep in touch!
RAD is an independent educational charity and does not receive regular government funding. Every penny we make goes back into the work we do. You can support us by either naming a seat as part of our Name A Seat Campaign or making a donation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With members in over 80 countries around the world, and Royal Academy of Dance’s relationship with its members depends on its National Directors. They include Olivia Lume, who last year celebrated her 40th year with the RAD. As National Director for the Academy in Africa, she has lived through historic changes, and has seen the RAD grow, especially after its flagship event – now The Fonteyn, formerly the Genée International Ballet Competition – was held for the first time in Africa, in Cape Town in 2011. How did a professed non-dancer come to be crucially woven into the heart of a dance organisation?
Olivia Lume is National Director, Africa, for the Royal Academy of Dance. She is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Find out more about the work of the RAD
Read a transcript of this episode
Follow the RAD on social media and join the conversation with host David Jays:
Instagram @royalacademyofdance
Facebook @RoyalAcademyofDance
Twitter @RADheadquarters
YouTube / royalacademydance
David Jays @mrdavidjays
Sign up to our mailing list to keep in touch!
RAD is an independent educational charity and does not receive regular government funding. Every penny we make goes back into the work we do. You can support us by either naming a seat as part of our Name A Seat Campaign or making a donation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Life changing moments with Why Dance Matters!
We’ve made over 50 episodes of Why Dance Matters, and the conversations often hinge on life-changing moments. This special episode gathers some compelling chats about change. Some are personal choices which prove momentous: the unlikely decision to pursue ballet, or to host a ballet class in your front room. Others include being part of a major cultural event, like a movie the whole world is watching, or a period of historic change, happening before your eyes.
 
 From Carlos Acosta to Barbie, here are moments that changed our guests’ lives: past, present, even future. And don’t forget to explore our previous episodes, for more life-changing conversation with the people for whom dance matters.
Carlos Acosta is artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet. Dame Monica Mason is a Vice-President of the Royal Academy of Dance and former director of the Royal Ballet. Victoria Treviño is an RAD dance teacher based in Mexico. Jennifer White is a stage and film choreographer. Wayne McGregor is a choreographer and director of Company Wayne McGregor.
Find out more about the work of the RAD
Read a transcript of this episode
Follow the RAD on social media and join the conversation with host David Jays:
Instagram @royalacademyofdance
Facebook @RoyalAcademyofDance
Twitter @RADheadquarters
YouTube / royalacademydance
David Jays @mrdavidjays
Sign up to our mailing list to keep in touch!
RAD is an independent educational charity and does not receive regular government funding. Every penny we make goes back into the work we do. You can support us by either naming a seat as part of our Name A Seat Campaign or making a donation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.