Why Dance Matters Royal Academy of Dance

Nine years ago this month, Misty Copeland became the first ever Black American woman to be promoted to principal at American Ballet Theatre. One of ballet’s most inspirational figures, she opens this new season of Why Dance Matters. Was she prepared for the attention around her promotion? What can ballet give young people? How does George Michael’s I Want Your Sex figure in her dance career, and will she return to the stage after ‘one of the longest maternity leaves in ballet history’? Misty reflects on her extraordinary journey – and why dance matters to her. 
 
Misty Copeland is acclaimed as a champion of change. Born in Kansas City and raised in California, she began her ballet studies at the late age of 13. A member of American Ballet Theatre since 2001, in 2015 she was the first African American woman in the company’s history to be promoted to principal dancer, having made history as the first Black woman to perform the lead role in its Swan Lake. In 2022, Misty launched The Misty Copeland Foundation, with its signature program BEBOLD, which aims to bring greater diversity, equity and inclusion to dance, especially ballet. 
Misty Copeland Foundation https://www.mistycopelandfoundation.org/ 
Misty's website
Misty on Instagram @mistyonpointe 

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Crazy Smooth chats about his dance journey and his new intergenerational work Crazy Smooth: In My Body coming to Southbank Centre this month.
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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:
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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