On the evening of September 18, the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) presented “Springboard to Success” – Insights and Celebration of the RAD Scholarship Scheme, which ran from 1925 – 1985, to commemorate 100 years since the scheme began. The original scheme offered successful dancers who auditioned before a committee, two free ballet lessons a week at centres around the UK.
An audience of RAD friends entered the theatre, having perused the Scholarship Scheme display in the foyer.
Archivist Eleanor Fitzpatrick described how the Scholarship Scheme had built on the success of the children’s exams, expanding to host classes in ten centres across the country at its height in the 1950s when Margot Fonteyn was Patron.
Additionally, a distinguished Scholars week was held at Easter, consisting of workshops and classes – and included a visit to Covent Garden to watch a matinee. The aim was to bring dancers to a point where they could audition successfully for full-time ballet schools.
To highlight the impact the scholarship training had had on dancers, RAD Artistic Director Alexander Campbell introduced tonight’s panel consisting of all former RAD scholars who made ballet their careers:
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- Wayne Sleep
- Marion Tait
- Anita Young
- Marguerite Porter
- Terry Hyde
- Rebecca Holmes
They came forward to sit in the semi-circle of chairs laid out for them and passed handheld mics to one another as Campbell led the questions.
When asked for their earliest recollections, their faces lit up nostalgically. Tait, an RAD scholar from 1961 – 1966, revealed she was very nervous when auditioning.
“My teacher suggested it, and it gave my parents great options. I could then stay at both my educational school and my local dancing school. There’s no way I’d have been prepared for audition for the Royal Ballet School if I hadn’t been a scholar.”
This opinion was echoed by the others. Holmes acknowledged that being part of the scheme had opened up the world to her and showed her what she needed to do if she wanted to become a dancer, and Wayne Sleep recognised the training he had received during his scholarship was how he had got into White Lodge.
“I never would have become a dancer without her,” Porter said of her scholarship teacher Louise Browne. “I took the train alone from Doncaster to York and then walked to the studios.”
“It sounds as though the teachers you all had fostered your interest and appreciation for the art form, giving you reasons for doing the basics over and over again,” observed Campbell.
Springboard to Success: A Reflection of Personal Experiences
Young entered the scheme via an examiner’s recommendation and described receiving honours for her Grade 5 exam. Her name was then put forward by the examiner and she was taken into the scheme without audition.
Hyde, a scholar between 1960 and 1965, learned with great relief that other boys danced too, having always been the only boy at his local school. Recalling an opportunity to dance in an international gala as a scholar, he remembered being introduced to the Queen Mother, who asked if he was cold, as he was wearing a sleeveless costume.
It’s clear the joyful reminiscence could continue for hours, having known each other since they were children and attending Scholars classes around the same time. Poignantly, the changing backdrop behind them displayed photographs of their younger dancing days as they talked.
Tait and Young jogged each other’s memories as they remembered their mothers nattering together whilst the two of them danced. They acknowledged their great fortune in having had access to watch the great artists of the time on stage. Taking part in a show together in 1961, the two could still remember the steps and gave a quick demonstration with their feet, much to the audience’s delight.
Sleep agreed he had learned much more about how to perform and be on stage by watching great dancers rehearsing and performing. He remembered seeing a male dancer warming up in front of the curtain at a dress rehearsal and realising it was Rudolph Nureyev.
As Campbell observed, they were all still so animated and excited about their experiences when part of the Scholarship Scheme, it had obviously had a profound impact on them.
The evening drew to a close with a performance of the waltz from Act 1 of Giselle danced by current RAD Scholars, although the scheme doesn’t run in the same way anymore.
Female dancers aged 10 – 13 wearing pink satin dresses gave a bright and uplifting performance of the waltz, after which Campbell gave thanks to all for their support to the RAD, including some teachers and other former scholars who were in the audience this evening.
Featured Photo of CEO Elizabeth Honer, Wayne Sleep, Marion Tait, Marguerite Porter, Terry Hyde, Anita Young, Rebecca Holmes, and Alexander Campbell at the Springboard to Success event. All photos in this article courtesy of Royal Academy of Dance.
