The Royal Academy of Dance is a leading international dance education and training organisation specialising in Ballet. The RAD was established in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, and received its Royal Charter in 1936. HM Queen Elizabeth II is currently the patron of the RAD and Dame Antoinette Sibley has served as President since 1991.
The RAD was initially formed with the objective of improving the standard of ballet training in the UK and a new teaching method and technique was devised for the Academy by a group of eminent European dancers. This method has become one of the most widely used in the world and has led to the RAD becoming a leading dance education and training organisation, with over 13,000 members, operating in 79 countries worldwide. There are currently over 1,000 students in full-time or part-time teacher training programmes with the Academy and each year, approximately 250,000 candidates are entered for the RAD's examination syllabus worldwide.The RAD's Examinations Board is accredited by Ofqual and is validated by the Council for Dance Education and Training. The RAD also works in partnership with the International Dance Teachers' Association. The RAD consists of both a registered charity and a commercial division known as Royal Academy of Dance Enterprises.