Royal Academy of Dance and The Sarasota Ballet to train Professional Dancers to become Dance Teachers The Royal Academy of Dance (rad) is delighted to announce a new and exciting programme

For immediate release: 18/05/2015

The Professional Dancers’ Postgraduate Teaching Certificate: Sarasota (PDPTC) is the latest addition to the RAD’s portfolio of programmes designed specifically with the needs of professional dancers who are considering a career in teaching. This follows upon the success of the PDPTC in Berlin delivered in collaboration with the Berlin State Ballet.

The programme begins with an onsite induction seminar, followed by a period of distance learning. For four weeks in June, students attend an Intensive Study Period in Sarasota.

The Intensive Study Period comprises practical sessions, lectures, seminars, discussion groups and tutorials. Students also undertake a teaching placement in a dance school or teaching context of their choice, supported by a Mentor and Practical Teaching Supervisor.

Those successfully completing the PDPTC will be eligible to become Registered Teachers of the RAD, and will benefit from the exclusive right to enter candidates for RAD examinations as well as becoming part of a highly respected international community of dance professionals.

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Notes to Editors

Royal Academy of Dance

With about 14,000 members spread across 83 countries, the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) is one of the largest and most influential dance education and training organisations in the world. Established in the 1920s, to improve standards and re-invigorate dance training initially within the UK, the Academy helps and encourages its teachers to perfect their teaching skills and pass on this knowledge to their students. There are currently over 1,000 students in full-time or part-time teacher training programmes with the Academy and each year the examination syllabus is taught to thousands of young people worldwide, with around a quarter of a million pupils per year going on to take our exams.

For more information about the RAD, visit www.rad.org.uk

Sarasota Ballet

The Sarasota Ballet was founded by Jean Allenby–Weidner in 1987 as a presenting organization with the goal of becoming a full resident ballet company. This was achieved in 1990 with the appointment of their first Artistic Director. In January 2007, The Sarasota Ballet announced the appointment of Director, Iain Webb and he has taken The Sarasota Ballet to a higher level of national and international recognition. Together with his wife Margaret Barbieri, Assistant Director and former principal of The Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, Mr. Webb has introduced 102 new ballets into the repertoire, including ballets by Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Dame Ninette de Valois, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Antony Tudor, Matthew Bourne, Hans van Manen, Christopher Wheeldon, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Will Tuckett, and Johan Kobborg to name a few. Many of these ballets have rarely been seen before in America.

In 2010, Mary Anne Servian, the former Mayor of Sarasota, joined the team as Managing Director. Since then, the Company has formed a sound foundation to secure the future of The Sarasota Ballet and has fulfilled Mr. Webb’s vision of giving the Company its own unique identity, carving a place in the history of American dance.

For more information about The Sarasota Ballet, visit: www.sarasotaballet.org