The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) is an international dance education and training organization, and examination board that specialises in the teaching and technique of 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 created with the objective to improve the standard of ballet training in the UK and, in pursuit of that goal, a new teaching method and dance technique was devised for the Academy by a group of eminent European dancers. The RAD is one of the largest dance organisations in the world with over 13,000 members in 79 countries, including over 7000 that hold Registered Teacher Status. There are currently over 1,000. R.A.D students in full-time or part-time RAD teacher training programmes and each year the examinations syllabi are taught to over 250,000 students.

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.

Examinations

The Royal Academy of Dance offers two examination syllabi, which are suitable for both male and female students and form the basis of the RAD's work in the UK and overseas. Each programme consists of a series of progressively more difficult practical examinations.

• Graded Examination Syllabus
• Vocational Graded Examination Syllabus

Graded Syllabus

The Graded Examination Syllabus consists of Pre-Primary, Primary, and numbered Grades 1-8. Each grade incorporates classical ballet, free movement and character dance. The syllabus is devised to progress in difficulty from one grade to the next and a student studying the grades in sequence would be expected to develop a greater degree of dance technique at each level.