The Duchess of Cornwall opens new £19.5m “state-of-the-art” Royal Dance Academy London headquarters

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall has formally opened the new £19.5m “state-of-the-art” Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) global headquarters, which is located at the £260m Coda development at York Place, a flagship project by investor-developer Avanton.

Her Royal Highness toured the new building with RAD Chief Executive Luke Rittner CBE and RAD President Dame Darcey Bussell DBE and met Avanton CEO Omer Weinberger.

The Duchess was introduced to RAD students, watched a dance presentation in the brand-new studio theatre, looked at a Silver Swans ballet class for learners aged over 55 and met participants from the RADiate programme, which provides subsidised inclusive dance classes designed to develop the physicality of children and young people with additional learning needs.

The Duchess then unveiled a commemorative plaque, officially opening the new Royal Academy of Dance headquarters. The new global headquarters for RAD encompass the entire ground floor of Coda, the new 60,000 sq ft headquarters will harness the “transformational power of dance” to reach more people, regardless of age, ability, or location.

The enhanced education and training facilities for students and teachers includes seven large dance studios, a 193-seat performance space, a café, and a RAD shop. Accessed from York Road, a large entrance lobby welcomes the RAD’s students, teachers, partners, and local residents.

Also on display for the first time in its 100+ year history is a fully accessible archive showcasing the RAD’s collection of 75,000 artefacts, books, programmes, letters, relics, and costumes, which can be viewed by appointment with the RAD’s archivist.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall said: “‘As the very proud Vice-Patron of the RAD, I would like to congratulate everybody who has made this wonderful new building possible. Having had a very short tour of it, seeing its complete magnificence, it’s just doing so much for so many young people and old people like me.”

Dame Darcey Bussell, DBE, president of the RAD added: “This marks the start of an important new chapter for the RAD. By way of our high quality classical ballet training, our teachers empower hundreds of thousands of young people annually worldwide and spread the joy of dance across the community.

“The RAD is a British cultural export to treasure and these new headquarters will be so inspiring for all. As President, I could not be more proud and thankful to everyone who has made this happen.”