Why Dance Matters

In its podcast series, the Royal Academy of Dance asks remarkable people from the world of dance and beyond and all corners of the globe, why dance matters.

Why Dance Matters is a series of conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. It traces the impact of dance on their lives and asks why dance matters to them – and why it might matter to us all. The RAD inspires the world to dance, and we hope these insightful personal conversations – hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, the RAD magazine – will delight and even surprise.

Ways to listen

Find our podcast on all the platforms listed here. Or, you can also listen by selecting an episode below.

Episode 5: Olivia Lume

Broadcast on 28 March 2024

With members in over 80 countries around the world, and Royal Academy of Dance’s relationship with its members depends on its National Directors. They include Olivia Lume, who last year celebrated her 40th year with the RAD. As National Director for the Academy in Africa, she has lived through historic changes, and has seen the RAD grow, especially after its flagship event – now The Fonteyn, formerly the Genée International Ballet Competition – was held for the first time in Africa, in Cape Town in 2011. How did a professed non-dancer come to be crucially woven into the heart of a dance organisation?

Read the transcript of the interview.

Series 8

Episode 1: Wesley Ruzibiza

We launch the new season of Why Dance Matters with a vital figure in African contemporary dance. Wesley Ruzibiza discovered dance almost by accident –…
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Episode 2: Naomi Smart

In 2021, Naomi Smart qualified as a teacher at the Royal Academy of Dance: “Never thought dance teaching was an option for me but here…
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Episode 3: Patrick Makuakāne

Patrick Makuakane is a dance maker, teacher and hula master and recently received a fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation. The fellowships are given to preeminent…
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Episode 4: Rebecca Yates

The Silver Swans programme is one of the Royal Academy of Dance's most life-enhancing initiatives. Silver Swans are people of 55 and over, taking a…
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Episode 5: Olivia Lume

With members in over 80 countries around the world, and Royal Academy of Dance's relationship with its members depends on its National Directors. They include…
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Series 7

Episode 1: Drew McOnie

Series 7 kicks off with Drew McOnie, British choreographer, theatre director, and one of the busiest people in show business. He danced with Matthew Bourne's…
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Episode 2: Jakob Wheway Hughes

Jakob was gold medallist at the Royal Academy of Dance's Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition 2023. The Fonteyn took place at His Majesty's Theatre in…
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Episode 3: Pam Tanowitz

Pam Tanowitz is now an in-demand choreographer – but her career has followed a unique trajectory. For years, she and her company had an under-the-radar…
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Episode 4: Aaron S. Watkin

Aaron S Watkin seems like a man who knows what he likes: perfect material to direct a leading ballet company, and to judge a leading…
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Episode 5: Benjamin Zephaniah

In this episode of Why Dance Matters, we revisit a conversation from October 2022, in tribute to the poet, performer and activist Benjamin Zephaniah, who…
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Episode 6: Nina Wadia

This festive episode visits the pantomime: that uniquely British blend of song, dance, and silliness. Explaining its appeal is the cherished comic actor, Nina Wadia,…
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Episode 50: Olga Smirnova

Why Dance Matters celebrates its 50th episode in conversation with one of the world's great ballerinas. Olga Smirnova's Giselle with Dutch National Ballet will be…
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Previous series

Series 1

May – July 2021. Interviews include Xander Parish, Cathy Marston, Phil Chan and Céline Gittens.
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Series 2

September – November 2021. Interviews include James Whiteside, Leanne Benjamin, Libby Clegg and Ralph Heimans.
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Series 3

February – April 2022. Interviews include Carlos Acosta, Joyce DiDonato, Hofesh Shechter and Harper Waters.
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Series 4

October – November 2022. Interviews include Akram Khan, Dame Monica Mason, Charlotte Edmonds, and Jay Jay Revlon.
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Series 5

February – April 2023. Interviews include Tiler Peck, Tim Arthur, Raphael Ng, Ana Maria Campos, Francesca Harper, Giles Terera, and Dame Arlene Phillips.
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Series 6

July – August 2023. Interviews include David Hallberg, Merritt Moore, Wayne McGregor, Alice Oseman, Mitchell Rayner, Endalyn T. Outlaw, and Jennifer White.
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Take a seat

To celebrate the first anniversary of the opening of our global headquarters, we are releasing more £1,000 seats in the Aud Jebsen Studio Theatre for you to name after your dance school, an inspirational teacher, or a loved one.
Find out more