Grace Buskell

Board of Trustees

Grace Buskell is a Royal Academy of Dance Registered Teacher (RAD RTS) and Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance (ARAD). She is the Founder and Principal of Relevé School of Ballet in Weybridge, Surrey. She established her school in 2021 and now has over 110 students aged 5-18 years enrolled.

Grace trained at The London Russian Ballet School and Susan Robinson School of Ballet, before undertaking full-time vocational training at The School of Ballet Theatre UK in 2014, where she also performed with the Ballet Theatre UK company. Following this, Grace danced professionally with The London Ballet Company and Atlantic City Ballet (NJ, USA).

Since gaining her RAD Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies in 2018, Grace has taught extensively across London and Surrey. She also holds Rambert Grades Level 1 Certification in Contemporary Dance, reflecting her commitment to embracing both classical and contemporary dance. In 2021, Grace attained a First-Class BSc (Hons) in Psychology from Durham University, where she also held the Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship for the Performing Arts. During her time at Durham, she served as President of the Durham University Ballet Company, strengthening her leadership and governance experience within an arts-focused educational context. Grace also values community engagement, having delivered outreach projects that brought dance to schools, care homes, and local community groups during her time at university.

As a teacher, Grace is passionate about providing a high standard of dance education within a happy and supportive environment. She adopts a holistic approach that integrates great technical training with the promotion of physical and mental wellbeing. Her background in psychology informs her teaching philosophy to promote the development of confident, creative, and resilient young people. She aims to provide her dancers with excellent training while fostering a lifelong love and appreciation of the arts.

In her role as School Principal of Relevé School of Ballet, Grace oversees both the artistic direction and administrative operations of the school, reflecting her strong leadership and organisational skills. She maintains up-to-date safeguarding, first aid, and DBS certifications, and places the highest importance on safeguarding and student welfare.

Since 2022, Grace has served as a co-opted member of the Royal Academy of Dance Global Membership and Marketing Sub-Committee, contributing to the organisation’s strategic initiatives in membership engagement and global outreach. This role has deepened her understanding of the RAD’s structures, priorities, and the evolving needs of its international membership base.

As a prospective Trustee, Grace brings a combination of professional performance and teaching experience, academic understanding, and organisational leadership.

Having studied RAD syllabi and examinations from Primary to Advanced 2, Grace also has a longstanding personal connection with the organisation and feels that the RAD has played a central role throughout her life – shaping her love of ballet as a child, supporting her through her professional dance career, and now underpinning her work as a teacher.

Grace is therefore dedicated to supporting the RAD’s mission to inspire and empower people through dance, ensuring that it continues to thrive as a world leader in dance education and as a supportive, inclusive community for future generations of both students and teachers.