The Bedells Bursary 2026

Candidates must fulfil the following by the closing date:

• Be a member of the Royal Academy of Dance;
• Have passed RAD Advanced 1 with distinction;
• Be aged 17 years or under;
• Not have taken the RAD’s Advanced 2 exam;
• Be of non-professional status and not have been employed on a professional contract.

Royal Academy of Dance
188 York Road
London
SW11 3JZ

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Candidates will be required to attend over 2-days:

Sunday 25 October – All candidates to participate in a masterclass taught by a leading dance professional and be coached on their chosen Classical Repertoire variation and the Dancer’s Own variation. Approximate timings, 12-5pm.

Monday 26 October – All candidates will perform an on-stage class and their two solos in front of our esteemed judges and public audience. The day will finish with the announcement of the winner of The Bedells Bursary, Choreographic Award and Musicality Award. Approximate timings, 10am-4pm.

This may be created by the candidate, their teacher or a peer to a piece of music of their choice. However to be eligible for the Choreographic Award the variation must be choreographed by the candidate themselves.

• You should present a variation no shorter than 1 minute in length and no longer than 1 minute 30 seconds choreographed to a piece of music of the candidate, teacher or peer’s choice.
• For those dancers who are required to perform their Classical variation en pointe their Dancer’s Own variation must also be performed en pointe. If the Classical variation is not required to be performed en pointe then the Dancer’s Own variation must also be off pointe.

Guidelines for candidate created choreography:

• We want to encourage your creativity, artistry and passion for dance.
• You should create your own original dance variation in a dance style or genre in which you feel most comfortable.
• The choreography should be your original work and should not be derivative of any copyrighted materials.
• To accompany each entry, we will ask you to write a sentence describing how and what inspired the choreography.

Music Guidelines:

The music:

• Should be no shorter than 1 minute in length and no longer than 1 minute 30 seconds in duration.
• Be taken from a recording which has been purchased legitimately or recorded for, and licensed to the candidate.
• If desired, be an original composition by the student or the result of a collaboration.
• Should contain no internal cuts to the music.
• 24. This must be the final version that you wish to dance to with any fades at the end of the music already made. Such adjustments cannot be made at the competition.
• The quality of the track you provide must be of professional standard as it will be played for the performance to the live audience.

Things to think about:

• How does your music end? Remember it is easy to fade out music, but you cannot fade yourself out from the stage so easily!
• You may choose any kind of music, however, if your music contains lyrics, these must not include any offensive material (i.e. sexist, racist or in other ways defamatory).

The Bedells Bursary
A prize of £1,000 will be awarded to the winner of The Bedells Bursary generously supported by The Mary Kipps bequest.

Choreographic Award
A prize of £500 will be awarded and is made possible by funding generously provided by Jennifer Borgnis and Jeremy Newton.

Musicality Award
This will have a monetary prize of £100 and is generously funded by the Lynn Wallis Bursary Fund.

For Masterclass and Bedells Bursary Class
Practice Ballet attire should be worn and the leotard may be of any colour. Tights should be regulation exam colour. For class, candidates should wear soft pointe shoes or flat ballet shoes and for the pointe work section, pointe shoes with ribbons.

Classical Repertoire Variations
The costume is the candidates’ choice but should be appropriate to the variation and a headdress may be worn; alternatively, a leotard with, where appropriate, a tutu or appropriate skirt of any matching colour may be worn.

If you are performing en pointe you must wear pointe shoes with ribbons.

Dancer’s Own Variation
Candidates may wear a simple costume that must not depict any copyrighted characters, storylines, or films. Handheld props may be used if appropriate but masks may not be worn.

Overall Bursary Winner

Candidates are assessed on the work they show and not on any prediction of future promise. The following criteria are followed across both the class work and variations:

Technique
Incorporating:

• Secure posture and weight placement, use of turnout, articulated, clearly defined footwork
• Co-ordinated and sensitive use of the arms and hands in balanced harmony with the whole body showing breadth of movement, use of épaulement, alignment, head and eye line
• Rhythmical and controlled pirouettes
• Controlled, sustained and co-ordinated adagio movements creating harmonious lines through the whole body
• Effective use of elevation, accurate batterie, and the ability to reflect the dynamics and artistic qualities of the allegro steps
• Use of space

Music

• Rhythmical accuracy and timing
• Inspired and considerate response to musical atmosphere, dynamics and phrasing

Performance

• Confident movements performed with ease and control
• An ability to interpret and express the varying artistic qualities and appropriate styles

Dancer’s Own Choreographic Award

This award recognises and promotes choreography in The Bedells Bursary and gives an opportunity to explore creativity and imagination.

Criteria for Choreographic Award
The recipient of this award is the candidate choreographer who in the judges’ opinion demonstrates the highest standard of choreography within the variation based on the following assessments:

• Structure
• Dynamics of movement
• Use of space
• Depiction of theme or story
• Choice of and response to music/sound

Musicality Award

Introduced in 2024, this Award recognises and promotes musicality and will be judged across the class work and variations.

Criteria for Musicality Award
The recipient of this Award is the candidate who in the Judges opinion demonstrates the greatest awareness of and response to:

• Dynamics
• Sensitivity to phrasing
• Atmosphere and Temperament
• Aspects of style