About the archives

A brief history:

In 1956, the August issue of the Dance Gazette carried an editorial by Arnold Haskell patronising the development of ‘The Margot Fonteyn Archives’ at the Royal Academy of Dance. This marked the start of deliberate collecting, and the remit was suggested to include “programmes of the Empire and Alhambra period, of Pavlova seasons, Diaghileff, de Basil, Festival, Rambert, Wells, International, Metropolitan and so on.”  

By 1968 plans for the new building in Knightsbridge included “a small museum where some of the many treasures in the way of costumes, programmes and photographs at present in the Academy’s possession could be shown to advantage.” In the same year Clement Crisp was engaged as the RAD’s Librarian/Archivist , and he made a fresh appeal for more material with a view to building an archive of prime national importance. The collecting remit at this time extended to “anything relevant to ballet and dancing in every part of the world.”    

The loss of the Knightsbridge property in 1970 and the move to Battersea in 1972 meant that the RAD no longer had the space for the specialist storage facilities, museum or research room that would have befitted a national dance archive. The many costumes that had been acquired from Adeline Genée, Tamara Karsavina and the Ballet for All company were gifted to the V&A Museum and the remaining material was retained to be housed and managed alongside the significant library collections. Card catalogues were created for some of the material, but no formal record of gifts or acquisitions was ever kept.    

In recent years, several factors have contributed to an increasing interest in the archive collections held at the RAD and the organisation’s Centenary year (2020) in particular provided an opportunity to showcase the range of material available and highlight the significance of the collections to the history of British ballet. The move to new purpose-built facilities in 2022 has been an important step in improving the management and care of the collections and providing much-needed additional storage space. 

Donating to the archives: 

We welcome donations of original material that complement or enhance our existing collections. Please read the RAD Archives Collection Development Policy and contact us to discuss the suitability of the material you wish to donate.