18 October 2019 13:38

Celebrating 100 Years With Henry Danton

On Wednesday 16 October, we welcomed 100-year-old Henry Danton to the Royal Academy of Dance headquarters in Battersea as part of the RAD Voices centenary project.

Henry is still teaching dance and credits his longevity with becoming a vegetarian at the age of 50. Henry, celebrating his own centenary a year before the RAD does, won the prestigious Silver Award at the Genée International Ballet Competition in 1942. However, due to World War II, there was a shortage of metal at the time, which sadly meant that Henry did not receive the medal he won and deserved.

The RAD corrected that on Wednesday when, 77 years later, Artistic Director Gerard Charles presented Henry with his long-overdue Silver Award medal - much to Henry's delight. The event was captured by BBC and ITV London in our studios.

The story was covered on 16 October by Good Morning Britain (ITV), ITV London at 6pm, ITV Regional News (which aired nationally) at 6pm and 7pm, and BBC London News at 6.30pm.

The RAD is capturing stories from many different members and those associated with the RAD in order to illustrate our history and these stories will be shared throughout our centenary year. If you have an interesting story to tell, please get in touch with marketing@rad.org.uk and share it with us.