Dance Gazette

Allow us to present Dance Gazette, the RAD’s exclusive members’ magazine. Dive into the captivating world of dance as we bring you enlightening articles, behind-the-scenes interviews, and invaluable resources, all designed to elevate your dance journey to new heights.

With Dance Gazette, you’ll gain insider knowledge of the latest trends, cutting-edge techniques, and inspiring stories from top dancers around the world. From classical ballet to contemporary, tap to jazz, each issue presents a treasure trove of diverse dance styles that will leave you inspired and hungry for more.

Immerse yourself in an exciting spectrum of articles by world-renowned choreographers, dancers, and educators. Unlock a wealth of knowledge that is guaranteed to refine your technique, broaden your horizons, and deepen your understanding of dance as an art form.

Dance Gazette combines beautifully curated visuals, insightful articles, and in-depth profiles that resonate with dancers of all levels. Enjoy exclusive interviews with industry icons who share their personal experiences, challenges, and successes.

Embark on a journey of inspiration, knowledge, and artistic growth with Dance Gazette, the Royal Academy of Dance’s members magazine.

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Attention advertisers! Reach a global audience of 12,000 passionate dance teachers, professional dancers, and dance lovers with Dance Gazette, the Royal Academy of Dance’s members magazine. Promote your brand to a dedicated community that values excellence and is eager to explore the latest trends, techniques, and products in the dance world. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with a highly engaged audience and showcase your offerings in the heart of the global dance community. Contact us today to reserve your spot in Dance Gazette!

If you are interested, please contact marketing@rad.org.uk or call +44 (0)20 7326 8952. For sizing and pricing, take a look at our media pack.

An extract from the latest issue

DANCE GAZETTE TOP 40 by Sanjoy Roy

Illustration: Sergiy Maidukov for Dance Gazette

When my nephew Kiran was about 15 months old, he used to love dancing to the classic 1976 soft-rock ballad If You Leave Me Now, by Chicago. As soon as we put it on he would sway from one foot to the other, waving his arms like flippers – he looked like a happy little penguin. Nothing else worked such magic: it had to be this song. We played it a lot.

There is indeed a special magic between music and dance. At root lies the intrinsic physical connection between voice and body, one capable of song and the other of dance, both dependent upon muscle, nerve, brain and breath. The stem is surely pulse and rhythm, those primal drivers of dance music: clap those hands, stamp those feet. At the higher levels we branch out into the three Fs: form (pattern and composition); feeling (emotion and sensation); and force (energy or vitality).

When I asked a range of dance artists to select a piece of music of particular significance to them, I imagined I would learn more about the almost organic connection between dance and music. In fact, all five chose music that was challenging, even difficult for dance. It reminded me that dance and music, like any close couple, also have their own natures and demands – their bond is built on love and intimacy, but also on respect and autonomy.

Their choices are all in the first ever Dance Gazette Top 40. What else made the cut? And what would you choose?

1 Le Sacre du Printemps/Rite of Spring (1913)
After this monumental encounter of music and dance, neither music nor dance were the same again. Many choreographers have since faced Stravinsky’s score; few have survived intact.

2 Romeo and Juliet (1935)
Prokofiev meticulously matched his ballet score to scenes and characters, and also matched Tchaikovsky’s achievement in melding the symphonic with the dramatic.

3 Quimbara (1974)
Fania Records was a powerhouse that popularised salsa. The driving, up-tempo Quimbara by Celia Cruz and The Fania All-Stars was one of its many hits.

4 Waltz of the Snowflakes (1892)
A waltz, but not as you know it. In Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, melodic fragments and complex, fractured rhythms make for unusually fascinating music – and scintillating dance.

5 Get Ur Freak On (2001)
Freaky indeed – Missy Elliott’s electrifying smash-up of hip-hop, bhangra and pop was matched by a grungy-glamorous video, crazily choreographed by Nadine ‘Hi Hat’ Ruffin.

6 Mambo from West Side Story (1957)
Leonard Bernstein’s explosive musical mix of jazz, latin, classical and Broadway for Jerome Robbins’ dance number, high on the reckless energy and conflict of youth.

7 Zombie (1976)
Fela Kuti was complex, counter-revolutionary, kind of crazy, and a phenomenal musician: the ‘Father of Afrobeat’. Zombie – sensational dance music on a serious subject – is a centrepiece of the 2008 musical Fela! choreographed by Bill T Jones.

8 Das Lied von der Erde (1909)
The Royal Ballet told Kenneth MacMillan that Mahler’s score was unsuitable for dance – so he created this 1965 masterwork (Song of the Earth) for the Stuttgart Ballet instead.

9 Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk (1995)
Percussive footwork provides a direct link between body and sound – nowhere more than in tap. In Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk, the incomparable Savion Glover joined his footwork to the very history of black America.

10 Prelude in D-flat major (1839)
Isadora Duncan once asked a critic how to improve her act. Better music, he replied. Duncan choreographed extensively to Chopin, opening the gateway to the repertory of canonical concert-hall music.

To read more join RAD Membership

Meet the Editor

David Jays is the Editor of Dance Gazette. He also writes about dance and theatre for the Guardian and Sunday Times and is a dance critic for the Evening Standard. To get in touch about any aspect of Dance Gazette, or if you have an idea for the magazine, contact David at gazette@rad.org.uk.

Dance Gazette guest editors

From time to time we invite guest editors to take the helm of Dance Gazette, presenting the RAD and its work through their eyes and the lens of another industry, providing an alternative perspective.
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A selection of articles from previous editions of Dance Gazette

Shake It Up

In recognition of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we're featuring an article from Dance Gazette in which Isaac Ouro-Gnao asks – as…
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Dance Gazette to Your Screen 

Challenge and change Facing up to challenges is very 2020 – but it isn't easy. David Jays, Dance Gazette editor, selects some inspiring articles about…
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10 from 10

David Jays, Dance Gazette editor, selects some favourite feature articles – one from each year of the past decade. At this strange, scary moment, it…
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The buck stops here

Dance Gazette celebrates dancing women as leaders, creators, role models. Anna Winter meets three inspirational women. A century since the first British women got the vote,…
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Fonteyn Icon

Ballerina assoluta, fashion heroine and RAD President, Margot Fonteyn was the ultimate ballet icon. Anna Winter traces her unique impact on dance. Margot Fonteyn at…
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Looking for leaders

Heading a ballet company isn't easy. Mess it up and the end can be brutal. Sarah Crompton meets directors who have stayed the course, and…
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National treasure

As Karen Kain receives the RAD's most prestigious award, she tells David Jays that her stellar career happened almost by accident. Karen Kain. Photo: Karolina…
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From The World, To The World

A host of objects from the RAD's rich history appear in an illuminating museum display. How do the curators choose which stories to tell, and…
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If you don't want a robot to steal your job, you need the arts!

As the RAD celebrates its centenary with a major display at the V&A, the museum's director Tristram Hunt discusses the importance of arts education. Tristram…
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And the category is

Voguing and classical ballet seem worlds apart, but Gareth was eager to bring them together. Anna Winter invites leaders from these very different worlds to…
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Ballet boys, b-boys and superheroes

Do boys still have a problem with dance? Is ballet especially daunting? Sanjoy Roy meets ballet boys, b-boys and superheroes. I walk through a foyer…
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Bodies Don't Lie

How does a dance company create new work? Is it unlike an actor's process? Our guest editor Noma Dumezweni watches the Alvin Ailey company rehearse,…
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Step change

Environmental thinking is at long last on the dance agenda. From dancewear to touring, from audience behaviours to the RAD's new HQ: Sanjoy Roy asks…
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Here, queer and dancing

A male pairing on the British tv show Strictly Come Dancing shone a spotlight on the LGBTQ+ dance scene. Emily Garside explores the history and power of…
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