Professional Practice Beyond the Classroom: Sharing Your Work, Engaging Families, Building Community

This online course will support participants in exploring and articulating how you recognize, interpret, and articulate the pedagogical significance of your own practice and teaching business. This is about developing a more conscious articulation of what you do as RAD teachers, why you do it, what informs your decisions, and what the value of your work might be to others. This course will also provide teachers and studio leaders with practical tools to strengthen communication, deepen relationships with families and their wider communities, and better communicate the work already taking place within their studios: connecting business, theory and practice.

Aims

The aims of this course are to:

• Explore authentic communication, professional visibility, and community engagement in an interactive, practical, and experiential manner, equipping participants with practical skills to communicate their work effectively, strengthen relationships with families, and increase their pedagogical visibility, and
• Participants will acquire bespoke practical actions that they can apply immediately within their own professional practice, as well as developing strategies for studios they are associated with as part of a broader professional community.

Learning Outcomes

• Participants will be able to evaluate their current communication practices and identify opportunities to link to RAD to improve clarity and engagement with parents and families.
• Participants will be able to identify and articulate meaningful pedagogical events (stories), achievements, and moments within their teaching practice (including how these can be enriched by the RAD archive). They will then have explored skills and theories that develop the communication of these to wider audiences.
• Participants will be able to apply 2-3 practical principles for presenting their pedagogical practice and/or studio information, photographs, and updates clearly and professionally.
• Participants will have created a bespoke action plan that includes identifying ways to strengthen connections with RAD resources, other RAD studios, and the wider global RAD community.

On completion of the activity, you will:

• Have an increased understanding of how to nurture a unique pedagogical voice and how that contributes to the development and visibility of a professional pedagogical practice
• Have a greater understanding of how to communicate the value, impact, and character of your pedagogical practice in an engaging, accessible, and professional manner
• Be able to apply practical principles to present information, photographs, achievements, and updates relating to your teaching practice clearly and professionally
• Have gained knowledge of how RAD resources, including its archive, can inform, enrich, and provide context for the communication of pedagogical practice
• Be able to identify opportunities to share professional experiences, teaching achievements, and pedagogical insights to contribute to the wider RAD community
• Have developed a bespoke action plan to strengthen professional communication, increase the visibility of your pedagogical practice, and build meaningful connections within the wider dance education community

Course Presenters

Dr. Adesola Akinleye

Dr. Adesola Akinleye is an artist-scholar, choreographer, educator, and the USA National Director of the Royal Academy of Dance. With extensive experience in dance education, curriculum development, and higher education, Adesola ran her dance studio Saltare Dance Studio in both London and New York. Before joining RAD USA, Adesola was an Associate Professor of Dance and directed the PhD in Dance Program at Texas Woman’s University. Adesola’s education-focused publications include the recently published The Oxford Handbook of Ballet Pedagogy (2026) (co-edited with Dr K Farrugla-Kriel), The Distance of Education (2024), and Finding a Place for Responsiveness, Possibility and Emergence in Dance Education Assessment Systems (2023). Adesola’s work explores how creative practice can give voice to lived experiences, share meaningful stories, and foster connections between individuals and communities. Drawing on experiences in teaching and program development, Adesola brings valuable insight into how dance educators can communicate their teaching practice clearly, share meaningful stories and achievements, and strengthen relationships with parents, families, and the wider community.

Lakisha Hubbard

Lakisha Hubbard’s professional background spans communications, organizational development, stakeholder engagement, executive operations, and strategic planning. Her career has included supporting senior leaders, including a Vice President at Amazon, as well as founding The Virtual Concierge, LLC, where she serves as Executive Operations Consultant. Through this work, she has managed complex initiatives, strengthened organizational processes, and helped organizations communicate their priorities clearly, share meaningful stories about their work, and build stronger relationships with key audiences. Lakisha draws on this experience to share practical approaches to developing parent/family-focused messaging, shaping compelling social media, and creating public-facing content that strengthens visibility and engagement.

Platform

This activity will be hosted on Zoom and is livestream only. You will be emailed details of how to join the activity within five working days prior to the start date.

CPD Hours

7 hours Time-Valued CPD

Recommended Preparation

A list of reading resources will be shared with participants ahead of the course.

Fees

Members: $160

Non-members: $180

Members of the Royal Academy of Dance receive discounts on all CPD activities.

Terms and Conditions

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