FROM DANCER TO TEACHER
Professional Dancers’ Graduate Teaching Diploma
Location：
Online induction, distance learning, onsite intensive study period and teaching placement
Start:
UK: February 2026
Australia: Feburary 2026
Duration：
10 months, part-time
Level：
Level 6
Credits：
80 credits
Language：
English
Fees：
UK: £6,180*
Australia: $11,845*
*per programme, plus £130 registration fee on enrolment. A fee of £65 is payable if the applicant is invited to interview.
The Professional Dancers’ Graduate Teaching Diploma will allow you to prepare for a new career in teaching and gain an internationally renowned RAD teaching qualification.
This innovative and industry-relevant Graduate Teaching Diploma is delivered through distance learning over 10 months (February-November), with a two-week onsite Intensive Study Period, and a mentored teaching placement that can be studied around your rehearsal, performance, and other work commitments. The Intensive Study Period takes place in either London or Sydney.
By studying the Professional Dancers’ Graduate Teaching Diploma, you will gain a secure platform for a lifelong career in dance teaching.
Your new career starts here
10 months – part-time
Study at your own pace
Starting in February 2026
Combination of online learning, an in-person two-week intensive study period, and teaching placement
Available to study in the United Kingdom and Australia
Your student experience
At the start of the programme, you will attend an online induction with cohorts from both the UK and Australia. You will be guided through the essentials of the programme, as well as introducing you to key study skills to prepare you for your studies. Two modules, delivered by distance learning, will follow, where you will be supported by experienced tutors with online tutorials.
Midway through the programme, you will attend a two-week onsite Intensive Study Period (in the programme location). The ISP will comprise of practical sessions, practice teaching opportunities, lectures, seminars, discussion groups and tutorials. You will complete the programme with a teaching placement in a dance school/teaching context of your choice, where you will be supported by a Mentor and RAD Practical Teaching Tutor.
“As an RAD alumna and past Fonteyn medallist, it has been an absolute honour to continue my journey with an institution that has shaped so much of my career. The tutors have been encouraging, supportive and engaging throughout and have provided us with ample opportunities for reflection and growth. The learning I have acquired thus far has been so vast, diverse, inspiring, and insightful, and is preparing me for a future well beyond teaching in the dance studio.”
Isabelle Brouwers, PDGTD student
Programme Content
The first and second modules will take place over 10 weeks. The third and final module will take place over 20 weeks, and includes a two-week Intensive Study Period (normally July in London and Sydney) and a Teaching Placement of 10 weeks.
From February to April
Dance Teaching as Professional Practice
(20 credits)
This module will develop your understanding of dance teaching as a profession through an in-depth exploration of some of the widely held values, beliefs and attitudes of what it is to be a dance teacher. You will examine these values, beliefs and attitudes against professional and regulatory expectations of dance teachers and teaching more generally. Through self-reflection and independent research, you will consider how the roles of dance teachers are influenced and shaped when teaching in non-formal, formal and informal dance education and training settings. You will be introduced to reflective practice, a core skill for effective learning and teaching, as a cognitive framework through which you will be able to engage in critical evaluation of your own teaching and your future role as a professional dance teacher.
From April to end of July
Dance Teaching as Educational Practice
(20 credits)
In this module, you will develop knowledge and understanding of learning and teaching in dance education and training by critically engaging with selected educational and training theories, approaches and strategies. You will consider how these approaches and strategies can be applied to different types of learners, different age groups, and different learning experiences and contexts. You will identify and critically evaluate how educational theories can inform and support effective teaching, in both planning and the practice of teaching.
From July to November
Dance Teaching as Applied Practice
(40 credits)
In this module, you will draw on the knowledge, understanding and skills from Dance Teaching as Professional Practice and Dance Teaching as Educational Practice and topics covered in the Intensive Study Period. You will devise and deliver effective dance classes which are progressive, safe and creative. You will be expected to seek opportunities to extend and refine your teaching skills in your selected dance teaching context with increasing independence and professionalism, informed by your knowledge of current educational and training theories and practices.
Financial Support
We are committed to providing support to students who wish to develop their skills and knowledge by beginning or continuing with existing studies. The bursaries that we have available will assist those most in need, to ensure the widest participation of students in our programmes.
Financial support is available for dancers in the UK to help with practical or on-programme costs of transitioning into a new career:
Dancer’s Career Development (DCD) Retraining Grants
To qualify for a Retraining Grant with DCD applicants must have:
- Been a professional dancer for at least eight years (we do not count any work done whilst undertaking formal dance training)
- Worked for a minimum of five years in the UK
- Demonstrate that you have earned an income as a dancer for a minimum of 16 weeks in each year, on average.
Applications for support close 6 October 2025. Find out more
The Headley Trust Bursary, part of The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trust is limited to students resident in the UK and in addition at least one bursary per year will be awarded to an applicant meeting one of our four equality, diversity and inclusion targets:
- Identify as male
- People over the age of 21
- Care leavers
- Residents in an area identified as a lower socioeconomic area using the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) or equivalent.
Applications close 1 December 2025. Find out more.
Applicants must have been offered a place on the Professional Dancers’ Graduate Teaching Diploma (PDGTD) programme.
Study dance with the RAD
Learn more about applying for our programmes for full-time, part-time, distance learning and international students.
View the 2026/27 prospectus today.