The RAD style guide

AI is increasingly being used to create copy. It is, however, not yet sophisticated enough to generate anything that doesn’t shout “I’m AI-generated!” and content tends to be full of superlatives, hyperbole, adverbs, and em dashes. Stylistically, it’s verbose and flowery and to the trained eye, very obviously not written by a human.

If you use AI to generate copy, please treat it as a draft and get someone to give it a proof and an edit before sending it to colleagues or to an external audience, e.g. website, email, or printed materials.

The Plain English campaign has a good guide to the use of AI in your writing.

Capital letters disrupt the flow of text, making the copy harder to read. Therefore, minimise capitalisation and use sentence case where possible. See ‘Specific spellings and usage’ (below) for capitalisation of specific terminology.

Job titles

Use initial capital letters for specific references and lowercase for general references:

• It was no surprise when she became Artistic Director of the RAD.

but

• The role of the artistic director in a modern company is always a demanding one.

Use both upper and lower case for departments within the RAD, i.e. the Membership department.

From The Guardian style guide

“Times have changed since the days of medieval manuscripts with elaborate hand-illuminated capital letters, or Victorian documents in which not just proper names, but virtually all nouns, were given initial caps (a Tradition valiantly maintained to this day by Estate Agents).

A look through newspaper archives would show greater use of capitals the further back you went. The tendency towards lowercase, which in part reflects a less formal, less deferential society, has been accelerated by the explosion of the internet: some web companies, and many email users, have dispensed with capitals altogether.

Our style reflects these developments. We aim for coherence and consistency, but not at the expense of clarity. As with any aspect of style, it is impossible to be wholly consistent – there are almost always exceptions, so if you are unsure check for an individual entry in this guide. But here are the main principles:

jobs all lc, e.g. prime minister, US secretary of state, chief rabbi, editor of the Guardian.

titles cap up titles, but not job description, e.g. President Joe Biden (but the US president, Joe Biden, and Obama on subsequent mention); the Duke of Westminster (the duke at second mention); Pope Francis but the pope.”

In RAD usage, this translates to:

jobs all lc, e.g. chief executive, trustee, chair, etc.

titles cap for titles, but not job description, e.g. Chief Executive Tim Arthur

In Plain Words: A Guide to the use of English, the venerable Sir Ernest Gowers suggests the following:

Use a capital for a particular and a small letter for the general. Thus:

• It is a street leading out of Oxford Street.
• Many parliaments have been modelled on our Parliament.

Headings

Capitalisation of headings should follow the same pattern as within normal body copy – unless design dictates otherwise. Initial capitals should only be used for the first word of the heading and any proper nouns.

For example, ‘New dance classes’ not ‘New Dance Classes’.

Dance genres

Use lowercase initial capitals for dance genres, e.g. classical ballet, street, jazz and tap. However, if discussing the specific RAD styles that form the basis of the exam syllabi (Ballet, Character and Free Movement), use initial capitals.

See Specific spellings and usage (below).

Completing a sentence

Where a list of bullet points completes an introductory sentence, each point should begin in lowercase and the last bullet point should end in a full stop. The introductory words should end with a colon.

Whether you use ‘and’ or ‘or’ before the last bullet depends on the sense, for example:

i. use ‘and’ where the list is exhaustive and all the criteria have to be met.

To attend this course you must be:

• 18 years or over,
• a member of the RAD, and
• a UK resident.

ii. use ‘or’ where only one criterion has to be met.

The maximum number of children attending a summer school is:

• 25 children under age 11, or
• 20 children over age 12.

Use a comma before the ‘and’ or ‘or’.

Stand-alone sentences

When bullet points do not complete a sentence but are complete sentences in their own right, initial capitals and full stops should be used. For example:

There are several points of view:

• The popularity of adult ballet is an extension of the interest in somatics.
• The hit film Black Swan raised the profile of ballet.
• TV shows, such as Strictly Come Dancing and Britain’s Got Talent have increased the interest in dance in general.

Lists

When bullets are used for lists of short items, the only punctuation needed (in addition to the introductory colon) is a full stop at the end. Initial upper or lower case depends on whether a sentence is being completed or not.

Don’t forget to bring your:

• soft shoes
• costume
• towel

Here’s a list of what you’ll need:

• Soft shoes
• Costume
• Towel

Bullets-within-bullets

The same rules apply to lists within bullet points. However, use an en-rule (–) or a different style of bullet for sub-points. Keep it consistent within the document.

Quotation marks

Use single quotation marks (‘and’) where you simply want to qualify a word or phrase, e.g. the so-called ‘Romantic’ period.

Use double quotation marks when quoting from a publication or speech. For quotes-within-quotes, use single quotation marks e.g. “When I heard Jane say ‘the candidates this year were outstanding’, I joined the conversation to agree.”

If the quote ends a sentence, the full stop follows the quotation mark. If the quote completes the sentence, but it is a sentence in its own right, the full stop falls within the quotation mark.

• As Jane said, “there were more candidates this year than last”.
• Jane stated the obvious, “There were more candidates this year than last.”

When entire paragraphs are part of a quotation, use double quotation marks around each paragraph. If there are two or more paragraphs of direct quotations, only use quotation marks at the start of each paragraph and the end of the last paragraph.

Note: Many newspapers reverse this convention, as do some academic style guides. This is not a question of correct or incorrect grammar, but a stylistic choice.

Parentheses (brackets)

Use parentheses (‘round’ brackets) in the general run of text, reserving brackets [‘square’ brackets] to indicate words inserted into a quotation, e.g. ‘They [the judges] commented that the standard was very high.’

If the text in parentheses ends a sentence, the full stop follows the final bracket. If the entire sentence is within parentheses, the full stop should sit within the bracket.

Apostrophes

To indicative possessives

Use an apostrophe in phrases such as ‘two years’ service’ or ‘five minutes’ time’ (but not where the measurement of time is the noun in the phrase, e.g. 12-years-old).

For an English name that ends in an ‘s’, add apostrophe s, as in James’s book, or Dickens’s novel. If the name has a final syllable that is pronounced ‘iz’, use a single apostrophe, e.g. Bridges’ play.

Note that some well-known UK place names drop the apostrophe, such as St Albans and Barons Court. Others, however, keep the apostrophe, such as Earl’s Court, Shepherd’s Bush and St Paul’s.

Do not use an apostrophe with dates or ages, e.g. 1960s, not 1960’s, in her 80s not 80’s.

Do not use apostrophes for plurals, e.g. all MPs, not all MP’s.

To indicate contractions

Apostrophes are used in contractions to show where letters have been left out, e.g. ‘even if there’s nothing left for him to do, he’ll always stay the full hour’.

Hyphenation

Use hyphenation for compound adjectives that precede the noun but not where they follow it, for example:

• the up-to-date timetable, but keep the timetable up to date
• a long-term plan but in the long term
• a 14-year-old child but the child is 14 years old.

A few common examples of where to use hyphens:

• dance-related, and similar constructions using ‘related’
• a 4-year-old child
• where the main word begins with a capital, such as mid-December
• all-encompassing, ex-teacher, self-respect and similar
• to avoid ambiguity – for example, re-sign (sign again) and resign (give up)
• with figures or letters, such as T-shirt and mid-1970s.

And some examples of where not to use them:

• online
• email
• worldwide
• postgraduate
• no one.

En-rules/slashes

Use en-rules (–) in constructions such as ‘work–life balance’ or dates 1954–1962.

When using a slash, don’t put a space before or after the slash. For example: Graded Examinations/Vocational Graded Examinations.

Exclamation marks!

Use these sparingly. In some communications, these are used in nearly every paragraph and so lose their impact and emphasis.

Never use more than one exclamation mark!

Double spacing

Always use a single space after a full stop, rather than a double-space. Double-spaces are a throwback to mechanical typewriters and haven’t been necessary for decades.

Full-stops

Always use after a web address if used in a sentence.

Colons and semicolons

These two are used far too often in the wrong way, so if in doubt, don’t use them when a full stop or a conjunction will avoid any confusion.

Colons

Colons have three main uses: 1) to precede a list (see what we did there?), 2) to introduce a quotation, and 3) to link two independent but related sentences where the second explains the first.

As we have cleverly illustrated 1) above, we’ll proceed to the others.

2) She tersely reacted to comments on her lack of grammatical knowledge: ‘Am I bovvered?’

3) He was delighted to be offered a job at the RAD: it had been his dream to work in the arts.

Semicolons

Semicolons are a different animal altogether and should not be used as mere commas. Think of them as what Taggert and Wines (Recommended references) refer to as ‘supercommas’. Semicolons give a slightly longer pause than a comma and are placed in between two related clauses that don’t quite stand on their own as complete sentences.

e.g. ‘I have tickets for The Fonteyn tomorrow; I bet there’s a train strike.’

You can also use semicolons to break up lists with longer elements:

e.g. To be a ballet pianist you need: long fingers; the ability to sight-read music; and a great deal of patience.

Spelling out numbers versus using numerals

In text, spell out numbers up to nine. Use numerals for 10 upwards.

Don’t start sentences with a numeral – if possible rephrase the sentence. If you cannot rephrase the sentence, spell out the number.

Avoid mixing the two formats within one sentence by using numerals. For example, do say ‘We had 6 rehearsals and gave 14 performances.’ don’t say ‘We had six rehearsals and 14 performances.’

Use commas in four-figure (and larger) numbers (e.g. 4,000).

Express millions as, 6 million (not six million, 6M or 6m), except in tables and charts, or legal or financial documents.

For percentages, spell out ‘per cent’ in text and use numerals (even for numbers below 10), e.g. 6 per cent. You can use % in tables, charts, in notes to either, or in legal and financial documents. You can also use them as a design feature.

Use numerals for ages, e.g. ‘6 years old’, ‘24 years old’.

Use en-rules to separate spans (e.g. 10–15).

£56 not £56.00, unless in a chart or table where it is required to show two decimal places. Include decimal places if pence are included in the amount, e.g. £56.50.

Dates

Show dates as follows:

• 20 July 2012 (do not use ^th and do not use the day off the week)
• 20–22 July 2012
• 2012–13 (using an en-rule to indicate a span of time)
• 2012/13 (to indicate a financial or academic year)
• 20/07/2013.

Times

As a global organisation, we should be following the convention used around most of the world and use the 24-hour clock format for international events.

In the UK, show times as follows:

• 10am (no space between number and letters)
• 10.30am
• 5pm
• 10am–5.30pm.

Fractions

Spelt-out fractions should be hyphenated, e.g. ‘Three-quarters of the dancers were Australian.’ Fractions with whole numbers are best expressed as numerals, e.g. 2½ (rather than two and a half). Avoid mixing fractions and percentages where possible.

Emphasis

Avoid using too much emphasis within the text as this can defeat the purpose. The most common way of showing emphasis in text is to use italic or bold type. Bold is preferable – consistency is important; if you start with bold, you should stick with it.

Do not underline web or email text for emphasis as it looks like a hyperlink and can be confusing for readers.

Italics

Italic for names, titles, technical terms, etc.

Use italics for names/titles of complete works like ballets, books or films, for example, Giselle and Pride and Prejudice. Do not italicise the preceding ‘the’ except for when the definitive article is part of the title, e.g. The Nutcracker, etc. Do not use italics for names of dance companies.

Titles of parts of larger work (for example, a section of a full-length ballet, short story or song) should be roman within single quotation marks, e.g. the ‘the Rose Adagio’ in Sleeping Beauty.

Popular music song titles have all initial capitals, for example ‘What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life’.

Use Roman without quotation marks for widespread ballet and musical terms and names of instruments. For example, demi-plié, enchaînement, grand battement à la seconde, andante, cor anglais, forte. When musical terms are printed in italics in musical scores, they should remain in italics when extracted from the scores. Dynamic symbols, for example F, should appear in bold italics.

Italics for foreign words

Use italics for foreign words unless the word is so commonly used as to be part of the English language. Widespread foreign words or ballet terms are not placed in italic

Quotations in foreign languages should have all the appropriate accents.

Captions

Images should be captioned as follows: Description Photo by: Photographer (e.g. Successful candidates at The Fonteyn. Photo by: Bob Griffin.)

Alignment

Online, text/copy should be aligned to the left and not centred or justified.

In printed publications, this can be left to the designer as to what is most effective.

Special symbols

Occasionally we use symbols for copyright © or registered trademark ® or trademark ™ for our products.

Note that © is inserted in full size, but ^® and ™ are in superscript.

Use Silver Swans^® in titles or on the first mention, but not throughout the text.

A few examples of common variant spellings:

• Unless you are dealing with American material, use -ise endings rather than -ize endings.
• Use ‘while’ (not ‘whilst’) and ‘among’ (not ‘amongst’).
• ‘Acknowledgement’ not ‘acknowledgment’.
• Bye-law not Bylaw.
• Use ‘judgement’ unless talking about a decision from a court, in which case it is judgment.
• ‘Colour’ and ‘honour’ not ‘color’ and ‘honor’.
• ‘Centre’ not ‘center’.
• Practise as a verb, practice as a noun.
• Focusing/focused not focussing/focussed.
• Coordinate, not co-ordinate (coordinator, not co-ordinator)

See Copy-editing by Judith Butcher or The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors for words that are commonly misspelt. Also, see The Oxford Dictionary of Dance for spellings of names, techniques and terms, and companies and productions.

See Specific spellings and usage for more guidance.

Syntax is the way in which we organise words and phrases to create well-formed sentences. As such, here are a few useful rules to help make yourself better understood.

In general, use ‘that’ after words such as ‘ensure’, for example ‘managers should ensure that their staff have the necessary training’. Other examples include recommend, state, think, say, guarantee, mean and feel. Also, use ‘that’ with ‘so’, e.g. ‘We went so that we could see for ourselves.’

Infinitives (and when to split them!)

It is perfectly acceptable to split infinitives (to go, to do, etc.). Simply put, splitting an infinitive means inserting a word in between ‘to’ and a verbal. The classic example of this is ‘…to boldly go’ from the opening of Star Trek. This has grammarians of a certain vintage up in arms as they would rather Captain Kirk ‘go boldly’.

The fact is that the injunction not to split infinitives comes from old Latin grammar books and is perfectly safe to ignore in the 21st century.

That/which

‘That’ defines, ‘which’ informs:

‘This is the house that Jack built. The house, which Jack built, is now falling down.’

‘fewer’ or ‘less’

The simplest way to remember which to use is to consider whether you’re talking about something countable (fewer) or non-countable (less).

• ’10 items or fewer’ is correct because you can count the items in a shopping basket.
• ‘The new desk left less space in the office’ is correct because the space is uncountable.

The rule is a bit trickier when it comes to measuring some things, like weight or time, but you will get a general sense of whether a sentence sounds right when you read it.

‘a’ or ‘an’ before H?

Use ‘an’ before a silent H: an heir, an hour, an honest person, an honorary member; use ‘a’ before an aspirated H: a hero, a hotel, a historian.

and/or

Avoid. Generally just ‘or’ is sufficient.

Singular or plural

The Royal Academy of Dance, and the RAD, like other organisations, should be regarded as singular nouns.

For example, ‘The Royal Academy of Dance is one of the world’s most influential dance education and training organisations. It has a long history of improving dance training standards.’

Contractions

It is fine to use contractions (I’m, you’re, we’ve, etc.). In most communications, this conveys a more informal and conversational style for readers.

Sometimes, however, more formality is called for in official announcements about our patron for example. Check with marketing for tone and guidance if in doubt.

Occasionally we use symbols for copyright © or registered trademark ® or trademark ™ for our products.

Note that © is inserted full size, but ® and ™ is in superscript.

The Royal Academy of Dance, the Academy, and the RAD, like other organisations, should be regarded as singular nouns.

For example, ‘The Royal Academy of Dance is one of the world’s most influential dance education and training organisations. It has a long history of improving dance training standards.’

Addresses

Address details are automatically applied to emails and letter-headed paper should be used for postal correspondence. If you find you need to write/type the RAD address, it should be in the format below:

Miss AN Other
Job Title
Royal Academy of Dance
188 York Road
London SW11 3JZ

There should not be a comma between a place and a postcode.

Do not abbreviate street, road, etc. in UK addresses.

Phone and fax numbers

Use spaces rather than hyphens, and if your communication will be seen by people outside the UK, include the international code:

+44 (0)20 7326 8000

Where phone or fax numbers or email addresses follow an address, set out as follows:

London SW11 3RA
t: +44 (0)20 7326 8000
f: +44 (0)20 7924 3129
e: another@rad.org.uk

Where a number appears in text as part of contact details, use one of the following formats:

For more information, contact AN Other on +44 (0)20 7326 8044.

For more information, contact AN Other. Tel: +44 (0)20 7326 8044. Fax: +44 (0)20 7924 3129.

Do not underline email addresses.

Email signatures

All email signatures should be in Ariel font in the following format:

Miss AN Other – optional personal pronouns e.g. (She/Her)
Job Title
Royal Academy of Dance

Tel: +44 (0)20 7326 8000
Mobile: +44 (0)77 8011 1906
Email: another@rad.org.uk

Websites

Set out web addresses in full, leaving off any http:// prefix before www. If the web address does not contain www, include http:// (e.g. http://premier.ticketek.co.nz).

Do not underline web addresses.

Ampersands (&)

Avoid ampersands in text unless they are part of a company name or project, for example, Annual Report & Review. They may, however, be appropriate for tables and graphs where space is tight, or in headings. Note that there is more flexibility in this for web copy.

i.e., e.g., etc.

Place a comma before i.e. and e.g., but no full stops. So to introduce an example or list:

‘There are several ways of this, e.g. by employing consultants.’

If e.g. or for example is used to break a sentence, place an additional comma afterwards:

‘There is, for example, no provision for childcare.’

Etc. is also preceded by a comma.

Remember that i.e., etc. are not the same thing!

e.g. Latin exempli gratia, meaning ‘for the sake of example’ – used to show an actual example.

i.e. Latin id est, meaning ‘that is’ – used to clarify a point.

Initials

Avoid full stops in initials such as Mr AC Smith or JS Bach.

Abbreviations

The most common abbreviation we use is probably ‘RAD’. As with acronyms, spell in full in the first instance and then use the abbreviation throughout, e.g. Royal Academy of Dance (RAD).

Acronyms

If you want to use acronyms (abbreviations spoken as words), spell out the subject in full at its first mention with the acronym following in brackets, e.g. BA (Hons) Ballet Education (BABE). This is not necessary for well-known acronyms from outside the RAD.

Initialisms

Initialisms are used all the time and are words made from the first letters of each word in a phrase, e.g. CD, DVD, BBC. You do not need to spell these in full within brackets on the first mention.

For further guidance, see the glossary of abbreviations and acronyms.

Awards

QEII Award

FRAD (Fellow of the Royal Academy of Dance)

FIChor (Fellow of the Institute of Choreology)

President’s Award

ARAD (Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance)

AIChor (Associate of the Institute of Choreology)

Qualifications

Certificate in Dance Teaching (Ballet) (CDT)

Certificate of Higher Education: Dance Education

Diploma in Dance Teaching Studies (DDTS)

Diploma of Higher Education: Dance Education

Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma (PDTD)

BA (Hons) Dance Education (BADE)

BA (Hons) Ballet Education (BABE)

Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance (LRAD)

Postgraduate Certificate in Education: Dance Teaching (PGCE: DT)

Professional Dancers’ Postgraduate Teaching Certificate (PDPTC)

MA in Education (Dance Teaching)

Registered Teacher Status

RAD RTS stands for Royal Academy of Dance Registered Teacher Status and should always appear at the end of a list of qualifications, awards or titles. Generally you should use the two acronyms, RAD and RTS. For example:

An Example RAD RTS

An Other Example Adv Tch Dip RAD RTS

However, if the person is a Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance (LRAD), or an Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance (ARAD) you should not repeat RAD. For example:

An Example ARAD RTS

An Other Example LRAD Adv Tch Dip RTS

Titles

Where a title such as Dame has various types, include letters after the name (e.g. DBE) to distinguish the type of title, e.g. Dame Antoinette Sibley DBE.

Don’t be tempted, however, to use titles in every situation. It is often enough to introduce someone with their full title and then to revert to their name.

Refer to the current UK sovereign as His Majesty The King or HM The King.

No punctuation point is used after titles or initials (e.g. Dr not Dr. and JK Rowling not J.K. Rowling)

Separate multiple qualifications with a comma but no punctuation point (e.g. MA, BA (Hons)) 

Post-nominals (BA (Hons), MA, LRAD, etc.) should be used sparingly in communications. Usage is old-fashioned and many initials won’t be familiar to anyone outside of RAD circles. If possible, reserve mention of qualifications for biographic information for courses, etc.

When using post-nominals, they should be written in a specific order with a single space between them (no commas). Civil honours come first, then academic, then professional awards.

e.g. Dame Helen Dunn DBE BA (Hons) ARAD

Nowadays most don’t bother with BA (hons), MA, etc. but these would come before professional awards in the order they were received.

This section highlights some examples of over-used words and phrases. While some of the following examples are plain wrong, others are used far too often, some cases are too formal, and others just make us sound lazy.

Clichés

As an organisation, we love to use a cliché – overused expressions that just make us seem lazy. OK, sometimes there’s no getting away from it, but where possible, just say what you are offering as succinctly as you can.

Avoid:

• ‘It gives us (The RAD) great pleasure to announce…’
• ‘We are delighted to announce…’
• ‘And much more…’ (if you’re offering something, say what you’re offering or point people at where they can find the information)
• ‘National and International’ (often used to describe our work. ‘Internationally’ or similar will be fine in most cases)
• ‘A unique/fabulous/incredible opportunity…’ (use superlatives sparingly or you sound like the master of ceremonies at a circus!)

A survey by the Plain English Campaign found that the most irritating phrase in the language was “at the end of the day”, followed by (in order of annoyance):

• at this moment in time,
• like (as in, like, this),
• with all due respect,
• to be perfectly honest with you,
• touch base,
• I hear what you’re saying,
• going forward,
• absolutely, and
• blue sky thinking.

Other words and phrases that upset people included:

• 24/7,
• ballpark figure,
• bottom line,
• it’s not rocket science,
• ongoing,
• prioritise,
• pushing the envelope,
• singing from the same hymn sheet, and
• thinking outside the box.

(From the Guardian and Observer style guide – www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-c)

Buzzwords jargon and general misuse

The language we use says a lot about us as an organisation. As clear communicators – and as an arts organisation – buzzwords and jargon are to be avoided. This is not always possible when writing about subjects such as academic courses, but even then, it should be used sparingly.

Utilise (use)

Action (do not use as a verb!)

Actionable (‘Actionable’ is a legal term, it does not mean ‘doable’)

Appropriate (suitable/fitting)

Commenced (started/began)

Competencies (skills)

Context (background/setting/landscape)

Engaged (spoke to/with)

Going forward (in future)

Key (important/essential)

Learnings (lessons/discoveries)

On-going (continuing)

Outcomes (results)

Participants (students/children/teachers – depends on the situation)

Pedagogy (education/teaching)

Proactive (use ‘active’ – ‘proactive’ is a term borrowed from psychology)

Progress/progressing (Not to be used as a verb – try ‘moving on’ or ‘in progress’)

Provision (Providing or facility)

Robust (reliable/accurate)

Solutions (answers)

Strategy/strategies (ideas/plans)

The Plain English Campaign offer a more comprehensive list of alternative words.

A

Academy – we are moving away from this. Instead use ‘Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) in the first instance, then ‘RAD’ throughout copy.

Advance bookings rather than ‘advanced bookings’ (preferably, just say ‘bookings’)

A Level (not A-Level) or GCE AS/A2 Level

Alumni – ‘alumnus’ is the male, singular, ‘alumna’ is the female singular and ‘alumni/alumnae’ are the respective plural forms.

Annual General Meeting (in the first instance, then ‘AGM’)

Annual Report and Review (not italics)

Art form, not artform or art-form

Australian headquarters (not Headquarters)

autumn (not Autumn)

B

ballerina – a principal female. All others are ‘ballet dancers’.

ballet (unless talking about Ballet in the RAD syllabus)

La Bayadére

Baylis, Lilian

Bedells, Phyllis

Bedells Bursary (the not The) and not the Phyllis Bedells Bursary.

Benesh International (formerly The Benesh Institute)

Bollywood

bronze medal/medallist (lowercase and two ‘l’s for UK spelling)

C

capoeira

Character (when talking about Character work in the RAD syllabus)

CD-ROM

Class Award

Committee (two Ms and two Ts)

RAD Conference

Cooperate (no hyphen)

Coordinate (no hyphen)

Coppélia

La Corsaire

corps de ballet

D

Dance Gazette

Dance genres – do not capitalise e.g. flamenco, classical ballet not Flamenco, Classical Ballet

Dancer’s Own Variation (as a title) but Dancer’s Own variation within copy.

Darcey Bussell (Now Dame Darcey Bussell DBE)

demi-plié

demi-pointe

Demonstration Class

de Valois, Ninette (note, the possessive form is Ninette de Valois’, not de Valois’s)

Disability – When referring to disabilities, put the person before the disability, e.g. ‘people with disabilities’ and not ‘disabled people’. Please note: this can differ within the disabled community; for example: members of the autistic community prefer ‘autistic person’.

Don Quixote

drawstring

E

Easter schools

English National Ballet, ENB – not the ENB or the/The English National Ballet

enchaînement

eye-line

exam (in most cases it is now fine to use ‘exam’ over the more formal ‘examination’)

examiner (not Examiner)

Email/email

e-news

e-newsletter

e-shot

F

final (use ‘Final’ only when part of the event name, e.g. The Fonteyn Final. Otherwise use sentence case)

Fonteyn, The – The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition

Free Movement (when talking about the Free Movement work in the RAD syllabus)

G

Genée (as in the Genée International Ballet Competition)

Gender – Use language that does not assume heterosexuality to be the norm, e.g. ‘Invite your partner’ rather than wife/boyfriend.

gold medal/medallist (lowercase)

Graded Examination(s) in Dance/Graded Examination(s)/Graded Syllabus

Grade1, Grade 2, Grade 3

Grades 1–3, Grades 4–5

Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales)

H

headquarters (not ‘Headquarters’, ‘hq’ or ‘HQ’)

Her Majesty The Queen (formerly HRH The Duchess of Cornwall)

higher education (don’t capitalise)

Hip Hop (No hyphen – we don’t usually capitalise dance genres, but Hip Hop is both a culture and a form of music and dance)

Hong Kong – referred to as Hong Kong – SAR of China 

I

Intermediate

internet

J

jazz not Jazz

L

La Fille mal gardée

La Bayadère

License/license – Licence (noun) You are given a license. License (verb) You have license to do something.

M

Macao – referred to as Macao – SAR of China 

mark scheme (not markscheme or Mark scheme)

mark sheet (not marksheet or Mark sheet)

medal (not Medal), i.e. gold medal, silver medal, bronze medal – all lowercase unless starting a sentence. Also, refer to ‘the Genée gold medal or ‘the Fonyeyn gold medal’.

medallist (UK) / medalist (US)

member/Member (lower case when talking about an RAD Member, upper case when talking about a category of membership, e.g. RAD Member Plus)

musical theatre but ‘RAD Musical Theatre’

N

national director manager representative (upper case when talking about a specific NDMR)

No one (no hyphen).

The Nutcracker

O

on-site (not onsite).

P

panel of examiners – only capitalised when the ‘RAD Panel of Examiners’

patron – lowercase except where used as Patron of the RAD

Pilates

Presentation Classes

president – lowercase except where used as ‘President of the RAD’

Primary in Dance/Pre-Primary in Dance (use each term separately and in full)

principal as a role (only capitalise as part of a title ‘Principal at The Royal Ballet’)

Q

Queen, The – Her Majesty or HM, never HRH (see ‘H’ above)

R

Race – Use adjectives rather than nouns when referring to someone’s race, e.g. ‘Asian people’ rather than ‘Asians’.

RAD – Use in preference to ‘Academy’. In speech, pronounce phonetically, i.e. ‘R-A-D’ not ‘Rad’.

RAD headquarters (not Headquarters, ‘hq’ or ‘HQ’)

RAD Registered Teacher

RAD Representative

Raymonda

Regional Manager

répétiteur

rock ’n’ roll

Royal Academy of Dance (The Royal Academy of Dance – include the definite article in general use)

The Royal Ballet (capitalise ‘The’)

The Royal Ballet School (see above)

S

silver medal/medallist (lowercase)

Sleeping Beauty

soloist as a role (only capitalise as part of a title ‘Soloist at The Royal Ballet’)

Solo Seal

Solo Performance Awards

South African headquarters (not Headquarters)

spring (not Spring)

Studio

Subcommittee (not sub-committee)

summer (not Summer)

summer schools

Swan Lake

T

Taiwan – referred to as Taiwan – China.

tour organiser

trustee – lowercase except where used as Trustee of the RAD

T-shirt

turnout

U

UK (interchangeable with United Kingdom)

Under way (not underway).

USA (interchangeable with United States of America)

A unique (rather than ‘an’ – for ease of pronunciation)

V

variation (not Variation unless part of the title of a piece)

vice president (upper case as only as a title, e.g. RAD Vice President, Dame Monica Mason DBE)

Vocational Graded Examination(s) in Dance/Vocational Graded Examination(s)/Vocational Graded Syllabus

(Intermediate Foundation; Intermediate; Advanced Foundation; Advanced 1; Advanced 2)

W

Website (one word)

Wellbeing (not well-being)

Wifi (not Wi-Fi)

winter (not Winter)

Worldwide (not world-wide)

Z

Zumba

AEC: Approved Examination Centre

AICHOR: Associate of the Institute of Choreology

ARAD: Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance

AST: Advanced Secure Technologies

BABE: BA (Hons) Ballet Education

BADE: BA (Hons) Dance Education

CBTS: Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies

CCEA: Council for the Curriculum, Education and Assessment

CDET: Council for Dance Education and Training

CDT: Certificate in Dance Teaching

CPD: Continuing Professional Development

DC: Digital Certificates

DDTS: Diploma in Dance Teaching Studies

DfE: Department for Education

DTAP: Dance Training and Accreditation Partnership

EQF: European Qualifications Framework

FAB: Federation of Awarding Bodies

FE: Further Education

FHEQ: Framework for Higher Education Qualifications

FIChor: Fellow of the Institute of Choreology

FRAD: Fellow of the RAD

HE: Higher Education

JCQ: Joint Council for Qualifications

LRAD: Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance

MTD: Master of Teaching (Dance)

NQF: National Qualifications Framework

Ofqual: Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation

PDTD: Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma

PDPTC: Professional Dancers’ Postgraduate Teaching Certificate

PGCE: DT: Postgraduate Certificate in Education: Dance Teaching

PLR: Personal Learning Record

QCF: Qualifications and Credit Framework

RAD RTS: Royal Academy of Dance Registered Teacher Status

RAV: RAD Approved Venue

RTO: Registered Training Organisation

SCQF: Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework

SFA: Skills Funding Agency

UCAS: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service

YDE: Youth Dance England

Please note, our regulator in Wales, the Welsh Government, is NOT abbreviated to WG.

Don’t think you need to read all of these and become a grammarian, but one or two are handy to have on your desk or in your department.

Books

• New Oxford Dictionary of English
• The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors
• The Oxford Dictionary of Dance
• Copy-editing by Judith Butcher
• Plain Words by Sir Ernest Gowers & Rebecca Gowers
• Fowler’s Modern English Usage
• My Grammar and I (Or should that be ‘me’?) by Caroline Taggert and AJ Wines
• For Who the Bell Tolls by David Marsh

Online

Plain English Campaign free guides

Dictionary.com – contains much of the above, including an online thesaurus.

Grammarly – a free plugin for Word that helps declutter your writing.