15 August 2024 10:00

The Royal Academy of Dance unveils new augmented-reality experience outside its global headquarters

Photo: Parinaz Alimadad

Stunning AR graphics have been installed outside the RAD’s headquarters in Wandsworth, London to bring the traditional art form of ballet outside and into the wider community.  

The graphics see professional ballet dancers Dan Harrison and Genevieve Heron dance fleetingly on the building’s forecourt, transforming the outside space into an immersive stage.

The public can bring the dancers to life using their smartphones. By scanning the QR codes that feature on the designs, visitors can see the dancers turn and jump before their very eyes.  

This AR experience is part of the RAD’s flagship event The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition which comes to London 1-8 September. It brings together the finest young dancers from around the globe for a week of dance at RAD’s headquarters and culminates in an exciting final at His Majesty’s Theatre in the West End of London on September 8. 

Commenting on the installation, Alexander Campbell Artistic Director of the RAD said: “As part of The Fonteyn celebrations we wanted visitors and passers-by to have the opportunity to engage with the art form of ballet in a new and exciting way. For viewers, the augmented reality graphics create the illusion that dancers are moving in front them – it feels as though they are dancing in the same space that you’re standing. I have enjoyed watching this come to life and I hope that as many people as possible will come and visit us at our beautiful HQ, to enjoy this experience!”

This experience is not only an example of inventive design use of the RAD headquarters exterior, it also shows the contrast of combining a traditional art form with modern digital technology and how together, the two can attract new audiences to the world of dance.  

The installation is available to view from today until 15 September.  

If you would like to watch the potential ballet stars of the future compete at The Fonteyn final on September 8, book your tickets here: The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition 2024 Tickets | His Majesty's Theatre (lwtheatres.co.uk)