Royal Academy of Dance welcomes ‘brilliant student’ the Queen for visit

The Royal Academy of Dance welcomed its “brilliant student” the Queen for a visit on Wednesday where she was shown street dance and ballet by performers aged 13 to 94.

The Queen was shown around the dance academy by president and former Strictly Come Dancing judge Dame Darcey Bussell.

Camilla regularly takes part with her friends in the academy’s Silver Swans classes – which aim to improve posture and co-ordination and fight against osteoporosis for over-55s.

The Queen chats to Dame Darcey Bussell at the Royal Academy of Dance (Yui Mok/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Yui Mok

Her teacher, Sarah Platt, said the Queen had been taking part since 2017: “She’s a brilliant student. She listens, she focuses, she concentrates and she gives it her all.”

The Queen hugged Ms Platt as they reunited before watching a class alongside fellow Silver Swans participant and broadcaster Angela Rippon.

Meeting the oldest performer, who had just turned 94, the Queen told her: “It’s obviously what’s kept you so young. We must all do it.”

The Queen, who took over as patron of the dance academy after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, also watched a Fireflies ballet class – which aims to provide a supportive environment for those effected by cancer.

Camilla with her dance teacher, Sarah Platt (Yui Mok/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Yui Mok

The Queen, who recently spoke about the difficulty of keeping the King’s cancer diagnosis a secret, told the dancers: “I’m sure it’s a great help. It’s fantastic what a bit of music and dance does.”

The Queen added: “It’s absolutely the best thing.”

Dancer Natalie Hall, who founded Fireflies after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019, said it was emotional to choreograph the performance for the Queen.

She said: “She was asking about what it meant to them and how it can help with the side effects of cancer.”

The academy offers programmes that support older dancers and people affected by cancer (Yui Mok/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Yui Mok

The Queen, who has described herself as one of Strictly’s “greatest fans”, kissed Dame Darcey on both cheeks as she arrived at the academy in west London and remarked on how the building had changed since she opened it in 2022.

Camilla, wearing a navy dress with white polka dots, was greeted by students of the academy before watching a street dance session to Michael Jackson’s Jam.

The Step Into Dance sessions provide free dance lessons for young people in London and Essex who may not otherwise get the opportunity to get into dancing but the boys, aged between 13 and 16, had only had half an hour to practise their dance for the Queen.

The Queen also watched a tutoring session for 19-year-old ballet dancer Shani Moran.

The Queen watching a ballet performance (Yui Mok/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Yui Mok

Miss Moran, from Birmingham, said she has been dancing since she was four and dancing for the Queen was “an amazing honour”.

She said she did not feel too nervous: “Being a dancer you are used to pressure and performing for crowds where you don’t know who’s there.”

At the end of her visit Camilla presented the academy’s Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award to ballet choreographer Christopher Wheeldon.

Mr Wheeldon, born in Yeovil, Somerset, has won a Tony Award for musical An American In Paris and an Olivier Award for his work on the Broadway and West End Michael Jackson musical.

Dancers performing for the Queen (Yui Mok/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Yui Mok

He also choreographed Dame Darcey’s “spirit of the flame” performance at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony.

Dame Darcey said: “He has shown how ballet can honour it’s heritage while embracing the contemporary.”

The academy, formed in 1920, has 1,000 students enrolled in more than 80 countries and more than 200,000 people take examinations based on its syllabus each year.