Tania Gordilho from Brazil explains how the work of the RAD has moved with the times and her best experiences as a teacher.

Do you feel that the work of the RAD has moved with the times? 

My ballet school, Ballet Bahiano de Tenis, was founded in 1976 and I have always used the Royal Academy of Dance syllabi. The RAD is excellent and comes close to perfection in terms of teaching and learning ballet. I am very proud to have been an RAD Member for more than 40 years and to have had the chance to gain the skills to learn, to teach and to pass on knowledge to my pupils and teachers in my ballet school. 

The Royal Academy of Dance has been able to evolve with the times and has created a unique method where the syllabi can reach all levels and all ages, from children to teenagers and adults. The essence of the RAD method on classical ballet technique focusses on quality, placement, alignment and turn-out. It also develops skills on flowing movements where musicality and artistic expression can be influenced by each dancer’s feeling. 

I am very happy and honored to have been part of the Royal Academy of Dance for more than 40 years. 

Can you tell us about your best experiences as a teacher?

In 1966 at the age of 15, I went to London with Mr. Claude Newman, an RAD Registered Teacher. There I participated in my first Royal Academy of Dance course taught by Mrs Archibald. I was the youngest aspiring teacher in that course. 

When I came back to Brazil, I started teaching and entered my first group for the Primary exam where all my little ballet dancers achieved the maximum grade: Honours. Throughout the years, I would become more amazed and I would keep on falling in love with my role as a ballet teacher. I would add passion to all my movements, inspiring my pupils and making them fall in love with the art of ballet. They would feel my heart beat.     

I’ve always attended all the courses and competitions that RAD promoted. In 1995 during a winter course that was held here and directed by Lynn Wallis, my daughter Fabiana Gordilho won a scholarship to represent Brazil in the 75^th Anniversary of the Royal Academy of Dance. She got the chance to attend a summer course in Tring Park in London in which Ms. Tina Stuart and Ms. Marly Apoliano were part of the examiners committee. Fabiana also won the Phyllis Bedells Bursary. 

I have taken my pupils to many ballet competitions. I have always been proud of the results they achieved thanks to the RAD method and their daily hard work. Some of my pupils entered the Genée International Ballet Competition and went to the finals. Some of them won scholarships to join renowned schools such as The Paris Opera Ballet School, the Royal Ballet School in London, Ballet schools in Vienna, Leipzig and Dusseldorf. As professional dancers, I had pupils working for the Royal Ballet Company, Centre Chorégraphique National - Ballet de Lorraine in France, Nacho Duato’s company in Spain, Ballett Zurich, the Chilean National Ballet and the Companhia Nacional de Bailado in Portugal.

Matéria original: https://www.rad.org.uk/more/life-members/interviews/copy2_of_carole-speirs