Why Dance Matters

• Alexander Campbell on becoming RAD's Artistic Director

  Alexander Campbell has been Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dance for just over a year. Formerly a gleaming principal with the Royal Ballet, the Australian-born dancer is no stranger to the RAD. His grandmother was an RAD examiner, so he took the RAD exams and won medals in its major competitions. Stepping off stage and into the office must have seemed like a natural move – or did it? How easy is it for a dancer to leave their all-consuming dance routine? In a changing dance landscape, how might the RAD develop? And why does dance matter to Alexander?Alexander Campbell was born in Sydney, moving to the UK to train at the Royal Ballet School. In 2003 he won the silver medal at the Genée International Ballet Competition and was a Prix de Lausanne finalist. He joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2005, and moved to the Royal Ballet in 2011, becoming a Principal in 2016. He left the Royal Ballet and became Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dance in 2024.Why Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• S10 E15: Lewis Walker

  Lewis Walker is a former world champion gymnast and now a dancer. We often talk about dance as a short career, one which embeds a very binary approach, and in which partnering is a question of intense trust – well, all this is even more true of gymnastics. Lewis discovered the sport at six, reached its peak – but also realised there was more to explore, more to express. Their side-shimmy into dance has led to collaborations in music, fashion and choreography. Their new work, Bornsick was co-commissioned by the Serpentine Gallery and travels to the Edinburgh Art Festival this summer.Lewis Walker is a London-born queer, non-binary movement artist. A former Great Britain gymnast and Acrobatic Gymnastics World Champion, they trained from age 6 to 21 before earning a degree in Contemporary Dance. Their work spans theatre, film, fashion, music, and the commercial sector. Walker continues to choreograph gymnastics competition routines for the Great Britain, Italian and French national teams. Their creative vision and dynamic movement style have led to collaborations with Tim Walker, Yorgos Lanthimos, ANOHNI, Tirzah, BULLYACHE, Burberry, UNTITLAB, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA).Beyond performance, Walker is dedicated to teaching movement as a tool for accessing deeper states of consciousness and developing a deeper understanding of consensual touch. Their Connecting to Improv workshop explores dance improvisation as a ritual of shared energy and expression, while MOVE HYPNO, a collaboration with hypnotherapist Michele Occelli, blends movement and hypnotherapy for personal transformation.Walker is currently a Studio Wayne McGregor RESIDENT 6 artist-in-residence.Lewis Walker’s website https://www.lewiswalker.uk/Why Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• S10 E14: Kim Brandstrup

  Kim Brandstrup is a Danish born choreographer whose latest project, Breaking Bach, unites him with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Kim often works with leading classical companies, but in Breaking Bach he directs street dancers, some with no previous stage experience. What will they all find in Bach’s exacting rhythms? Kim took an unusual route into choreography – he initially trained in film, before finding that dance was the perfect medium for his narrative impulse. His recent rich, elegant ballets draw on Hans Christian Andersen and timeless Greek myths.Kim Brandstrup studied film at the University of Copenhagen and choreography at London School of Contemporary Dance. He founded his dance company Arc in 1985, forging a narrative style that owes more to his early cinematic training than to classical story ballet or contemporary dance. His has been commissioned by international companies including the Royal Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and the Royal Danish Ballet. Throughout his career he has sought a theatre of movement that is both powerful and subtle, creating poignant and suggestive narratives that are intensely human and emotionally revealing.Kim Brandstrup’s website https://kimbrandstrup.org/Breaking Bach at the Edinburgh Festival https://www.eif.co.uk/events/breaking-bachWhy Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• S10 E13: Shelley Yacopetti

  It’s the 90th anniversary of the RAD in Australia, so we are speaking to Shelley Yacopetti, the RAD’s National Director in Australia. Not all the national directors come from a dance background – but Shelley emphatically does: as a performer, teacher, leader. She has been involved with the RAD in Australia for over a decade, taking several roles before becoming National Director. Shelley is also helping shape the conversation around the direction of travel in dance teaching – thinking hard about safeguarding, and how dance can be more accessible and reflect the wider world. Shelley Yacopetti has over 30 years’ experience in the dance industry in multiple roles, including performing artist, academic lecturer, dance educator, arts manager and executive. She trained at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), completing a Diploma of Performing Arts and later a Bachelor of Arts. Shelley performed with Tasdance, Fieldworks Performance Group and ID339, and taught at WAAPA and on RAD Faculty of Education Postgraduate teacher training programmes. Shelley joined the RAD in 2013, and is currently the National Director, Australia. 90 Stories Across 90 Years https://www.royalacademyofdance.org/en-au/news-and-facts/celebrating-90-years-of-the-rad-in-australia-2/Why Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• S10 E12: Fabian Aloise

  We go inside a London theatre phenomenon with Fabian Aloise, the choreographer whose latest show has made headlines around the world. Every night, Rachel Zegler, playing Evita in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, comes out onto the balcony at the London Palladium and sings Don’t Cry for Me Argentina to an excited crowd: a unique moment of London magic. Fabian works with director Jamie Lloyd on starry, groundbreaking productions: before Evita, they worked with Hayley Atwell and Tom Hiddleston on Much Ado About Nothing and Nicole Scherzinger on the award-winning Sunset Blvd. Fabian’s work is muscly, characterful, properly theatrical. How does he do it? Fabian Aloise's choreography has been critically acclaimed and garnered, among others, two Olivier Award nominations for best theatre choreographer, WhatsOnStage Award for best choreography, Stage Debut Award for best creative West End debut and the Off West End “OFFIE” award. Born in Canada to proud immigrant parents, Fabian trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance at the Victorian College of the Arts in Australia. His career spans Australia, Europe, the United States, Asia and London's West End. His choreography can currently be seen in Evita (London Palladium) for the Jamie Lloyd Company. Fabian’s website https://www.fabianaloise.com/Evita https://evitathemusical.com/Why Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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