Royal Ballet School and Dansez Combine Their Innovations
When the Royal Ballet School recently launched their new Affiliate Training and Assessment programme we were so pleased that they wanted Dansez to design and make a dedicated set of dance clothes for the students of the recreational dance training programme.
This new programme is a unique approach to the training of young dancers, firmly rooted in the School’s values that takes a holistic approach to the learning of dance. It is based on providing high quality training rather than focusing on student examination. Students at all levels will learn ballet technique, repertoire, choreography and appreciation so they are able to understand and appreciate the art form as a whole.
The Affiliate programme recognises a teachers expertise, offers a flexible delivery structure within their own school and allows them to conduct their own student assessments. It empowers teachers as practitioners, giving them the responsibility for guiding and assessing their own students’ learning.
What better way to compliment this new innovation in teaching than wearing dance clothes that have also revolutionised the dance world. Dansez was the first UK manufacturer that recognised the need to offer sustainable dance clothes that would make a difference to the landfill problem and also help support the removal of harmful plastic waste polluting our oceans. Now, through the Affiliate programme, teachers and their students are making a difference. Every time they buy their new infinitely recyclable Affiliates Uniform it means less waste and it is also a contribution to the Healthy Seas Initiative that dansez supports.
Classical ballet enriches lives in so many ways, and recreational training is the start of that journey. I'm delighted to see the advent of this innovative programme, which will widen access to ballet training and foster an understanding and appreciation for ballet as an art form in young people across the world.
Carlos Acosta, Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet
