In 2008, two of the Academy’s prestigious competitions will be taking place. With four heats across the country and a final at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London, the Fonteyn Nureyev Young Dancers Competition will be sure to get Britain’s youth dancing. For confirmed heat dates, keep checking the Fonteyn Nureyev Young Dancers Competition website. Also, the Genée International Ballet Competition will be held in Toronto, Canada between 14-23 August 2008.  

The government is striving to increase music making in England’s primary schools. There is £30m of new funding for singing and £40m for new instruments, as part of a £332m three-year investment. Supporting the campaign is pop artist Jamelia, who is launching Sing-up, a campaign to bring singing into the school curriculum. Do you feel the same needs to be done for dance? Join the debate at Ballet Back chat!

Showcase your work on a professional stage and compete for a bursary at the Blueprint 2008 Festival. East London Dance and Blueprint are looking for young up-and-coming choreographers aged 16-26 years to perform their choreographed work at Stratford Circus on Friday 7 & Saturday 8 March 2008. Blueprint have also teamed up with London Youth Dance to offer a Blueprint bursary to one lucky recipient to include support from a mentor, allocated free space, training sessions funding, marketing advice and an additional performance opportunity at Lillian Baylis Theatre, Sadler’s Wells. Applications must be received by 2pm on Friday 14 December.

Are you aware of the new Diploma in Creative and Media? The Diploma for 14-19 year olds covers a rich range of disciplines including film, TV, fashion and dance. Our PGCE 2007-2008 graduates will be the first generation of teachers to teach the dance units. If you plan on taking the Diploma following its introduction in September 2008, you can use your Graded and Vocational Graded examinations as points towards your overall qualification. Find out more about the Diploma in Creative and Media.

Royal Academy of Dance Enterprises want to make shopping simple. With free standard delivery to any UK address on orders of £15 or over from our gift section, you won’t even need to leave the comfort of your home. Just enter code GIF07 at the point of checkout. Start shopping…