Alex Campbell new RAD Artistic Director

Alexander Campbell, a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London, has been appointed as the Royal Academy of Dance's new Artistic Director. Alexander will begin his tenure in April 2024, succeeding the RAD’s previous Artistic Director Gerard Charles, who retired last year, Alexander comes to the RAD after over a decade at the Royal Ballet.

Born in Sydney, Campbell trained locally at Academy Ballet. He has longstanding connections with the RAD, completing all RAD examinations up to Advanced 2 and winning a silver medal at the 2003 Genée International Ballet Competition (now The Fonteyn) which was held in Birmingham. Through this experience Campbell was introduced to Birmingham Royal Ballet, the company he joined upon graduating from the Royal Ballet School in 2005. In 2011 he joined the Royal Ballet as a Soloist; promoted to First Soloist in 2012 and Principal in 2016.

As well as having an exceedingly successful career as a professional ballet dancer, Campbell runs a production company called Alexander Campbell Productions which has spearheaded projects for theatre and dance including Sleepwalker, featuring the differently-abled dancer Joseph Powell-Main, and The Limit in association with the Royal Ballet for which he provided the original dance concept and performed in at the Linbury Theatre with fellow Royal Ballet Principal Francesca Hayward.

Campbell has considerable experience as an advocate for dance. With a father who was an Australian cricket official, Campbell has regularly appeared as a guest speaker on cricket programs, and been an advisor to the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) training programs. In 2017 he was appointed an ambassador for the Royal Academy of Dance and Marylebone Cricket Club joint project to encourage more boys to take up ballet and more girls to take up cricket.

Speaking of the news, Campbell says: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Royal Academy of Dance and feel privileged to have been offered the role of Artistic Director. The RAD was formative in my training and I believe has the power to shape how people interact with ballet and dance. I am motivated and excited to play a part in how we develop and offer these exceptional and positive interactions, not only for our current and future members and students but also for society in general. I have been fortunate to enjoy a wonderful career performing with the Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet with experiences and friendships I will cherish for a lifetime. My thanks to [Artistic Director] Kevin O’Hare for supporting me in this next step in my career and I can’t wait to get started.”

Campbell’s last performances with the Royal Ballet will be as Des Grieux in Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon on March 2 and 8.

For an earlier interview with Alexander Campbell, go here.