Twenty-four young dancers took part in The Bedells Bursary 2024 dance competition, which took place in November 2024, at the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD)’s HQ in London. The bursary is a pathway to the RAD’s flagship event, The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition, which represents the pinnacle of achievement for young people trained in the RAD syllabus and will be held in São Paulo, Brazil, from 11 – 19 October 2025.
Bursary candidates were judged by Dame Monica Mason and Ashley Page OBE on a non-syllabus ballet class, a classical variation and a Dancer’s Own variation choreographed by themselves. In addition, a masterclass and Bedells Bursary class were taught by RAD Artistic Director Alexander Campbell.
The winners of The Bedells Bursary 2024 were: Lucy Crawford, a British dancer aged 15 from Elmhurst Ballet School, who won the main prize of €1,000; Caitlin Le Roux, a British dancer aged 16 from Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, who won the Choreographic Award for her piece Running from Time; and Mia Ward, a British dancer aged 15 from Mayhew School of Dance, who won the inaugural Musicality Award.
Here, Dance Informa speaks with those young dancers about their experience competing at The Bedells Bursary, their plans for their winnings and more.
Congratulations on your win at The Bedells Bursary 2024! How exciting. Can you tell us what you performed (your variation and a bit about the piece you choreographed)?
Mia Ward, Northampton, Mayhew School of Dance, winner of inaugural Musicality Award
“I performed the Princess Florine (Bluebird) variation which is the first variation I ever learnt at a summer intensive when I was younger, so it was special to revisit it again but in more detail this time. For my Dancer’s Own variation, I choreographed a piece inspired by Artificial Intelligence because it is a controversial issue in our society at the moment. I haven’t choreographed much before, so with some encouragement from my dance teacher, I gave it a go and managed to create a piece I was proud of and confident enough to perform in front of a live audience at The Bedell’s Bursary.”
Caitlin Le Roux, Milton Keynes, training at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, winner of Choreographic Award
“I performed Swan Lake Pas de Trois, and my own piece was called ‘Running from Time’. The experience was really exciting and such a great opportunity to perform at the RAD HQ. My choreography was inspired by the music with the background having the resemblance of a clock and it felt like time was catching up with me. The movements came from the different highs and lows as well as silences that I felt and I tried to resemble these with my body and steps, creating different shapes.”
Lucy Louise Crawford, currently in year 11 at Elmhurst Ballet School, overall winner of The Bedells Bursary
“During the Bedell’s competition, I performed the Swan Lake Pas de Trois variation, which I worked on during my classes at school and also I created my own solo called ‘Contemplation’, which I created with my Grandad in mind. Grandad loved watching me dance and I’m sure would have been very proud of me.”
How does it feel to compete with so many other talented young dancers? Do you get nervous? Do you have any words of affirmation or rituals you do before the competition?
Le Roux
“It has been so inspiring to watch other dancers performing not only the repertoires but also to see where others get their inspiration in their Dancer’s Own piece. I usually only get nervous about two minutes before I go on stage where I have to take a deep breath and get into the ‘zone’. Once I am on stage, then I am just focusing on the performance and music and feeling where the piece is taking me.”
Crawford
“Taking part in the Bedells and meeting so many amazing and talented dancers was such a pleasure. Everyone was so lovely, and I feel I’ve met some new like-minded friends I hope to share more memories with them in the future. Everyone performed and danced so very well.
I was quite nervous, but I managed to take some deep breaths and enjoy the lovely atmosphere, whilst enjoying every part of the experience. I always tell myself to stay positive, ground myself and tell myself, ‘I can do this.’ My mum tells me to think positive thoughts and positive things will happen. Once I start to dance, any nerves seem to disappear and I lose myself in the music and just enjoy the moments.”
Ward
“I absolutely loved my experience at Bedells Bursary, and I met so many talented dancers from all over the world. I was nervous to begin with, but everyone at the RAD was so lovely that I felt at ease straightaway. Before a competition, I always do a long stretch class, go to bed early and eat a big bowl of porridge in the morning. I am quite superstitious so try to wear the same lucky leotard and earrings if I can!”
How did it feel to find out you were a winner?
Crawford
“When I heard that I was the winner of The Bedells Bursary 2024, I was absolutely thrilled and I really don’t think I stopped smiling for the rest of the day and all the way back to Elmhurst! It still makes me smile thinking about that amazing moment now.”
Ward
“I was so shocked when I found out I had won the first ever Musicality Award, especially to be picked by Dame Monica Mason and Ashley Page OBE. It was so special to have the chance to talk to them both afterwards and listen to their words of encouragement whilst having photos taken.”
Le Roux
“It was a complete shock to me that I had won the Choreographic Award, and I was so proud of myself for what I had achieved. It was such a great feeling that all the time and hard work I had put into it had paid off. It was amazing to showcase not only my repertoire but also my own work to an audience and such inspiring judges as Ashley Page and Monica Mason.”
What will you do with your winnings?
Ward
“I am auditioning for Upper Schools at the moment, so the money will be put towards that.”
Le Roux
“I have always wanted to go to Prague to attend International Ballet Seminars, and so I will be putting my winnings towards this to attend in summer 2025.”
Crawford
“I have decided to use my prize money to help me achieve my Advanced 2 RAD examination, and then I hope to apply for The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition as soon as I am able to.”
Will you be heading to The Fonteyn next year? What do you want to work on, or what are some of your goals between now and then?
Le Roux
“I would love to be able to have the opportunity to take part in The Fonteyn next year, and it really would be a dream come true to compete in this prestigious ballet competition. Some of my goals between then and now is to increase my artistic development through my work and fine tune all the detailing of my technical work.”
Ward
“I definitely want to enter The Fonteyn in the future once I have taken my Advanced 2 soon. Another aspiration of mine is to complete my training with the RAD by working towards achieving the Solo Seal.”
Crawford
“I watched it this year, and it was so inspiring for me and something I would love to take part in. I am currently working hard on Advanced 2 and also starting to audition for upper schools for September 2025 entry.”
Is there anything else you want to add about your experience at The Bedells Bursary?
Ward
“When I was 13, I entered the RAD Dance Challenge and got to watch The Bedells Bursary. I loved it, and from that moment, it was always an ambition of mine to enter, so it really was amazing to actually participate in it. I learnt a lot from the competition, from the valuable coaching sessions on my solos to the inspirational masterclasses with Alexander Campbell. I felt myself grow into a more confident dancer after the competition, and I feel it has inspired me to explore things such as my own choreography in the future.”
Le Roux
“It was really great to have a two-day experience at The Bedells. Coming in on the Saturday to prepare, feel the space and meet all of the other competitors helped me to feel at ease. To be able to practice on the stage prior to the event really was helpful, and we could feel the flooring and practice our turns, for example. To space the dances out was also really good. I have made so many new friends through this competition, and it would be lovely to see them all again at future competitions.”
Crawford
“The Bedells Bursary is an amazing opportunity, one I would highly recommend to other dancers. It’s so friendly and very well organised. I certainly loved every part of the two days. Thank you to everyone at the RAD and to the amazing judges Dame Monica Mason DBE, Ashley Page OBE and Alexander Campbell Artistic Director of the RAD for making my experience so very special. It was so special speaking with them and listening to their comments and advice.”
By Laura Di Orio of Dance Informa.
