The Royal Academy of Dance was established in 1920 by five exceptional European dancers: Adeline Gen?e (Danish), Tamara Karsavina (Russian), Lucia Cormani (Italian), Edouard Espinosa (French), and Phyllis Bedells (English). They each believed standards needed to be raised if the art of teaching dance was to continue to pass from one generation to the next. As a result, they formed the Association of Teachers of Operatic Dancing - the organization that was to become the Royal Academy of Dance. Over the next decade, the Association grew in size as well as influence, and in 1936 at the last Privy Council Meeting of King George V, the Association was granted a Royal Charter and became the Royal Academy of Dancing. Today, the Royal Academy of Dance is one of the largest and most influential dance education and training organizations in the world. The Academy's patron is HM Queen Elizabeth II, and its influence has spread to 82 countries, with over 15,500 members. There are currently 1,200 students in full-time or part-time teacher training programs with the Academy and each year, the examination syllabus is taught to more than 250,000 students world-wide. The Academy maintains close links with all those involved in the industry, at every level — from the internationally recognized Faculty of Education degree programmes to those younger students participating in our summer schools.