Rambert Grades Meets Aspiring Dancers of China at Global Dance Open
In late January, Hannah Kidd, Head of Education and Examinations at Rambert Grades, represented both Rambert Grades and Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance at the Global Dance Open (GDO) Semi-Finals for China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan, held in Shanghai.
Hannah was invited to join the judging panel for the competition, which brought together outstanding young dancers from across the region. Established in 2020, the Global Dance Open is a rapidly expanding international dance competition that provides a global platform for dancers, choreographers, teachers and studios to share their skills, creativity and dedication to dance.
Alongside her role on the panel, Hannah delivered a Contemporary Dance workshop to GDO finalists. Working with 20 dancers aged 6-16, participants had the opportunity to experience the Rambert Grades Technical Strand, developing and refining their approach to contemporary technique, movement quality and performance skills.
In the second part of the session, dancers explored the Performance Strand, learning the Grade 5 'Swan Lake' solo by Matthew Bourne. This gave participants insight into Rambert Grades’ approach to professional repertoire, characterization and storytelling, which connects studios across the world to the professional stage.
Reflecting on the experience, Hannah said: “We received an incredibly warm welcome to China and immensely enjoyed its vibrancy and culture. It was a privilege to work with such talented young dancers and to represent Rambert Grades in Shanghai.
We are delighted to see growing interest in our syllabus from dance educators in China, and to have recently welcomed a number of new members from the region. We look forward to continuing to build our presence and support contemporary dance education across Asia.”
The Rambert Grades team looks forwards to seeing the nominees at the Global Dance Open Finals in San Sebastian, Spain in July 2026 where dancers from across the globe will come together to perform.
Participation at Global Dance Open represents an important moment in Rambert Grades’ ongoing international development. As contemporary dance continues to grow across China and the wider region, this visit reflects a shared ambition to support young dancers with high-quality, industry-informed training. Rambert Grades remains committed to building meaningful connections with dancers and educators worldwide and to nurturing the next generation of contemporary artists through accessible, progressive dance education.
