Conservatoire for Dance and Drama (CDD)

The Conservatoire comprises eight specialist schools delivering world-leading education and vocational training in the performing arts. We train the performing artists and production professionals of the future: actors, circus artists, dancers, stage managers, technical theatre practitioners, choreographers and directors. Within the Conservatoire there is a balance between the art forms of dance and drama, classical and contemporary styles, as well as the only provision for circus arts within higher education. Internationally renowned centres of training, our schools are also creative laboratories: we bring in national and international artists to work with our students and support emerging writers, directors and choreographers in creating and showcasing new work. Ranked the UK’s No 1 performing arts conservatoire for student satisfaction in the 2015 National Student Survey, students at our schools value the immersive experience of conservatoire training and its unparalleled access to the performing arts industries. Each school has an established record of training its students to a professional standard, with excellent employment rates in the fields of dance, drama or circus. Together, we provide a pipeline of expertly-trained performing arts professionals working in the UK’s lucrative creative industries and helping to build the UK’s international reputation.