Dr Susan (Susie) Cooper obituary
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dr Susan (Susie) Cooper on 13th December 2024 after a brief illness.
Students, RAD staff and teachers will remember Susie with much fondness. Always adopting a positive view on life, she brought humour and fun to all that she was involved with. As a teacher, she was supportive and encouraging to the many, many students she taught over the years. She had a wonderful way of nurturing self-belief in students while at the same time setting high standards both of herself and others. As a colleague, Susie was equally supportive of her peers, but would also be very forthright in arguing for the principles which guided her professional and spiritual beliefs and values.
Having trained at the Royal Ballet School (1960 – 1966), Susie danced with Ballet Rambert (1969 – 1974) and Scottish Ballet as a dancer and choreographer (1976 – 1981). In 1981 she graduated from the RAD’s Professional Dancers’ Teaching Certificate.
Susie was involved with the RAD for over 40 years as a teacher, choreographer, creator and consultant. She joined the College of the Royal Academy of Dance in 1983 as a teacher and Director of the annual Workshop performances, collaborating in the latter years with Central St Martins. Susie was instrumental in the creation of the RAD’s Higher Grades and was a highly respected teacher and tutor for the Faculty of Education and the RAD both in the UK and internationally. In 2024 she was awarded the FRAD, the highest honour the RAD can give in recognition of her outstanding service to both the RAD and the art of ballet.
As well as being a well-loved teacher, Susie was a respected scholar and author, gaining her PhD in 2005 which focussed on the ballets of Norman Morrice, a close colleague. Her publications include Staging Dance (1988), many articles for the RAD’s Dance Gazette and Classists Eye, Innovators Urge: the ballets of Liam Scarlett for the Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Ballet (2021).
Susie established and was Head of the BA (Hons) Professional Dance and Musical Theatre degree at Urdang (2007 – 2016) as well as being Choreography tutor for the Royal Ballet School, White Lodge (1999 – 2020). In addition, Susie acted as External Examiner for several higher and professional education institutions.
Susie’s continued support and advocacy of the RAD was unwavering. She will be sorely missed but leaves many fond memories as a person who loved dance and as a wonderfully supportive colleague and friend.
Dr. Michelle Groves, Director of Education at Royal Academy of Dance
