Memorandum submitted by Dance UK
Dance UK is a national strategic development
agency working with and on behalf of the dance profession across
all forms of dance and embracing the commercial and the subsidised
sectors.
Dance UK is a membership organisation and currently
has 946 individual members and 150 corporate members, which include
the majority of key dance organisations and companies in the country.
Dance UK works to create a diverse, dynamic and healthy future
for dance through:
— Communication and advocacy on behalf
of the dance profession;
— Promoting healthier dance practice
amongst dancers;
— Providing professional development
opportunities to build capacity within the dance sector;
— Supporting African Peoples' Dance
through its strategic alliance with the Association of Dance of
the African Diaspora (ADAD).
Dance UK's work is supported by a wide variety
of funders, including core funding from Arts Council England,
and further support from Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Equity,
Esmé Fairbairn Foundation, European Social Fund through
the Creative Renewal Programme, Jerwood Charitable Foundation,
Mackintosh Foundation.
We welcome the Select Committee's interest in
dance and the opportunity this Inquiry gives dance to demonstrate
its contribution to the economic, social and cultural life of
Britain.
Dance UK represents dance across the UK and
we work with other similar bodies in the home countries. However,
given the focus of the Committee's Inquiry, this document concentrates
on the situation in England.
The evidence presented here draws upon available
information and statistics, as well as feedback from the dance
sector.
DANCE: AN
OVERVIEW
The current dance landscape is diverse, embracing
traditional and contemporary forms including: ballet, Western
contemporary dance, African and African Caribbean derived forms,
South Asian classical dance styles, hip hop and other street dance,
and social dance.
People engage with dance in many different ways:
as a theatrical art form, as a recreational activity, as part
of their education or self-development, as an expression of culture
or community, as a form of exercise, and as a career.
As an art form, dance is unique in its expression
through the human body. Dance's appeal lies in its innovation,
its collaborative nature, its human scale and its direct communication
without the use of language. Dance is constantly finding new ways
of engaging with the public, eg through the fusing of different
forms, residencies, performances in public spaces and site-specific
pieces, dance film and video, and new technology collaborations.
Dance is also a highly participatory art form, a form of physical
activity that combines the mind, body and emotions in a connected
and creative way.
It is only through this thriving and expanding
dance art form, and the artists that work within in it, that the
benefits dance offers in terms of health, social inclusion and
education derive.
THE DANCE
ECONOMY
Audiences and Participation
— Audiences for dance are growing.
For the period between 1995-96 and 1999-2000, dance audiences
grew by 29%. Partly due to the increased availability and diversity
of dance in this period, increased attendance shows a receptive
audience to support expansion of dance activity. (Source: Siddall,
J. (2003). Country profile: Dance in England. London: Arts Council
England)
— Dance is not an elitist art form.
Dance events are better attended by those from lower socio-economic
groups than drama, musicals, opera or the visual arts; dance is
effective in attracting young audiences and first-time attenders;
attendance at dance events from Asian, black, Chinese and mixed
ethnicity groups is proportionally higher than that for those
who are white. (Source: Arts Council England (2002). Arts in England:
attendance, participation and attitudes in 2001; Arts Council
England (2003) Focus on cultural diversity: the arts in England:
attendance, participation and attitudes)
— Ticket revenues for dance in 1999
stood at £20.7 million. This does not include dance's contribution
to musicals, with ticket revenues of £200.8 million, or to
opera and music theatre, with ticket revenues of £19.9 million.
(Source: DCMS (2001) Creative Industries Mapping Document 2001)
— Dance is a popular participatory
art form. In 2001, 8% of people had participated in some form
of dance activity (other than clubbing or fitness activities such
as aerobics), with over 28% of these participating on a weekly
basis. (Source: Arts Council England (2002) Arts in England: attendance,
participation and attitudes in 2001)
CURRENT SITUATION
— Dance has a robust organisational
infrastructure. Within England, a number of national development
agencies for dance with different areas of focus, including culturally
specific remits, address national needs and take an overview of
the issues affecting their constituencies. They include Dance
UK, Association of Dance of the African Diaspora (ADAD), Foundation
for Community Dance, Council for Dance Education and Training,
National Dance Teachers Association and South Asian Dance Alliance.
A network of 9 National Dance Agencies provide regionally based
resources for creating, promoting and participating in dance,
and have a strategic role in moving the art form forward. In addition
there are a number of other agencies—often operating at
a local level—which provide opportunities for artists and
for the public to participate in dance activity while contributing
to local agendas and communities.
— In England 40 dance companies receive
regular funding from Arts Council England. Other dance companies
and individual artists receive funding on a project basis through
the Grants for the Arts scheme, with 378 Grants for the Arts awarded
to dance in 2003-04. Companies include: ballet companies, such
as The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National
Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre; contemporary companies, eg Rambert
Dance Company, Random Dance, Walker Dance Park Music; physical
theatre companies, eg DV8 physical theatre, Protein Dance; companies
working in culturally diverse forms, eg Akram Khan Company, Shobana
Jeyasingh Company, Kompany Malakhi; and companies working with
disabled artists, eg CandoCo. (Source: Arts Council England)
— A significant proportion of dance
activity takes place without financial support. This work is supported
by the passion and effort of the individual artists involved.
A sustained track record of un-subsidised work by emerging dance
companies and organisations can lead to funding of future endeavours.
— All subsidised dance companies tour
to different theatrical venues (with the exception of The Royal
Ballet). Dance companies generally lack a building base and dance's
distribution relies upon touring. Dance touring is challenging
for a number of reasons: dance is expensive to programme due to
the time needed in the venue and the number of people involved;
there can be a lack of understanding of the dance art form by
programmers of multi-art form venues whose background is not in
dance, and dance can be perceived as being risky to programme;
dance is often programmed for only one or two nights, making audience
development challenging. The range of venues to which dance tours
is limited to those with facilities and technical resources suitable
for dance.
— Dance in the community is an important
area of activity. Community dance work uses the physical creativity,
human scale and collaborative nature of dance to contribute to
wider agendas such as health, social inclusion and criminal justice
within diverse community settings and with people of all ages,
and with disabled and non-disabled people. The Foundation for
Community Dance, the national strategic development agency for
this area, estimated that in 2000 there were in the region of
73,000 opportunities to participate in community dance activities
each year, engaging over 4.7 million people. Arts Council England's
current Dance Included programme aims to provide evidence of the
effectiveness of such activity in different settings through the
evaluation of specific projects. (Source: Foundation for Community
Dance (2000) National mapping research project.)
— The physical infrastructure for dance
needs to be improved. The creation, teaching and development of
dance relies upon the provision of affordable studio space and
facilities. Dance has benefited from a range of new buildings
through Arts Council England's National Lottery Capital Programme
(eg the new Laban building, winner of the 2003 Stirling Prize,
Sadler's Wells Theatre) but more buildings for dance use are needed
throughout the UK. Dance requires properly heated, adequately
sized spaces with sprung floors that are well lit and ventilated,
to minimise injury and support creative practice.
— Owing to its non-linguistic nature,
dance can transcend geographical boundaries. Many dance companies
perform and tour overseas, representing the export of dance as
a cultural product. Dance also acts as an ambassador for Britain,
playing a cultural and diplomatic role, with the British Council
supporting dance performance and activity overseas. The dance
profession is highly geographically mobile with the innovation
of British dance artists being prized overseas and British-based
choreographers carving out international reputations. In addition,
the UK is a world leader in the provision of graded dance examinations
with a number of the teaching societies having an international
profile. The quality of British vocational training for dance
attracts international students and associated investment to the
UK. In addition, touring in the UK by international artists and
companies plays a part in stimulating artistic dialogue and stimulating
audiences.
— The UK is world leader in the promotion
of healthier dance practice. Dance UK's Healthier Dancer Programme
is regarded internationally as one of the most comprehensive programmes
for dancers' health in the world. The programme uses research
from dance and sports science to support the performance of elite
dancers and to promote fitness, well-being and health, and reduce
injury, amongst dance artists.
THE SUBSIDISED
DANCE SECTOR
— In 2003-04, the level of Arts Council
England funding for dance was a total of £33.5 million supporting
nearly 500 organisations, companies and individuals, with the
majority of support going to dance companies. (Source: Arts Council
England (2003) Dance Open Meeting)
— Dance activity is highly reliant
on public subsidy. However, the achievements and growth of the
art form makes dance a success story for public investment in
the arts through Arts Council England.
— Local authority subsidy for dance
is less than for other art forms. This is partly due to the relatively
limited number of building bases for dance companies, as well
as the concentration of dance artists in London. (Source: Arts
Council England (2002) A statistical survey of of regularly and
fixed term funded organisations)
— Charitable Trusts and Foundations
invest in dance activity, with the key contributors of financial
support being the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Esmee Fairbairn
Foundation, the Jerwood Charitable Foundation and the Paul Hamylin
Foundation.
— Commercial sponsorship for dance
is low. Dance finds it difficult to offer the high profile and
reciprocal opportunities that commercial sponsors require. In
2001-02, dance received just over £2 million pounds of business
investment, representing just 2% of overall business investment
in the arts, significantly lower than the other performing arts.
Notable examples of commercial sponsorship do occur, including
the sponsorship of The Place Prize by Bloomberg. (Source: Arts
& Business (2003) Business investment in the arts 2001-02)
— Earned income for dance is high compared
to other art forms. While Arts Council England subsidy for dance
is high, this is balanced by the contribution that earned income
provides to the sector. (In 2001-02, for regularly funded organisations,
earned income for attendance for dance was £13.20 compared
to an average of £7.84 across the arts, while subsidy per
attendance for dance was £14.80 compared to £7.58 across
the arts.) (Source: Arts Council England (2002) A statistical
survey of of regularly and fixed term funded organisations)
— The dance profession is entrepreneurial
in nature. Most subsidised dance companies are choreographer-led,
existing to support the creative objectives of entrepreneurial
artists. The sector also contains a large number of individual,
freelance dance artists who make their living through portfolio
careers which encompass a range of roles which may include performing,
teaching, community dance work and choreography. Recent developments
within dance management have challenged the lack of career progression
for dance managers, with individuals establishing themselves as
"independent dance managers" who oversee the work of
a number of artist clients, and the emerging role of the "dance
producer" in commissioning, developing and touring work.
— A significant proportion of dance
organisations are Registered Charities. Changes to the regulations
governing charities, such as those affecting VAT, therefore have
a widespread impact upon the sector.
— Dance is a collaborative art form
and public investment in dance is an investment in artists from
other forms. Dance productions may use live or especially composed
music, involve collaborations with visual, film or new technology
artists, and utilise the skills of costume, lighting and stage
designers. Dance activity also supports professionals in other
fields, including film-makers, photographers, publishers, critics
and academics.
THE COMMERCIAL
DANCE SECTOR
— Commercial dance productions are
highly popular. Examples include Riverdance, Matthew Bourne's
Swan Lake and Car Man, Umojo, Tap Dogs and Stomp.
— Dance contributes to the economy
through a wide range of commercial ventures. Choreographers and
dancers are employed in musical theatre and opera, and increasingly
dance-trained movement directors contribute to "straight"
drama productions. Dance can be seen in pop music videos and performances,
film, advertising, fashion and trade shows, and variety performances.
— Dance makes a significant contribution
to the UK tourist economy, eg through its input to West End productions.
— The subsidised dance sector feeds
the commercial sector. Artists who have developed their practice
or continue to work in the subsided sector creatively contribute
to the commercial sector, eg Matthew Bourne now choreographs commercial
dance works and choreographs for West End musicals; choreographer
Yolande Snaith runs her own subsidised company but choreographed
for Stanley Kubrick's film Eyes Wide Shut; Alex Reynolds performed
with the subsidised company The Cholmondeleys and now choreographs
for commercials and pop videos. Dance performers may work across
the subsidised and commercial sectors.
— There is very little investment from
the commercial sector back into the subsidised sector.
INDIVIDUAL ECONOMIC
PROSPECTS
— Salary levels within dance are low,
especially for dance performers. This combined with irregular
periods of employment leads to low levels of income for dance
artists. Only a small number of subsidised dance companies offer
52-week/year contracts to performers. Other dancers in the subsidised
sector work on contracts ranging from 9 to 42 weeks. Even highly
experienced dancers employed on a yearly basis can only expect
to receive a yearly salary in the region of £21,000 p.a.
A typical dancer's performing work (based on 20 weeks at £350
per week) would only provide an income from performance of £7,000.
Industry minimums are also low, with the ITC/Equity minimum rate
for performers being £302 per week. (Source: Gibson, R. (2003)
Research into payscales in dance. Dance UK/Foundation for Community
Dance)
— Opportunities for career development
in dance are limited in both artistic and management roles, and
performing careers in dance are short. To combat this, many organisations
in dance offer opportunities for continual professional and artistic
development to help sustain the careers of dance professionals,
build capacity within the dance sector and allow changes of role
within the dance industry. Alongside its own professional development
work, Dance UK's Healthier Dancer Programme works to ensure career
longevity for dancers through promoting health, fitness and well
being amongst dance professionals. The organisation Dancers Career
Development helps dancers "in transition" to retrain
for dance-related or non-dance professions at the end of their
performing careers. As stated above, an entrepreneurial attitude
amongst dance professionals also creates opportunities for career
development.
— The cost to the individual of being
a dance artist is high. Outside company structures, freelance
dance artists need to sustain their own dance practice and ensure
their employability through technique classes and workshops, managing
their own health and injury prevention/ management, by undertaking
their own professional development and by taking out appropriate
insurances. It is estimated that professional costs to an independent,
freelance dance artist can range between £7,500 and £8,300
per annum. (Source: Gibson, R. (2003) Research into payscales
in dance. Dance UK/Foundation for Community Dance)
— The dance industry is, by its nature,
dependent on people as a resource. This, combined with the low
income of dancers, means that changes to National Insurance, pensions
and taxation have a large impact, both on the sector in general
and upon the individuals working within dance.
EFFECTIVENESS OF
PUBLIC INVESTMENT
— Recent changes to arts funding through
Arts Council England have been unsettling to the dance sector.
Communication of the changes in structure and policies of the
new Arts Council England has not always been effective, and there
is concern amongst the dance community about the transparency
and objectivity of the process of assessing Grants for the Arts
applications and the inability of the central dance department
to use its national overview to strategically direct regional
funding. The streamlining of Arts Council England and its "light
touch" approach, while ensuring more money for artists and
allowing for a more adult relationship with funded companies,
limits the possibility of a close dialogue with funded organisations.
— The devolvement of funding decisions
to Arts Council Regional offices is problematic to dance as a
touring art form. While the majority of dance artists are based
in London, dance is a mobile art form in which dance works reach
regional audiences through touring. Regional devolvement of funding
has created an imbalance in the quality delivery of dance, as
it is harder for established, London based artists to gain adequate
funding (despite a large part of their activity taking place in
other parts of the UK through touring), but easier for those in
the regions to gain funding. It should be recognised that high
quality dance needs to be developed in the regions, but the central
role of London as a "powerhouse" for dance nationally
should also be acknowledged. The mobility of the art form also
makes it difficult for dance to benefit from regional devolvement
and specific regional agendas.
— In the past dance has benefited from
strategic Arts Council England initiatives. Examples include the
development of the regional infrastructure of National Dance Agencies,
the support of emergent community dance work and fellowships allowing
individual artists to take time for research and development and
refresh their practice. The new funding system based around regularly
funded organisations alongside an open application system, with
relatively small amounts of strategically managed funds, limits
the effectiveness and scope of strategic initiatives founded on
consultation with the sector and based on a national overview.
— The relatively fixed portfolio of
dance companies regularly funded by Arts Council England is seen
as creating a "glass ceiling" for emerging and developing
artists. The addition of two new regularly funded companies has
been recently announced—Akram Khan Company and Henri Oguike
Dance Company—but there has been no re-assessment of what
is essentially an established list. It is difficult for companies
funded on a project basis through Grants for the Arts to secure
sufficient resources to compete with the larger, more stable regularly
funded companies. The lack of flexibility in the system, means
that it is hard to accommodate emerging companies and the system
can be sluggish to respond to fast-developing talent and take
account of audience demand. More money needs to be invested in
rising companies and good projects to ensure that they are adequately
funded to allow them to thrive and succeed.
— New Arts Council England funding
criteria disempower dance artists. While the aims of Arts Council
England to produce the highest quality art for the widest range
of people are laudable, the support and development of the artist
is no longer seen as a central priority but only one in a list
of criteria.
— Supporting the creation of diverse
dance works for a range of audiences is a challenge for the funding
system. There is space for a broader range of styles of work created
for middle and large scale venues to bring new audiences to dance.
Arts Council England has identified the diversity of product at
the middle scale as a gap, but development of this area needs
to be balanced with support for artists to be better at what they
do at whatever scale they choose to make work for. In addition
to developing dance work, the funding system needs to give venues
more confidence in promoting dance. For example, alongside the
support of consortia and networks of venues for dance touring,
support could be given to venues to aid audience development and
marketing. Culturally diverse dance works should be supported
on the basis of its relevance to audiences and its aesthetic validity
and quality, with investment focused on the development of artists.
Balances also need to be identified between the investment in
the touring of home-grown dance and international companies, and
the support of heritage and new work.
— The statutory funding landscape is
becoming increasingly complicated. Recent cross departmental initiatives,
including collaborations between the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport, Arts Council England and the Department for Education
and Skills, have benefited the dance sector. However, the increasingly
complex landscape of statutory funding—including the development
of such initiatives as Regional Development Agencies, Creative
Partnerships, Learning and Skills Councils, a Sector Skills Council
for the creative industries—while presenting new opportunities,
is becoming harder to navigate for small dance organisations.
ENGAGEMENT WITH
YOUNG PEOPLE
Education
— Dance has a key place within state
education provision. Within the National Curriculum, dance is
a compulsory subject at Key Stages 1 and 2, and optional at Key
Stages 3 and 4. Dance as a subject resides within the PE curriculum.
GCSE and A level Performing Arts: Dance and other examination
courses are growing in popularity. Specialist Arts and Sports
Colleges include dance and many have made dance a priority area
for development, which has increased the demand for specialist
dance teachers. Specialist knowledge of dance within schools is
an issue for the sector both in quality and in consistency of
delivery. The majority of initial teacher training for dance resides
in PE based courses, and specialist dance teacher training is
limited to six courses, four of which are new. Professional dance
artists play a role in state education, often being brought in
to work with school groups. (Source: National Dance Teachers Association
(2004) Maximising opportunity: Policy paper 2004)
— There are approximately 5,000 private
dance teachers in the UK, affiliated to one or more of the teaching
organisations (eg Royal Academy of Dancing, ISTD, British Ballet
Organisation). They reach 350,000 young people at any point in
time, operating through local, independent dance studios. Graded
examinations in dance are taken by 200,000 young people each year
in dance techniques including ballet, tap, modern and South Asian
Dance forms. African Peoples' Dance forms are taught via private
dance teachers, but no formal framework for the teaching or accreditation
of these styles currently exists. (Source: Dance UK. (2002) Dance
Teaching Essentials/ADAD)
— Pre-vocational and vocational training
prepares young people for careers as dance artists. Four boarding
schools offer pre-vocational dance training, mainly in the field
of ballet, for 11-16 year olds. There are around 20 accredited
vocational courses which prepare students for an artistic career
in dance, usually taking students from 16+ and 18+. Training in
these schools focuses on Western theatrical dance forms. Only
one course, a new collaboration between the London School of Contemporary
Dance and the South Asian organisation Akademi, offers high level
vocational training provision that includes South Asian dance
forms. There is currently no recognised vocational training provision
for African Peoples' Dance forms. Vocational training is supported
through scholarships provided by the Department for Education
and Skills pre-18 and currently for some post-18, while degree-level
vocational training is also supported through HEFCE funding, delivered
through emerging conservatoire consortia.
— University undergraduate degree dance
courses often include practical dance elements, but do not constitute
vocational level training, and prepare students for a variety
of careers in dance and other sectors.
— Higher degrees in dance provide further
development for dance in a variety of areas, including performance,
choreography and dance science. Research degrees and post-doctoral
research encompass the idea of the artist as researcher, helping
to move the art form forward and increase understanding of its
processes.
Youth Dance
— Dance activity for young people is
diverse but fragmented. Youth dance activity exists in a number
of contexts, including youth dance groups and companies, after
school dance clubs, projects within dance agencies, activities
provided by local authorities, Creative Partnerships, sports initiatives,
professional dance companies and the work of individual dance
artists. This varied provision provides opportunities for young
people to participate in dance and promotes education, social
inclusion and pathways for progression to a performing career.
The fragmented nature of provision can mean that some professionals
working in the field are isolated, limits the opportunity for
continuing professional development for youth dance professionals,
and can make pathways of progression unclear. Youth Dance England,
was launched in 2004 to take a national role in the development
of youth dance, supported by Arts Council England and the Department
for Education and Skills Music and Dance scheme.
— Advanced Pre-vocational Training
for dance is being piloted in Leeds and London. Supported by the
Department for Education and Skills through the Music and Dance
Scheme, the programme will provide pre-vocational training in
a diverse range of dance forms to young people without the need
for them to move away from home and study at a boarding school.
It is intended that the programme will be rolled out to further
regional centres over the next 10 years.
FUTURE CHALLENGES
— To ensure increased investment in
the arts through Arts Council England and other statutory sources.
Increased funding for dance would not only allow an increased
level of activity but would allow for better funding for organisations,
companies and artists, allowing them to be more effective in what
they do, be more ambitious and take more creative risks.
— To develop a more robust economy
within the subsidised sector. Dance needs to find ways to encourage
greater diversity of investment from beyond the statutory arts
funding system, both to support artistic and cultural endeavours
and to promote its role within society, education and health.
— To further develop the physical infrastructure
for dance. The further development of accessible, affordable and
appropriate spaces for dance activity will increase opportunities
for artists and the general public to access high quality dance
experiences, and will raise the profile of dance among local communities.
— To continue the process of embedding
diversity in dance through supporting the development of culturally
diverse and disabled artists, and embedding diversity within routes
of progression and vocational training, based on the aesthetic
validity and relevance of culturally diverse forms and combating
the barriers to culturally diverse and disabled artists and participants.
— To ensure that dance takes advantage
of developing agendas, such as active lifestyles and anti-obesity
campaigns. Dance needs to ensure that it is recognised as a creative
art form which offers unique qualities that enhance its value
as a form of physical exercise.
— To continue the development of healthier
dance practice amongst dance practitioners, using research in
dance and sports science to increase well-being and improve performance.
— To ensure the sustainability and
development of individual careers in dance through continuous
professional development, diversification of career pathways and
increased remuneration for work in dance.
— To raise the profile and understanding
of dance among opinion makers and the general public. This includes
raising the level of discourse and the diversity of the dance
forms covered by newspaper criticism and features.
— To maximise the audience for dance
throughout the country. Better relationships with theatre programmers,
more effective methods of distribution and ways of supporting
venues need to be established to allow dance to maximise its presence
throughout the country and develop new audiences. Effective touring
should be combined with the creation of diverse dance works which
offer enriching experiences to a broad range of the general public.
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