Memorandum submitted by Akram Khan Company
CURRENT SITUATION
Working very closely with a single very busy
dance company it is difficult to give a well-informed opinion
on the current state of the dance economy. Furthermore, any opinions
expressed here do not include the Classical ballet and commercial
theatre sectors. With this is mind it appears to me over the past
five years, particularly in contemporary dance, we have been experiencing
something of a dance boom. There is a nationwide infrastructure
of state of the art dance buildings with new ones on the go in
Newcastle and Ipswich.
The profile and hence the interest for dance
appears to have increased through the work of companies such as
George Piper Dances, Akram Khan Company, Random Dance and Henri
Oguike Dance Company. It is no surprise that all these groups
are now or will be on the ACE fixed term portfolio. Some of these
companies are enjoying considerable international success which
has altered outside perception of the UK dance culture from one
that is outdated and "safe" to one that is cutting edge
and innovative. The impact of this has served to position the
UK as a world leader in dance and drawn a lot of international
interest. The economic advantages of this are exportability has
improved resulting in larger turnovers, greater self-sufficiency
and increased employment. For example in the space of three years
the Akram Khan Company has been able to develop employment opportunities
(artistic and administrative) from seven to 27 people.
Contemporary dance because of the "risk"
factor in the work does not attract the same kind of commercial
investment as the ballet. In saying this some companies have successfully
attracted commercial sponsorship and strategies for sponsorship
are in place for others (collaborations with high profile artists
in other more attractive mediums such as visual arts, classical
music).
Are the benefits of dance as a sporting activity
recognised and built upon effectively?
Though physical in nature dance should not be
considered to be a sport. It is an art form and in addition to
physical discipline requires creativity and uninhibited use of
the imagination as well as offering participants space for personal
expression. It will not serve either dance or sport to be confused
in this way. In total contradiction to what I have just said it
is dance's physical athleticism that appears to attract many young
men to it.
On the whole sports and dance are being marginalised
in schools with little value placed on the benefits they can provide.
EFFECT OF
PUBLIC POLICY
AND INVESTMENT
How have public investment and policy initiatives
influenced the development of dance as an art form in the UK?
Many policy initiatives are focused towards
positive social outcomes and though worthy there needs to be more
emphasis on developing the careers of artists, which in turn will
develop the art form.
How effective is Arts Council England at developing
policies, deploying investment and implementing policy initiatives?
The ACE has done much over the past few years
in creating initiatives for moving dance forward. I would say
that on the whole they are pretty good at this. However, what
continues to be the problem is letting go of investment that no
longer is relevant or financially viable. In short ejecting companies
or artists who have passed their sell by date. Perhaps one of
the weaknesses in ACE policy is that there is still too much emphasis
on investment for tangible outcomes eg New productions and touring
dates etc, and what is needed is more money for research, reflection,
revisiting previous ideas.
Is public investment in dance at a sufficient
level? Considering the importance placed recently on "active
lifestyles" by the Government, does the funding level need
revision?
There is always a need for more money. Any new
money needs to be prioritised and perhaps some of these new priorities
could be more cash for schools to buy in specialist teachers and
money for practical professional research.
YOUNG PEOPLE
AND DANCE
What opportunities and support currently exist
in order to promote the inclusion and progression of young people
in dance?
Believe it or not there are almost one million
young girls each week participating in ballet classes up and down
the country. There is a network of national dance agencies, which
actively promote dance for young people.
Perhaps dance bursaries could be made available
for young people to pursue professional training, as currently
training is very expensive. There could also be job seeker allowances
that are specifically designed to support young people seeking
to gain footholds in an often uncertain and haphazard profession.
What is the role of dance within education at
present? Should this change in the future?
Dance can be studied both at O and A level and
appears to be flourishing. I would like reassurance that academic
and professional dance education does not become too intertwined,
as is the case in the USA, in order to justify a place for dance
in society. Such an approach will be to the detriment of the art
form.
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