Memorandum submitted by Anjali Dance Company
". . . visibility, confidence and glamour."
Josephine Leask (The Guardian)
". . . one of the brightest companies in
British dance" Donald Hutera (The Times, Time Out)
Anjali Dance Company is the UK's foremost dance
company whose dancers all have a learning difficulty. It comprises
a professional touring performance company and a full-time education
department whose underpinning commitment is to deliver works of
excellence. Work is devised with renowned and established choreographers.
The performance pieces have a strong collaborative element with
other art forms and are presented with high quality production
values.
Recruitment is usually via regular Open Classes
and other education and outreach work. The Open Classes specifically
aim to develop individual performance technique. The classes can
act as a pathway for further career development, either through
recruitment to the Company's apprenticeship scheme, Young Anjali
or to its accredited dance training programme. Talented individuals
may be asked to join the Company on a full-time basis.
Education workshops are designed specifically
around each group's needs and requirements. The work runs alongside
the Company's touring programme, frequently utilising other art
forms to enhance the creative process. Workshops can be company-led
by the Anjali dancers who act as positive role models and mentors
to the participants throughout the programme of work.
CPD (Continued Professional Development) training
can also be offered to professional dance artists and choreographers
who wish to extend their knowledge of working with people with
learning difficulties. The level and content of the work is tailored
to the needs of the participant.
The Company exists to extend the boundaries
of dance by realising and celebrating the potential of individuals
with learning difficulties. It focuses on ability rather than
disability, in an effort to bridge the gap between "mainstream"
and disability dance, appealing to the wider community. Anjali
Dance Company works in partnership with theatre venues, local
organisations, schools on educational and outreach activity, demonstrations,
debates.
The personal and emotional benefits of being
a dancer with the Company are great:
Working and rehearsing with other members promotes
good team building skills and allows for interpersonal and communication
skills to be developed further.
Touring and performing provides a sense of achievement
and an opportunity to grow in confidence.
An autonomous learning environment is established
in outreach/workshop activities and allows the dancer to adopt
the role of the teacher and feel in control of their own learning.
Anjali Dance Company also endorses a healthy
living approach and teaches members about the importance of a
balanced diet and regular exercise.
It can act as a springboard for other creative
opportunities, a chance to meet other individuals with similar
interests and encourages a positive self image.
It gives the individual a career path to pursue
and personal goals to attain which play a vital part in PSE development.
CURRENT SITUATION
A professional dance company such as Anjali
needs to have an efficient and organised support structure in
place to sustain the long-term needs of its dancers. We therefore
have to make provision for carers and extra staff to be present,
at any performance or education workshop we attend, to accommodate
such needs.
This has subsequent financial implications for
the Company. A considerable proportion of our budget has to cover
this expense as well as the cost of transportation and administrative
planning. We have to ensure that the dancers' parents and carers
are kept up to date and thoroughly informed about all activities
and arrangements involving the Company. Provision must also be
made to ensure that health and safety procedures/social care legislation
is adhered to correctly, we can sometimes prove quite costly too
eg CRB checks on all staff.
Moreover, we would like to be in a situation
where we could pay the Company a monthly wage, funding from Arts
Council England has allowed us to do this in the past. However,
there is a limit as to what we can pay out without affecting the
dancers' benefits. Benefits received by dancers can vary; regular
payment would mean that each dancer would have to keep coming
off and on of benefits, an undesirable situation. We would welcome
a solution to this problem.
It is increasingly evident that there is minimal
awareness and recognition of companies such as ours within the
public domain and seems that there is little support given to
compensate for such short fallings within the funding sector as
a result of this. It would therefore be important to revise the
level of funding provided to companies of a similar affiliation
to Anjali Dance Company.
April 2004
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