Memorandum submitted by Caroline Ferreira
What opportunities and support currently exist
in order to promote the inclusion and progression of young people
in dance?
What is the role of dance within education at
present? Should this change in the future?
The funding of (regional) dance educational
institutions rather than funding the student is for the majority
of students, restrictive and has the potential to prevent them
from reaching their goals and securing gainful employment.
I draw this conclusion as a parent of a dancer
and from observation of her peers and their families.
DANCE TRAINING—A
PARENT'S
VIEW
At 14 my daughter auditioned successfully for
a council grant to attend an accredited school in the North West.
After a year it became evident that the quality of dance training
was "not as expected". It was also a fact that a handful
of students did progress to other institutions at 16, but the
placement of graduating students at senior level with recognised
dance employers were few and far between.
Note 1: League tables in the dance education
world would have helped—but didn't/still don't (?) exist.
With much anguish and a decision was made to
hand back the grant and at 15 move to a private fee paying dance
school where the standard of dance education was good. This meant
a significant tightening of belts for the family and my daughter
being "self educated" at home (which she did, gaining
six A's at GCSE level). She completed a three-year performer's
course at 17, gaining honours in Cecchetti Advanced II ballet
and honours in her teachers Associate Exam (sat early with special
permission as she was under 18).
Note 2: For two years during this period she
attended RBS Senior Associate classes with Marion Tait at BRB
in Birmingham. Most of the 10 girls in her class entered grant
aided dance schools at 16. Only one of them finished the ENB School
two-year course but as yet to our knowledge, has not secured employment.
A week's workshop with visiting Dance Theatre
of Harlem inspired my daughter to explore neoclassical/contemporary
dance and a move to private classes with professional teachers
in contemporary and classical ballet in Leeds.
This week she received a letter inviting her
to join Phoenix Dance Theatre as an apprentice for a year, for
her, a dream come true—she has almost achieved her goal.
My daughter's story illustrates that she is
pretty determined and we, her family believe in the importance
of fulfilling dreams and being supportive. There are many dance
students who have not had the same opportunities.
Accepting a funded place at an institution "locks
the student in" and if the training is found to be not suitable
to that person, unless the student has the strength of character
to make the change (affecting academic studies too) and a supportive
family prepared for the financial burden, they have no choice.
As the success rate of dance students finding
work is "not high", would it not make more sense to
reverse the funding thus avoiding complacency in provision of
dance training whilst giving the student the freedom to seek the
training that suits their needs with the freedom to change to
progress?
April 2004
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