Memorandum submitted by Audrey Lawrence
Audrey Lawrence, freelance Research Consultant
and parent of 16 year-old ballet student.
COMMENT
I am sure that there will be very little hard
evidence in the form of relevant statistics to inform this Inquiry.
I hope that there will be significant submissions from the various
dance schools and training bodies, but I fear that the short time
allowed for submissions will hinder this. I am therefore forwarding
a personal, anecdotal view of issues in dance training based on
my own recent experiences as a non-dancing parent trying to support
a daughter who has decided to train as a professional dancer.
ISSUES REFERENCED:
1. Young people and dance: What opportunities
and support currently exist in order to promote the inclusion
and progression of young people in dance?
2. Are the benefits of dance as a sporting
activity recognised and built upon effectively?
3. What is the role of dance within education
at present?
SUMMARY OF
POINTS MADE:
1. As with music, there is virtually no
chance of a child reaching the necessary level of skill for professional
dance training through the school curriculum.
2. Support for children who aspire to a
career in dance is inadequate.
3. In addition to its obvious benefits,
dance training is a useful cross-training activity for other sports.
This has not yet been recognised by the educational system.
Issue 1: Opportunities and support
Under 16 years of age
Opportunities exist mainly in the form of private
teachers. While there are lots of dance activities available in
most areas, the teaching is of a variable quality. If the purpose
of the class is to allow children to experience dance and to have
some fun on a weekly basis, this is not really an issue. However,
to nurture potential talent to the level required for professional
dance, especially for classical ballet, training has to be of
first class quality and must start at an early age (preferably
well before the age of 10). Such classes are much less frequent
(in Scotland, extremely so) and are more expensive, as they require
highly trained and qualified teachers, who are relatively few.
Many parents do not appreciate this until it is too late, and
the situation is not helped by the myriad of mediocre teachers
who struggle to run their small business—quantity, rather
than quality is, understandably, their priority.
The alternative is to send the child to a boarding,
vocational dance school, which is something many parents are less
than happy to consider, even if they are aware of the options.
Cost
Good training comes at a price—to train
at vocational level (outwith school) could cost around £1,500
a year in lessons, but the time factor is at least as limiting.
Many parents are not willing or able to transport children to
and from several lessons a week, especially if they themselves
have no interest in dance. This means that there are inevitably
children who will never be given the chance to develop any dance
potential they may have.
Full-time training
The round of auditions for full-time UK ballet
training commencing in September 2004 has recently completed.
I estimate that five of the top schools[1]had
between them around 60 funded places for girls. Well over 600
girls auditioned (ie were preselected from many more applications).
It is becoming increasingly difficult for children who have not
attended a vocational ballet school from an early age to be accepted
for full-time training at these schools. For those who have for
years set their heart on a career in ballet and who fail to gain
a training place, the effect is devastating.
Issues 2 and 3: Dance as a sporting activity and
its role within education
This is a slightly tangential response to points
1 and 3. Dance is a rather unique activity. It falls into difficulties
when treated as a sport because it is non-competitive and its
performance is not readily measured in an objective way. These
two factors mean that it does not fit easily into the standard
school physical education curriculum. However, the benefits of
dance training for other physical activities are huge—the
dancer has to have the strength and stamina of an athlete, the
flexibility and balance of a gymnast, not to mention a highly
developed sense of musicality and rhythm and a controlled ability
to convey different moods and emotions. Anecdotally, I know that
there is an increasing awareness among football and tennis coaches
of the cross-training benefits of dance (especially ballet) for
their sport. My daughter's school does not offer dance as a subject,
but she has been studying for Higher PE using classical ballet
as her specialist activity. This is unheard of in Scotland and
has caused much interest among the PE staff (rugby and hockey
specialists), who have been astonished and impressed both by the
training regime which she practises outwith school and the focussed
attitude with which she approaches all sporting activities. In
addition to ballet classes, her weekly training regime includes
body conditioning in the local gym (weights and aerobic activity)
and pilates classes for core strengthening. She also takes violin
lessons to improve musicality. Again anecdotally (but this could
be backed up easily by the ballet schools), dance students generally
make good academic students, possibly because of their improved
focus.
May 2004
1 Central School of Ballet, Royal Ballet School, English
National Ballet School (all London), Arts Educational (Tring)
and Elmhurst (Birmingham). Back
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