Childs, C. and Clegg, A. (2015), Dance Map: The Employability Journey: A for Dance

Dance map – the employability journey A toolkit and resource for mapping employability journeys Dance Department, University of Chichester, prepared for the HEA strategic enhancement programme 2015 Cathy Childs Project Lead Principal Lecturer, Head of Dance Dr Andy Clegg Principal Lecturer for Learning and Teaching In partnership with:

Contents Section

Page

Contents

2

Introduction

4

Methodology

6

How to use the toolkit?

8

Figure 1: The employability journey model The external perspective and challenges

9 10

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA)-subject benchmark statement for Dance, Drama and Performance (DDP) 12 ‘Graduate-ness’

13

Figure 2: CBI identification of employability skills

14

Figure 3: HEA framework for employability

15

The industry and employer perspective Seeking the views of employers/arts managers/dance artists The internal perspective BA Dance Undergraduate (UG) Programme

17 17 19

Identifying where subject-specific skills are embedded into the curriculum

20

Level 4 (Year 1)

20

Level 5 (Year 2)

21

Level 6 (Year 3) selected strands

22

Mapping the generic employability skills to the Dance programme modules

24

A Dance student’s perspective on embedding employability into the Dance curriculum 25 Figure 4: Experiential learning/reflective practitioner model

26

Module case study – Experiential learning model 1

28

Dance Production (3Fall Dance Company)

28

MA postgraduate programmes in Dance

30

Reflecting on the employability journey

31

Pre-university – UG comments from questionnaire 1

31

Dance student checklist – pre-university

32

Figure 5: Supporting your career with social media During university - UG comments from questionnaire 1

2

33 34

Module case study - Dance Movement Psychotherapy

35

Module case study - Dance Placement

35

Further UG comments from the questionnaire Dance student checklist – during university

41

Examples of graduate pay and remuneration

44

Recent graduate – One year on

44

Graduate Case Study – Six years on

45

Module case study involving a teaching placement/work experience

47

Dance student checklist – preparing to leave university Q: What three words best describe you as a Chichester Dance graduate?

Post-graduation

49 50 51

Figure 6: Current employment status of Dance graduate respondents

51

Figure 7: Current occupation of Dance graduate respondents

52

Questionnaire 2: Current and past MA Dance students

53

Dance student checklist – transition to employment

54

Transition to being self-employed

54

BA and MA graduate case study – performer, choreographer, teacher

55

Module case study - Artist as Producer

58

MA Case Study - Experiential learning model 2 mapdance

60

MA Dance student comment and reflections

62

Toolkit resources

3

39

63

Figure 8: Dance employment destinations

63

Dance career self-assessment sheets

65

Conclusion

91

Acknowledgements

92

References

93

Useful website resources

94

Introduction Dance Map – The Employability Journey is a mapping exercise that looks specifically and reflectively at where employability is embedded into the Dance Department curriculum. The premise for this research is to gather the opinions of early career graduates, practitioners, employers, faculty members and current students to build a resource and toolkit for Dance graduates. The toolkit aims to provide a user-friendly and informative insight into where the employability focus is explicit within the programmes, together with the identification of potential career destinations for Dance graduates. Through the examination of the pedagogical approaches and learning methods - such as experiential learning opportunities, working creatively, undertaking work placements or working with current choreographers - the importance of embedding these experiences into the curriculum will be explored in order to enable students to make the transition into the professional world and employment. It will identify a range of career options by focussing on the course content for both the BA Dance and MA Performance: Dance programmes at the University of Chichester. It will examine examples of where employability is the focus within modules, where employability is embedded within the overall programmes learning and teaching drawing on module case studies, graduate student case study reflections and the employer sector perspectives.

The University of Chichester Dance Department has a long-established record for the delivery of undergraduate Dance provision. The semesterised BA Dance Single Honours programme was first validated in 1998. Prior to this, in 1992, Dance as a field operated in three terms within the BA Arts & Humanities Modular Undergraduate Scheme and offered a joint route introducing a major Dance route in 1993. This document aims to share the teaching and learning approaches which have been developed over these years, which will be different and/or similar to other HEIs but aims to identify our specialisms in how the delivery, content and student experiences meet the wider dance professional market place. This project was commissioned by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) as an extension to the strategic enhancement programme entitled Embedding employability into the curriculum.

The objectives of the research were to: Identify and articulate the practice-led approaches embedded within the Chichester Dance curriculum.

Identify the career routes upon graduation for Chichester Dance degree students.

Identify the challenges facing recent early career graduates.

Interview past and present students in relation to their:  understanding of their studies and where the employability was most effective and identifying any gaps;  expectations on graduation and routes to employment;  current employment.

Track specific third year BA Dance modules with employability focus and graduate destinations.

Document the skills acquisition and working methods evidenced through case studies that give the employment experience.

Capture evidence and impact from alumni through interviews and questionnaires that reflect upon their studies and journey into their current employment.

Interview and record a range of dance employers and sector professionals to gather current evidence of the opinions, skills and competences that they look for in a Dance graduate.

The wealth of contributions, expertise and generosity from colleagues, dance artists, managers and practitioners is invaluable to the document and the full acknowledgements for the contributions to this project are detailed on page 92. It is essential to identify the importance of past graduates and present students in their contributions to the toolkit, as the issues relate directly to their current and future careers in dance. Within the document there are 4

direct quotations that have come from questionnaires, interviews or email correspondences and some participants requested that they wanted their privacy to be maintained. Therefore the identities of all quotations used within the document has remained anonymous, apart from those directly involved on the project team. This in no way diminishes the value of the comments because in relation to all questions asked, a full range of responses have been included in order to give a balanced perspective and have contributed enormously to building a reflective picture of the student experience as they progressed through they studies and into employment.

All photographs used within this document have been taken by Chris Nash, with the exception of those on pages 4, 25 and 30, which were taken by Andrew Worlsfold and on page 55 by Rinsique Sidhique and page 56 by Abdul Raheem. All of the photographic images are of dancers and past company members of either mapdance, 3Fall Dance Company or former students.

It is hoped that by creating this resource and toolkit that it will be of use to other academics, potential Dance students, current undergraduate and postgraduate students and those seeking employment within the dance and creative arts industries as well as Career Department advisees to Dance students.

Susanne Burns, in Mapping Dance: Entrepreneurship and Profession Practice in Higher Education, stated: “Dance deals in the generation of intellectual property through original choreography that is then performed by dancers in live, filmed and broadcast contexts. The performance is the result of many other processes that are essential to making it possible, including management, technical support and training and education. This means that the dance world of work is complex. It is multi-faceted with a framework of interconnected employment sectors characterised by complexity, creativity and dynamism. It is a socioeconomic network.�

(Burns 2007, p.8) Through the exploration of where the potential employment options are embedded within the Dance programmes, this document is reflecting this multifaceted framework of interconnectivity that Burns refers to.

5

Methodology The methodology used to gather this information included within the document refers to Stage 1: Discussion and reflection of the HEA framework on page 15 and is based on: 1. Information gathered from past BA Dance students An online questionnaire was devised using the Bristol Online Survey which was detailed in its scope looking at decisions to come to study Dance, through to during their studies and after graduation. The purpose was to gather reflective commentary on their subject-specific and generic skills in relation to their studies and the relevance to gaining employment on graduation. Some 31 BA graduates replied to the questionnaire + six face-to-face interviews.

2. Information gathered from current MA and graduate MA students Obtaining the views from current MA students was important in order to gather an understanding of their decisions to undertake a higher level study qualification and if employment was the motivator. Are the employment challenges for entering the professional world easier or the same having gained a higher level qualification?

Contacting MA graduates was harder due to the fact that an alumni Dance database is not currently in place. Using social media, such as Facebook, and then word of mouth was the most effect way of connecting with past students. The purpose was also to gather information to assemble a picture of the variety of career roles that have been achieved and see the journey or transition from Masters-level study into the work place, whilst reflecting on the relevance of their studies in obtaining their current role.

Some of this information has been gathered via film documentary footage which will be available to view via the university website at a later date; but for this document the information gained will help to identify any gaps within the MA training that could inform future Dance curricula.

The information was gathered via the following options: face-to-face interview (optional video record) – six responses; online questionnaire (using Survey Monkey) – 17 responses; video call interview (Skype/FaceTime) – two responses; telephone conversation – two responses.

3. Seeking the views of employers/arts managers/dance artists It is essential to gain the opinions of the people working within the sector and employing dance graduates as well as gaining the opinions of other arts professionals. This aspect was achieved through: individual interviews or conversations with academics and professionals including DanceHE1 and Creative & Cultural Skills2; panel discussion and consultations with members of the Dance Strategy Group (DSG)3.

In addition, literature research has been included to provide contextual references from a range of sources with useful websites listed on page 94.

4. Consultation and collaboration with other internal University departments

1

DanceHE are the representative body for academics and practitioners in higher education

2

CCS was established by the UK government and licenced as a Sector Skills Council

3

The Dance Strategy Group is comprised of representatives from touring dance companies, Higher Education providers (UoC), funders, dance development organisations and local authorities across the South of England. Its purpose is to address regional agenda’s including: sharing information and best practice; develop skills and knowledge; co-delivery or strategic activity that positively impacts on Southern England.

6

Gaining the perspectives and expertise from colleagues in the Careers & Employability Service as well as with colleagues from Learning & Teaching Committee for this project has enabled there to be a better understanding of each department’s contribution to the student experience. The Admissions Department has also helped in providing statistics in relation to Dance applications and trends.

5. Learning & teaching This project aligns with the Priority 3 of the University’s Learning and Teaching Strategy which focuses on employability and enterprise skills so graduates are equipped to thrive in the global economy (see Box 1).

6. Careers & employability service The Careers Department have advised extensively on this project and provided the insight into the wider considerations of the Confederation of British Industries (CBI) employability skills framework. There have also been dance-specific careers presentations from the Careers Department with specific student cohorts such as year group advisory session and within modules such as Teaching Dance & Creative Practice from the Dance Specialist Careers Advisor.

7. Research & employer engagement Support from the Research and Employer Engagement Office (REEO) was fundamental to the initial application for this project. One of the REEO’s aims is to:

To foster and embed an employer engagement and enterprise culture across the University where undertaking employer engagement and enterprise activities is an aspiration for all staff and a reality for a significant number.

Box 1: UoC learning and teaching strategy Priority 3: Enhancing and embedding employability and enterprise Our goals:  Ensure students develop the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to be highly employable.  Foster a spirit of enterprise and employability across the University community.  Encourage innovative approaches to enterprise and employability education.  Provide opportunities for all students to engage with employers through curricular and extracurricular activities and paid internships.

To achieve these goals, the University will:  Support employability champions in each department to develop the integration of enterprise and employability skills in programmes.  Publicise existing staff expertise and networks to promote enterprise and employability development.  Provide support and information to staff to develop a focus on enterprise and employability within modules where appropriate.  Ensure all students have access to work-based learning opportunities through placements and paid internships where possible.  Design assessments to ensure that students receive feedback on the development of their employability skills.  Recognise and celebrate student volunteering and endeavour through the Chichester Award, V Inspired and the Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) .  Offer all students access to a taught module on enterprise start-up and self-employment.

7

How to use the toolkit?

This toolkit is intended as an academic resource designed to support the development and embedding of employability skills for Dance students and relates to Stage 2: Review and mapping of the HEA framework, detailed on page 15. The employability journey in Figure 1 is divided into three sections: 1.

2.

3.

Pre-university.

During university.

Postgraduation.

Each section of the student employability journey is placed in relation to the broader university departmental activities, although not all will be discussed in detail within this document. The sections illustrate how employability is addressed within the Dance programme through case studies, programme and specific employability focussed modules, work placement modules and models of practice-led experiential learning demonstrated through the two dance companies that exist at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Who is the toolkit for?

The toolkit is intended to be an informative, but by no means definitive, document with various checklists for use by other academics and careers teams to use with current, graduate or future Dance students. Towards the end of the document there are two sections entitled Dance career destinations and the Dance career self-assessment sheets which identify a number of specific career destination pathways for Dance graduates. This is included to facilitate a reflective practice approach through the questioning and evaluation of the individual’s current skills, qualities and readiness to pursuing a chosen dance career. The document will be of most benefit to graduates and young professionals. The toolkit offers the potential to provide a transferability of methodology useful for other Dance and Performing Arts Departments.

8

Figure 1: The employability journey model

9

The external perspective and challenges The current challenges facing Dance students graduating from university and vocational dance institutions have arguably never been more difficult. The graduates of 2015 are the first cohort to graduate having paid up to the full £9,000-a-year tuition fees for their studies and therefore there is an added pressure of carrying this debt.

University education has become more openly accountable with emphasis being placed on the student voice 4 through measurable outcomes such as the annual National Student Survey (NSS). Arts organisations, including the Arts Council England, Wales and Northern Ireland, have had cuts to both their administrative budgets and grant funds in recent years; which in turn have put a pressure on the numbers of individual artists, companies and theatre venues being supported to develop new work. Professional touring has become more challenging with limited funds to fully cover the project costs and audience attendance is a concern in relation to seeing new and existing work as somewhat unreliable. Yet despite this, Dance as a curriculum subject continues to attract large numbers of students and embedding employability into the curriculum has become increasingly important.

Judith Hills wrote in the Times Higher Education that artists are likely to pursue portfolio careers. She states that more universities need to “grasp the opportunity to meet the demand for courses that reflect the realities of

working life for artists, instead of preparing them for a stereotypical career that will remain beyond the grasp of most”. (Hills 2015, Times Higher Education).

The numbers of young people being entered for the AS & A2 qualification in Dance has fluctuated in recent years, 5 according to the AQA statistics. Yet many young people are actively engaged in ‘out of school’ dance through participation at private dance schools and through programmes such the Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) and Youth Dance England (YDE) as well as after school dance clubs.

According to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), the number of students accepted onto undergraduate Dance programmes has remained pretty constant at approximately 2,000 students per year over 6 the last four years. There are 57 universities offering 263 degrees with Dance in the title according to Whatuni .

UCAS identify 80 providers offering a single honours course which involves Dance at undergraduate level but includes some performing arts.

When employing Dance graduates, professional choreographers and dance companies now have many dancers to select from at auditions, with graduates coming from both the UK and abroad. There are increasing expectations that students need to be demonstrating a level of experience in order to step into whatever role is required and this is true for all aspect of employment today. Students often therefore turn to gaining additional training to 7 make themselves more employable through MA and postgraduate training programmes such as mapdance , 8 9 10 Transitions , EDge and Verve in order to give them that necessary interaction and rehearsal time with a variety of choreographers. This is becoming an essential training route offered within the higher education/vocational

4

The National Student Survey was establish in 2005 to gather the student opinions regarding their programmes of study 5

AQA is the awarding body in England, Wales and NI which compiles specifications and examines in GCSE, AS and A Level’s 2011

2012

AS

3801

A2

2284

2013

2014

2015

3,417

3,146

3,192

2697

2,085

1,979

1,892

1816

6

Whatuni is an online comparison website for degree courses

7

Mapdance is the postgraduate company at University of Chichester

8

Transitions is the postgraduate company at Northern School of Contemporary Dance

9

EDge is the postgraduate company at London School of Contemporary Dance

10

Verve is the postgraduate company at Northern School of Contemporary Dance

10

sector that embeds the necessary links to employment within a professional dance company setting. Masters and PhD Research studies in Dance, as well as specialisms in Dance Science, Choreography and Screen Dance are all developing dance expertise and enhancing career potential.

11

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA)subject benchmark statement for Dance, Drama and Performance (DDP) The benchmark statements which were revised in July 2015 for DDP11 describe the attributes, skills and capabilities of honours graduates and provide details of what graduates in a particular subject might reasonably be expected to know, do and understand by the end of their studies.

3.4 of the document on page 9 states that:

“Different skills and knowledge are called for in the different destinations of graduates in this area. Common destinations include the professional arts, commercial and non-profit performance industries, applied and community arts, education, scholarship and the creative and cultural industries. 'Graduate-ness' in this domain cannot be defined in the singular but will involve a range of both subject-specific and generic skills. Skills and attributes of Dance, Drama and Performance graduates are highly sought after by non-cognate industries. These skills include those of communication (written, oral and performance), of research and analysis, the ability to work independently, interpersonally and in groups, to deadlines and under pressure, with flexibility, imagination, selfmotivation and organisation.”

The benchmark statements are essential when designing and delivering the curriculum as well as when reviewing the course content. It is also intended to be of use to employers and by current and future students.

The subject benchmark statement for DDP identifies the following essential subject-specific and generic and graduate skills in section 5 of the document.

Subject-specific skills

Making, creating and performing Critical response/analysis Application and participation Generic and graduate skills

Self-management Critical engagement Group/teamworking and social skills Skills in communication and presentation Student Employability Profiles: A Guide for Employers drew references from the previous QAA benchmark statements to provide a guide for higher education practitioners and is still a useful reference document (Rees, Forbes & Kubler 2006).

Students and graduates today are required to be resourceful, enterprising, creative and innovative. The Ralph Brown 2004 report, Performing Arts Entrepreneurship, tabled the “behaviours, attitudes and skills”, particularly in relation to enterprise being beyond the administrative management sense (Brown 2004, p.4). Both of these references are thought provoking.

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The full QAA subject benchmark statement document is detailed in the attached: SubjectBenchmarkStatement-

Dance-Drama-Performance-15.pdf

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‘Graduate-ness’ Defining ‘Graduate-ness’ from a student perspective is about maximising every opportunities. It defines the whole student experience and encompasses both the academic opportunities and the extracurricular activities of subjectspecific and generic skills and qualities. Making the necessary connections to what is being studied and how it relates to a working environment sometimes needs further unpacking as often a new experience will not be recognised for it true value until much later and sometimes long after a student has graduated. Further opinions on how prepared students felt they were to enter the dance profession can be found on page 39, but three BA graduate questionnaire respondents comments were:

“Being a strong technical dancer (amongst my peers) I was naive to think I would find it easy to get a performing job when graduating.”

“Without a doubt studying Dance has developed my ability to present myself in interviews and auditions. I have grown in confidence and believe in my own creative ideas.”

“There is a lack of graduate opportunities that start at an entry level occupation. However, this made me more ambitious to reach further.”

Embedding vocational experiences into the curriculum will be discussed later but it is relevant to note that there is a need for there to be embedded vocational routes into the work place and, for example, according to Pauline Tambling from Creative & Cultural 12 Skills (CCS) they have created over 3,500 apprenticeships places in the creative sector, since it started in 2008 and want to encourage applications from the dance sector and particularly some using Creative Apprenticeships (ccskills.org.uk/supporters/adviceresearch/employ-a-young-person) to move dance into community settings (Animated Magazine, March 2015).

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CCS is the National Provider for Arts Council England’s Creative Employment Programme and is an independent charity which supports youth employment and access to work.

13

According to the CBI, employability skills are: “A set of attributes, skills and knowledge that all labour market participants should possess to ensure they have the capability of being effective in the workplace – to the benefit 13 of themselves, their employer and the wider economy.” (CBI & UUK 2009, p.8).

In addition to the skills identified in Figure 2, the CBI also states in Future Fit: Preparing Graduates for the world of work that:

“Underpinning all these attributes, the key foundation, must be a positive attitude: a ‘can-do’ approach, a readiness to take part and contribute, openness to new ideas and a drive to make these happen. Frequently mentioned by both employers and universities is entrepreneurship/enterprise: broadly, an ability to demonstrate an innovative approach, creativity, collaboration and risk taking.” (CBI & UUK 2009, p.8).

Dance students engage on a daily basis with this approach identified above and in Figure 2, where there are numerous opportunities in which communicating and working as part of a team are essential to the discipline.

The Future Fit study also recommended “a process of reflection and consultation to consider what they are doing now and how [delivery of employability] could be improved” (CBI & UUK 2009, p.18). This university-wide recommendation is being used within this study on a localised scale as the toolkit draws on the CBI skills and the HEA framework for employability (Figure 3) in gathering evidence through reflection and consultation of where this is most effective within the curricula design for Dance and aims to be of use to other arts departments in sharing current practice used within the Dance Department at the University of Chichester.

Figure 2: CBI identification of employability skills

[Source: CBI (2009) Future Fit: Preparing graduates for the world of work]

13

Originally identified in Time well spent: embedding employability in work experience (CBI, March 2007)

14

Figure 3: HEA framework for employability

[Source: Cole and Tibby, 2013)

The HEA framework is divided into four distinctive stages and has been applied to this project and to the context of employability within Dance in the following ways: Discussion & reflection What does employability in Dance mean to students, past and present, tutors, employers and sector opinions?

How are students engaging with employability in the current programme?

What processes are in place for effective employer engagement?

Discussions and working with other internal university departments – careers and learning & teaching.

Review/mapping What are we doing or not doing in Dance?

Mapping subject-specific skills and knowledge to the Dance programmes.

Mapping the generic key skills to the Dance programmes.

Work experience/placement models currently offered.

Action Gather and share evidence of the student voice from the questionnaires.

Interview and share the opinions of past students.

Interviews and share the views of employers and industry professional within the dance sector.

Gathering evidence enables gaps within the provision to be identified, planned and implemented.

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Evaluation Sharing good practice by learning from others.

Monitoring and evaluating the impact.

What evidence is there to support the impact that university Dance education has on future employment within the sector and beyond?

Building positive relationships with past students through an alumni data base and activities.

Continuation of this study to include a broader remit to gain a national picture including other university Dance programmes

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The industry and employer perspective Seeking the views of employers/arts managers/dance artists Gathering opinions from fellow professionals has initiated a variety of discussions and conversations and highlights the importance of building a shared understanding of how to make the necessary bridges to facilitate the journey of the aspiring Dance graduates with the expectations of the dance and wider cultural arts sector.

The following comments have been drawn from conversations, telephone interviews and discussion groups, all of which highlighted a need for a clearer transparency of what to expect and is expected of a graduate. This has, in turn, been informative in drawing together some of the questions on the Dance career self-assessment sheets on pages 65-90.

There were some passionate discussions about aspects such as unrealistic perceptions of what and how to make a successful transition on graduation; employer’s experiences of having intern students on placement; the questioning around the perception that there are too many students studying Dance for the numbers of jobs to progress into; the need for individuals to understand the broader context that they are wanting to enter. But it is also clear that the industry sees the value and contribution that Dance graduates bring to the creative arts sector and the importance of nurturing that talent.

What has been recognised in all the discussions is that these professionals were also in that same position when they graduated and in the various conversations nearly everybody made reference to their own experiences and transitions into employment which could be a study in itself.

In a conversation with Pauline Tambling, from Creative and Cultural Skills (CCS), she discussed that: “ The skills

world is based on a quite straightforward paradigm which is that you get qualifications which make you more and more capable of getting a job and the reality is that particularly in performing, also in visual arts, so much more is around raw talent and capability of performing or based on an audition/portfolio , and not based on, how many times, even in an administrative capacity in the arts, do we look at qualifications anything more than a cursory screening. The reality is that you are not going to get a job in a particular play or dance piece based on the fact that you have X qualifications, that is only going to be a passport to getting you an audition.” (telephone conversation, July 2015).

The recent 2015 publication from CCS entitled Building a Creative Nation: The Next Decade provides a really comprehensive account of the economic facts and challenges for the creative arts sector. One aspect within this document that was also discussed with Pauline was in relation to ‘T-shaped People’ and T-shaped skills in the creative industries. In relation to dance, she explained that for a student, you “ come out of your initial

university experience with a deep skill but you can’t stop there, you need to keep adding further deep skills but you will need to have horizontal skills at the top of the ‘T’ which are the interpersonal - your fundraising or whatever …. And you can only learn those ‘soft’ skills by doing them ‘on the job”. These deep and horizontal skills are embedded into aspects of the Dance curriculum particularly in the experiential models detailed on pages 28 & 60 where students are experiencing an ‘on the job’ approach to their learning that also provides them with concrete and demonstrable professional practice.

A discussion was also had with members of the Dance Strategy Group (DSG) around the perception that graduates need to be entering the work environment with a greater understanding of the creative industries and is there is a gap in the student experience versus the employers’ expectations. The discussion centred on the following questions: 1.

2.

3.

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Your experience of university Dance graduates – are they prepared for the field of dance employment that you work in? What would you like to see? What are the strengths of any Dance graduates that you have employed?

Have you offered paid employment to graduates? Work experience? Placements? If so, has this worked out for you, how could it be done better? Do you offer internships? Are they paid, If not, is it realistic to expect a graduate to work for no pay?

In the light of the recent comments about vocational dance training – do you have an opinion on the numbers of students graduating in Dance and the quality of those graduates to fulfil roles within the profession?

Lauren Baldock, Education Manager from Jasmin Vardimon Company, commented that: “When we interview

graduates, they are not really aware of their transferable skills enough that they have. So the parts of the degree where you are documenting what you are making or looking back at your technique assessment video and analysing yourself and self-reflecting, photographing your work or filming your work - all those skills; and then they come into the office environment and all they want to talk about is to say that they are a really good dancer….. Yes, but on our social media how can you support us with that, you can manipulate photos really well and you can write about dance in an amazing way - they don’t really see that all those things that are aside from doing their choreography or doing their technique assessment are actually valuable skills in the arts office environment.”

There was also a discussion around internships and from their perspectives; the need for students to be more realistic about what a work experience or internship will look like. It is most likely not to mean that you will be taking company class or watching rehearsals or that it is going to somehow get you an audition. It is going to be an introduction to the workings of the company and will include aspects of administration and organisation. There is a need for students to have already considered what their Plan B might be. Sometimes an intern student is only focussed on the ‘dancing’ aspect and they are ignoring and missing out on other roles that are off stage.

Sacha Lee, Creative Producer from The Point in Eastleigh, commented that : “In sport, they are better at saying

what other roles are available beyond becoming an athlete, with respected careers in sports science, management and training. Could Dance as a subject learn more from this approach in sport?”

Lou Rogers, Creative Producer from Stop Gap Dance Company, said that she asked potential intern students that they take each year from another university Dance programme to apply as if they were actually applying for a job and that there was a massive difference in the students that they interviewed. They were required to complete a task to make sure that they would get someone who wouldn’t have to be taught the basics to. She commented that some knew how to write a CV and some didn’t at all. She also commented that when having conversations with the interns they were sometimes despondent about what they were going to do next and often decided on taking extra qualifications like doing an PGCE or MA because they didn’t feel that they are going to get a job or know what else to do. Embedding employability explicitly in the curriculum helps a student to shape more effectively the choices that they make in terms of modules and experiences in order to prepare them for graduation.

Jamie Watton, CEO/Artistic Director of South East Dance, said that it was important to understanding the broader context and look at employability in a slightly different way. “It is important for a graduate to be clear about who

they are contacting, know about that organisation and be clear about what it is you are wanting and does it match with what the organisation can potentially offer. So for example, there is no point contacting an organisation trying to secure a performance gig if they don’t actual have a theatre space. Do your research’ and know the business you are entering.”

What has been overwhelming from these discussions is that all the people were really willing to help and signpost graduates in the right direction and in a meaningful way.

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The internal perspective BA Dance Undergraduate (UG) Programme The current curriculum delivery for Dance at both BA and MA level offers a number of employability-related modules, together with placement and work experience modules. Experiential learning is an essential part of the Dance curriculum delivery and key modules that will be referred to within this toolkit include Dance Production (3Fall Dance Company) and Repertory (mapdance). Both of these ‘company’ modules take the students from the rehearsal process with a range of choreographers, to touring to theatres, colleges and school setting, teaching and working with a range of young people along the way. The difference between the companies is that one is an undergraduate company which meets for one day a week but also has some intensive week-long sessions with a choreographer, while the postgraduate company works for four days per week solidly with five different choreographers. Embedding these experiences within the curriculum enabled students to gain first-hand, subjectspecific skills and knowledge, together with the generic transferrable or soft skills that are essential to the day-today engagement between student dancers, chorographers and tutors.

To provide some context to this document and to highlight the importance placed on embedding employability into the curriculum, it is useful to have a broader perspective of the challenges that face graduates on completion of their studies.

The numbers of students graduating from University Dance programmes has grown significantly in recent years , but with the introduction of student fees, a change in government priorities and an economically challenging climate, there is a need for programmes to embed employment opportunities into the curriculum to better prepare them for the world of work.

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The Dance Mapping – A Window on Dance (2004-2008, by Susanne Burns and Sue Harrison for the Arts Council (ACE), looked at the impact that ACE funding had made within the dance sector and the foreword by Alan Davey CE of the Arts Council England stated:

“What struck me from the report is the amount of things dance related that are going on. I see that the sector is growing; I see real achievement by dance organisations, by choreographers, and by thousands of practitioners in all aspects of dance.” (Davey 2009, p.9).

With the changes for polytechnics to becoming universities in 1992, this led to the introduction of more vocationally-orientated programmes, which in turn has led to the desire from current/prospective students to know more clearly about what they are going to get out of their studies and where it can take them afterwards. At the 15 recent DanceHE Conference entitled Resilience: Articulating ‘knowledges’ through dance in the 21 st Century , Jonathan Burrow, who gave the keynote address talked about the “saturated market place in dance which is leading artists to reposition themselves within this market place”. ( Burrows 2015, DanceHE Conference, De Montfort University, Leicester).

The purpose of this toolkit is to reflect on the current Dance modules and their employment and career-orientated focus through interviews and questionnaires with current and past students in order to better understand the needs of the students and employers. This toolkit will analyse the content and methods used within the BA and MA Dance programmes identifying checklists at strategic points in the journey to guide students in order to maximise and provide potential employment enhancing experiences. Individual case studies from graduate students will highlight the direction and journey they have taken since graduation.

14

Data from Unistats for 2012/13 lists course with 23+ students resulting in there being approximately 900 dance graduates for that year.

15

The Resilience Conference was held at De Montfort University in May 2015 and organised by DanceHE.

19

Identifying where subject-specific skills are embedded into the curriculum Level 4 (Year 1) THEORY Reading and writing about Dance

Subject-specific skills Analysing Articulating Broadening Knowledge base of subject study - Developing research skills

Semester 2 20

CHOREOGRAPHY Improvisation and Composition

Contemporary Ballet Contact Improvisation Fitness

Subject-specific skills - Fundamental training skills - Developing - Technical and expressive skills - Stylistic articulation

Semester 1

-

TECHNIQUE Dance Technique 1a

CONTEXTUAL Dance Portfolio Rotations of -

Subject-specific skills -

Exploring innovative & creative approaches Learning to direct & work with others Taking direction from a choreographer Selection & crafting a work Performing skills Production skills

Contextualising Dance

Dance Technique 1b

Compositional Approaches and Devices

Subject-specific skills

Subject-specific skills

Subject-specific skills

Understanding wider contexts and perspectives

As above

As above

Dance and Film Dance & Health Science Repertory Creative Practice

Subject-specific skills - Broaden subject-specific knowledge to explore new dance career options - Experiential learning methods in relation to the body - Working with a professional choreographer - Understanding your own body in relation to health, science and practice - Camera & film technical & creative skills

The structure of the BA Dance Programme is broad-based in the first year and approaches employability through the whole curriculum.

The emphasis in the first year is on exploration with all students taking all parts of the programme by way of introduction. Students are immediately introduced to a breadth of subject-specific study and potential career paths particularly within the Dance Portfolio module, as the title implies. Here students undertake taster seven-week introductions such as gaining first-hand experience of working with professional choreographers in the Repertory sessions. They are learning new skills within Dance and Film and acquiring skills for safe practice within the health science rotation.

This short introduction enable students to make an early decision about areas of potential career interest and direction and help in the decision making for selecting optional modules at Levels 5 and 6.

The optional modules start to offer a degree of specialisation and modules have been written to enhance skills and knowledge in areas such as The Dancer’s Body – useful for teaching, DMP, freelance dance artist. Performance & Technology – useful for potential screendance artists, dance technicians and choreographers. Dance Journalism – useful for writing and criticism and arts administration.

Semester 2

The compulsory theoretical modules provide the backbone for the academic study of Dance and are essential in providing the underpinning subject knowledge and depth of research which is necessary when progressing into a career in the dance and arts sector.

Semester 1

In the second year of the BA programme the employability emphasis shifts to offer both compulsory and optional modules. The skills identified throughout for both Dance Technique and Choreography are refined and honed as the student progresses through the programme. Students in choreography are given increasing autonomy in relation to the work that they produce in order to develop a personal and creative perspective to their work.

Semester 1

Level 5 (Year 2)

In the first year, students have a taste of everything. In the second year, you start to hone in on what it is that really interests you. In the third year, you’re almost specialising in something.”

(Students commented in the questionnaire that being taught by tutors who were still in the profession was inspiring and made their studies relevant to their aspirations) 21

Technique

Choreography

Critical Lenses and Identities

Dance Technique 2a

Structures and Concepts

Research Methodologies

Dance Technique 2b

Practice, Performance and Research

Optional Popular Dance: Street, Stage and Screen

Optional Performance and Technology

Optional Repertory

Optional The Dancer’s Body

Subject-specific skills

Subject-specific skills

Subject-specific skills

Subject-specific skills

- Exploring, practically, new genres of dance - Analysing methods and skills

-

-

- Kinaesthetic knowledge as a learning tool

Optional Dance Journalism

Optional Performance and Place

-

Practical skills in video and digital technologies Working with installation & performance

Subject-specific skills Subject-specific skills

Semester 2

Carrie Whitaker, Senior Lecturer in Dance and co-artistic director of Lila Dance

Theory

- Develop written communication - Desktop publishing skills - Engage in complex journalist perspectives

- Choreographic & theatrical concepts, process and production - Integration of planning, problem-solving and refelctive analysis

-

Expand technical and interpretative skills working with a professional choreographer

Optional Improvisation and Performance

Optional Body Stories

Subject-specific skills

Subject-specific skills

-

-

-

Exploration of self in performance Compostional settings and group interaction

-

Developing skills in somatic understanding Experiential anatomy Cultivating embodied expression

Semester 2

Semesters 1

Level 6 (Year 3) selected strands

Dance Dissertation

Dance Technique 3a

Detailed investigative research project Theoretical Practice as research

Dance Technique 3b

Specialising at Level 5 with two selected strands enables students to spend more time studying areas of greater interest. This specialisation and honing of specific deep skills alongside generic skills is a stepping stone to preparing for graduation. Three out of the six strands involve a work experience or placement element and all strands have a career destination: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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Performer, administrator, technician.

Critic, dance writer.

Dance movement psychotherapist.

Choreographer/dancer.

Teacher/freelance dance artist/community artist.

Placement – takes you into a selected area of interest.

Semester 1

Strand 1

Strand 2

Strand 3

Strand 4 -

Dance Production

Dance Criticism

Dance Movement Psychotherapy 1

Select two Modules

Teaching Dance Technique

Dance Placement

Subject-specific skills

Subject-specific skills

Subject-specific skills

Subject-specific skills

-

-

-

Choreographic Projects

Subject-specific skills

Subject-specific skills

-

-

-

Experiental learning model to create and maintain a touring dance company Performer Stage manager Technical skills Administrator/ Producer Managerial skills Refine technical & expressive skills

-

Developing critical perception Articulating Verbal and written responses

-

Introduction to community and clinical contexts provides a foundation year for partial entry to professional training

-

Choreography and Mobile Technologies Body Politics

Dance Movement Psychotherapy 2

Subject-specific skills

Subject-specific skills

Semester 2

Crtically analysing application of own perspective

Developing and extending understanding of fundamental principles

-

Links to other artforms Collaborative decisionmaking

-

Postmodern Practice Critical examination or theory & practice Application Within a dance theatre context

-

-

Using digital Technology In a creative context

Interdisciplinary Arts

Debating

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Directing Producing Problem-solving Complex decision-making Creative artistry

Strand 5

Acquisition of skills for effective technical understand and communication Effective demonstration Anatomical understanding

Teaching Dance and Creative Practices Subject-specific skills -

Creative problemsolving and approaches to teaching different groups

Strand 6

-

PDP planning Work experience with a focussed area of dance practice Career goal setting Researching a professional organisation

Mapping the generic employability skills to the Dance programme modules

Essential and used as part of the everyday dance practice Teamworking

Choreography – improvisation, repertory, dance production, performance and touring

Problem-solving

Performance & technology, dance technique, choreography, teaching dance & creative practice, placement

Communication

Dance movement psychotherapy, placement, dance technique, dance production, teaching dance technique, research methodologies, dissertation, choreography

Self-management

Dance technique, teaching dance & creative practice, placement

Graduate attributes Developing critical thinking, analysis and research skills enhance the graduate qualities that facilitate the synthesis of the deeper subject knowledge referencing the generic, CBI employability skills and subject benchmark statements.

Critical thinking

contextualising dance, critical lenses & identities, dance criticism, dance movement psychotherapy, postmodern practice, dance journalism

Analysis

reading & writing about dance, the dancer’s body, body stories, popular dance

Research

dance & health science, research methodologies, body politics, dissertation

Developed specifically within focussed dance modules Business & commercial Awareness

24

body politics, dance production, artist as producer

Application of it

dance production administration, technical theatre, performance & technology, choreography & mobile technology, dance journalism, new media & performance, placement

Application of numeracy

dance production administration, technical theatre, placement

A Dance student’s perspective on embedding employability into the Dance curriculum “Dancers are great at underselling themselves, at not knowing what their skills are other than physically dancing.

There is the view of Dance courses, that when you graduate you will perform, dancers will dance or they teach and that’s it. But there is a vast dance sector out there that is way beyond ‘just dancing’. The importance of embedding employability is so those dance students and graduates know where they can go and what different opportunities there are out there, and, know why someone would want to employ them, in and out of the dance industry.

“I feel there is a lack of understanding surrounding the word employability and students/graduates are not utilising their skill sets learnt through their time studying. Employability isn’t just about what makes you suitable for a specific job, it’s also what sets you apart from the rest, and unfortunately, just having a BA degree (or equivalent) isn’t enough, students need to be able to articulate why/how their BA degree has made them more employable rather than just riding on the title.

“It’s the skills that have become tacit: “Time management, learnt through turning up to class on time, keeping to deadlines (both essay and choreography).

“Teamwork, learnt through being part of choreography.

“Team management: through choreographing and managing a group of dancers, organising rehearsals and booking spaces.

“These are all skills that can be transferred to most job roles, if they are applied in the correct way. Enhancing employability is a personal journey as much as it can be taught, learning to look at what you are being taught from a deeper level, thinking about how it can impact your career. How could you use the fact that you had to book space and look at people’s timetables to book in rehearsals? It’s similar to a manager creating rotas.

“Employability is thinking outside the box, and enabling yourself to realise where your skills from one discipline, can be implemented to another.

“Embedding employability in the Dance curriculum would help with becoming self- employed, filling out funding applications, writing a CV or creating a showreel but it will also show Dance students how they are employable beyond performing and even outside of the dance world.”

Phil Barton MA Performance: Dance (Independent Research) & Dance Map: The Employability Journey Student Research Assistant

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Figure 4: Experiential learning/reflective practitioner model Concrete Experience Creative process working with a choreographer, experiencing, engaging directly with professionals, learning new knowledge, placements

Analysing/Reflective Observation/Sharing Group work, discussing, interpreting, watching, doing

Repetition/Rehearsal

Applying/Abstract Conceptualisation/Honing Skills Refining, creating, liaising, reviewing, interpreting Repetition/Rehearsal

Implementing Experience/Active Experimentation Taking the studio learning into the theatre, conceptualising, production of publicity literature, posters, programmes, lighting plans

Repetition/Rehearsal

Sharing/Engaging Deepening subject knowledge, contextualising sharing what has been learnt with other through teaching workshops, doing, employer engagement and testing out responses to plans

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Developing students abilities to become reflective practitioners through an experiential process enables them to maximise the embedded learning opportunities, which in turn enhances their employment outcomes through the embodied knowledge. Embedding these experiences enabled students to gain first-hand subject-specific skills and professional training, together with the generic transferrable or soft skills that are essential to the day to day engagement between student researchers, dancers, chorographers and tutors. Figure 4 draws upon David Kolb’s theory of experiential learning 16 (highlighted in blue) and places it into a dance training context. Repetition is an essential addition necessary for perfecting techniques and stylistic content and when working at a higher level.

Kolb stated that

“Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience� (Kolb, 1984, p. 38).

16

Kolb published Experiential Learning: experience as the source of learning and development in 1984. His theory details the cycle of concrete experience, reflective observations, abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation.

27

Module case study – Experiential learning model 1 Dance Production (3Fall Dance Company) This module aims to give students the opportunity to build a repertory of dance works, tour the work to a variety of different venues and experience the choreographic and performance process in action within a professional context.

The variety of roles required by a professional touring company is reflected in the different roles students may take on as part of this module: performer; technician; arts administrator.

The learning outcomes as detailed beneath correspond with the CBI employability skills on page 14 to bring together the subject-specific dance skills, practical work experience (touring/teaching/theatre managing/administrating) and generic skills to demonstrate the embedded approach.

The learning outcomes are: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Demonstrate a flexible and rigorous approach to their work, showing consistency of application and an ability to manage their own time effectively throughout the process of creating a viable tour for the company as either a dancer, stage manager, administrator or documenter.

Communicate effectively within a professional context, evidenced through their ability to liaise successfully with dancers, choreographers, administrators and clients.

Assess and respond appropriately and co-operatively to the differing needs of individuals and the variety of contexts and performance venues within which they will work.

Demonstrate technical proficiency and sophistication in performance utilising critical feedback to develop and adapt performance strategies.

Apply theoretical understanding of the process of performance to what they have learned and draw reasoned and objective conclusions about all aspects of the practical work identifying where further improvements could be made.

Use a variety of sources to investigate the choreographic style of specific choreographers (see handbook) and applying knowledge of their work to both the choreographic process and outcome in the performance and written work.

The indicative curriculum content states that this module acts as a bridge to the professional world, in that students will work with a real budget (which must be recouped within the ticket sales) and liaise with real customers. It builds on previous modules with the students utilising technical, choreographic, performance, administration, IT and communication skills. They will consolidate their written skills in a project report which analyses and evaluates their individual involvement. There will be the opportunity for students to lead workshops in schools depending on bookings made.

How is this achieved?

The three groups of students start working in September with the dancers working for five hours a week developing the new repertoire and reworking an existing piece of repertory. The student administration team works with guidance with a ‘learning by doing’ process and meet for weekly sessions as well as independent group sessions. The technicians spend the first semester on skills development about the lighting and stage management, they also start to support student and professional shows. The administrators and technicians are liaising with the 3Fall professional choreographers and venues in order to implement plans and any other requirements.

This experiential learning model enables all groups to gain the insight of working as a company and the first semester is the preparation time. The second semester is when the touring is undertaken with necessary workshop preparations prior to workshop delivery. The tour can accommodate between 12-20 performances with many workshop sessions and so this period is intense and both physically and mentally demanding.

Importance is placed on both the generic skills (G) and the subject-specific (SS) experiential learning modes that require the students to engage in a high level of self-directed learning as well as outward facing communication.

The dancers are enhancing their employability by:

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Problem-solving (G) – learning to adapt and respond to different choreographers becoming reflexive in their practice and reflective (SS).

Self-management (G) – developing the technical and expressive skills (SS).

Self-management (G) – maintain the necessary flexibility, strength and stamina (SS).

Teamwork, problem-solving and communication (G) – working as part of a team (company) as well as with a director to rehearse to a public performance standard (SS).

Problem-solving (G) and communication (G) – delivering workshops in unfamiliar environments, learning to adapt content to the needs of their students (SS).

The administrators are enhancing their employability by: Communication (G) – internally working with all teams, director and technical director whilst developing subjectspecific skills.

Problem-solving and business & commercial awareness (G) – liaising with the venues/teachers/theatre managers in:  negotiating and securing booking for performances and workshops (SS);  arranging transport, accommodation;  learning about and dealing with issues relating to health and safety;  working with the Finance Department.

Application of numeracy and Business & commercial awareness (G) – working with a real budget to balance ticket sales with expenditure.

Application of numeracy and application of IT (G) – preparing invoices, payments and the final profit and loss accounts.

Business & commercial awareness, application of IT and problem-solving (G) – desktop publishing in preparing the marketing material:  posters;  programmes;  leaflets;  tickets.

Communication (G) – learning and applying audience-specific marketing techniques and behaviours in order to present a positive and professional image (SS).

The technicians are enhancing their employability by: Problem-solving (G) – gaining a clear level of understanding of technical systems in order to identify problems quickly and respond effectively (SS).

Application of numeracy (G) – in the calculation of power loads (SS), safe and appropriate rigging weights (SS) and identification of circuits (SS).

Application of IT (G) – becoming competent in the programming and operation of a variety of software applications appropriate to the performance (SS) as well as desktop software in producing documentation.

Communication (G) – demonstrated through effective teamwork, clarity in identification and execution of cues and other tasks and ability to direct their peers as appropriate in performance situations (SS).

Business & commercial awareness (G) – gaining an understanding of current technical theatre techniques and equipment (SS) and the budgetary and logistic reasons for decisions made.

Teamworking (G) – working efficiently as a production team, fulfilling roles of programmer, operator, stage manager and rigger (SS) in order to successfully deliver the show.

Self-management (G) – able to identify their own role within the team and complete the appropriate tasks to a good standard and to deadline.

Business and commercial awareness (G) – gaining a working understanding of health and safety issues and requirements in the performance industry. Producing appropriate documentation such as material safety data sheets, method statements and risk assessments (SS). Able to demonstrate an awareness of safety in their practice and adherence to training.

3Fall Dance Company has been successfully running for the last 15 years and has built a reputation with theatres, colleges and school venues. The administrators work to secure the bookings for performances and workshops that provide the necessary income to be able to cover the expenses of touring with a company of 14 dancers + technicians and administrators/producers. The aim is to break even and therefore real budgeting and accounting is necessary and becomes one of the specific roles of one of the administrators working closely with the University Finance Department.

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MA postgraduate programmes in Dance The MA Performance Dance has two routes – the performers route and the independent research route.

In addition, students can undertake an MA in Choreography and Professional Practice. September 2015 saw the start of a PGCE Secondary Dance specialist training, MA Somatic Practice by Independent Research and Choreography by Independent Research. The purpose of higher level study in Dance is to enable greater specialisation.

Students on the performers route join mapdance company (Artistic Directors, Yael Flexer and Detta Howe).

Working intensively with international guest choreographers, students develop their technical and performance skills and deepen understanding of the creative process. mapdance operates as a professional company with daily technique classes and rehearsals. From mid-February to May, the company tours nationally and internationally whilst also offering educational workshops. Choreographers have included: Pete Shenton (New Art Club); Shobana Jeyasingh; Ben Wright; Nik Haffner (Ex-Forsythe), Liz Aggiss, Nigel Charnock, Matteo Fargion, Saju Hari, Detta Howe , Keira Martin, Jorge Crecis, Charlie Morrissey, Yael Flexer, Jonathan Burrows, Rick Nodine, Ofra Idel–Machol-Shalem

and Lila Dance.

Students taking the independent researchers pathway develop their knowledge and skills through a wide range of creative and theoretical options to produce a project of their own. Emphasising the link between practice and theory, this will centre on a creative initiative such as the production of a film or a lecture demonstration, and is tailor-made to suit individuals. In each case students write a paper expanding on the processes involved – or they produce a fullywritten paper.

A detailed response by MA students to the questionnaire can be found on page 53 but one respondent remarked:

“The MA had a huge impact on my understanding and engagement with the artistic process of devising work and the approaches to exploring these practices in connection and reflection of theoretical concepts. As someone who is working in the dance sector being able to construct a project, undertake an artistic process and be able to articulate the process in discussion and written reflections is important in building a profile.”

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Reflecting on the employability journey Identified in Figure 1: Employability journey model on page 9 and relates to Stages 3 & 4: Action & evaluation of the HEA framework.

Pre-university – UG comments from questionnaire 1 Creating the employability proposition is an expectation from future students, parents and guardians and is essential to recruitment. This has both university- wide demands, in terms of open days, social media, marketing and prospectus content, but also departmental-driven events, such as widening participation through school/college visits and partnerships, performances, specific dance taster days and employer engagement opportunities. These activities enable prospective students to be able to make a choice and be able to see the direction and future for their careers.

The survey that was completed by BA Dance graduate gave responses from students who studied between the years 2000-2014. The survey was open for a four-week period with a return of 31 responses. The information therefore only gives an indication of the trends and opinions and the aim is to extend this project further to get a better return with a broader reach of perspectives.

In relation to the decisions regarding the pre-university selection period, the survey revealed that 90% of those who responded had come to university straight from school or college. Influencing factors in wanting to study Dance at Chichester included: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Contact hours on the course.

Reputation of the course.

Community feel that was experienced on the audition day.

3Fall visited my school.

Choice of modules.

“I enjoyed the audition and impressed by the facilities.”

Good feedback from past students.

Location (“I needed to keep the costs low”).

Focus on choreography.

Interestingly, none of the comments made any reference to how the programme was going to support them in their future career and gives an indication to their priorities and the way in which an average 17-18 year old Dance student makes their university choice decision.

From these questionnaire responses, the choice of university is driven by the subject content and this is supported by an email correspondence (7.7.15) following the DSG meeting (made by Becky Edmunds, Independent Dance Artist and South East Dance Producer for the Artist Development Programme) who said:

“I have a basic question about what an arts education is for – I understand that eventually we all have to have a job, but I didn’t go to dance college to get a job. I went to have an adventure and to explore ideas and to feel what it was like to really move. The things that I learnt at dance college (how to work hard, how to work collaboratively, how to think creatively, how to invent my own life outside of any set pathways) – these are the things that equipped me for the freelance (portfolio) career that I subsequently had. That dance training prepared me to work as a performer, a choreographer, a film director, a director of photography, an editor, a pyro-technician, a production manager, a curator and now an arts producer.

“Whilst I think that it is really useful to have some kind of information within arts education about how to apply what you are learning to the world, I also think that a rigorous arts training does equip those people who have the creativity to invent their own path.”

There is a need to make the learning experiences more transparent to students in relation to the everyday working practices and training that are enhancing employability through embedded subject-specific skills and learning and how to take it into a chosen direction.

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The following section gives a variety of opinions to the questionnaire in responses to aspects of the pre-university period.

Q:

Did you feel that the applied focus and emphasis on employer engagement was a deciding factor in your decision to choose Chichester?

In total, 23 out of the 27 who responded to this question said: “No, the employer engagement was not a deciding factor.” Student comments included:

“No. I was solely focussed on obtaining a Dance degree and was unaware at the time of a need to engage in future employment possibilities.”

“Not particularly. When I chose the course I picked it mainly for the fact it had more practical classes than other Unis and that the theory/practical weighting seemed more 50/50.”

“No - I wasn't aware of this at the time, I just wanted to dance!”

One respondent who did say yes commented:

“Yes, lots of the lecturers were still working in the industry and the connections to industry were very strong in the department, with visiting companies to the department for workshops and performance.”

Q:

Have you been to, participated in, or seen any of the followings?

University open day Dance open day A 3Fall workshop or performance A mapdance workshop or performance

76.7% 55.6% 79.3% 69.0%

This indicates that students are keen to have a clear understanding about the programme they are signing up to through the attendance at open days and that workshops given by the two student companies can be influential in making the decision about which university to select having practically experienced working in a way that they would aspire to do so in the future.

Dance student checklist – pre-university Do your research into the differences between programmes – attend open days, ask questions about the course focus, try to match your aspirations with the different programmes. Time is well-spent at this stage in the process.

Audition and interview preparation – current fitness and suitability to study a demanding physical subject, performing experience, subject knowledge, prepare notes on information to talk about that doesn’t repeat what you have said in your personal statement Personal statement and qualifications – in addition to school/college work, demonstrate what you have done beyond the school curriculum, EPQ, workshops/classes attended. If you are going to put in a quote make sure it is relevant to you and your application.

Extracurricular activities – what dance experience beyond school/college do you have? Youth Dance Group, private dance training that you participate in? What dance works have you seen recently? Know about those works, the choreographers and the style. Engage with social media to broaden and enhance your dance knowledge (see Figure 5)

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Figure 5: Supporting your career with social media Social media has become an essential part of networking and keeping in contact, not only with your friends, but with work colleagues, audiences and more importantly potential audiences.

Identity When creating an online presence you need to consider your identity: What does your name tell people? Are you using your own name as a freelancer or will you have a trading/company name? Using your high-school email account username may not present a professional image…

Do you keep a consistent appearance across multiple social media platforms? Do you use the same profile picture/image and colour scheme? This will help your online identity be recognised by followers.

Do you have a separate account for personal social media? How do you ensure that your personal and professional life online are separate? In order to maintain a professional image, consider separate email and social media accounts for career purposes. Illconceived posts and photos tagged by friends can easily impact your image.

Connect Consider your target audience. Who do you want to connect with? How do you connect with them?

Identify your target audience and how best to connect with them. People use different social media formats for different reasons. LinkedIn is generally used for business purposes while Twitter is more conversational and about what is current at that moment. Think about how your target audience might use social media.

Identify your purpose in connecting. This will help you select the most appropriate media. Twitter is useful for spreading the word about an event. LinkedIn is less useful for that, but it far better for locating particular skills/services.

Who will you follow? Following is just as important as having followers. This builds your potential network – especially if you interact with people. It also increases your awareness of what works on social media – what grabs your attention? What doesn’t? Learn from this and apply techniques to your own feed.

Share Networking is about exchange. Sharing is an important part of social networking.

What do you have to share? What format does your career take? Do you produce visuals such as film or photograph? Do you have details of classes; time, place dates? What does your audience want to know about you?

Keep active. The more activity your social network feeds have, the more likely you are to be seen and interacted with. Aim to add something to at least one feed every day – even if it is just sharing something from somebody you follow.

Keep it relevant. This is where having a separate personal feed is useful. That is the place for videos of kittens! Ensure all posts on your professional feeds are relevant to your image/identity, career path, audience, and product.

Keep it networked. If you take part in a project or collaborate with another person, link up with their feed, share and interact with other online presences. This will help grow your own network.

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During university - UG comments from questionnaire 1 This section draws on the questionnaire responses in relation to their dance training experience as referenced in Figure 1: Employability Journey Model on page 9. It gives an insight into the student perspective and particular in relation to Curricula Design and Learning and Teaching in relation to employability.

Q:

Did you take any of the following third year vocational and employability focussed modules?

Dance Production Placement Teaching Dance Technique Teaching Dance & Creative Practice Dance Movement Psychotherapy

52.2% 38.9% 61.9% 27.8% 45.0%

On reflection this does not necessarily give a very clear indication of modules being selected according to career aspirations because a number of the following factors have to be considered. These include that some of these modules, e.g. Teaching Dance & Creative Practice was not an option when some of the respondents were studying.

Also, Dance Production performers are selected by audition and are therefore it not available to all students in the year.

Nevertheless, the question does provide some useful commentary about their engagement with these modules which included:

“Going to a school in my placement module was pivotal in my decision to becoming a teacher.”

“Doing admin for 3Fall helped me hugely to gain my first job with having has hands-on experience communicating and working with others outside of the university.”

“3Fall Dance Company gave me an insight into a company life and influenced my decision to continue my training in performance.”

“Wonderful experience performing as part of 3Fall, and has helped me with my own performance, and dance teaching.”

“Dance Movement Psychotherapy has helped me with the way to approach sensitive issues within a pupil’s life.”

“Teaching Dance Technique and Placement allowed for me to gain valuable experience in order to gain my place on the PGCE course.”

“I took 'Dance in the Community': this was amazing, I learnt so much on my placement at a special needs school. 3Fall also helped me to decide that I wanted to teach children and young people as I enjoyed teaching the workshop sessions in schools.”

“I used the dance movement therapy module to get a job in a school to work with special needs children which led me to become a teacher.”

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Module case study - Dance Movement Psychotherapy DMP is offered at Level 6 with two 15 credit modules.

A graduate in Dance from Chichester University could choose the pathway to become a Dance movement psychotherapist. Entry into the profession is through the successful completion of a Masters Degree in Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP). There are currently five postgraduate DMP training programmes offered in the UK, all of which are recognised by the Association of Dance Movement Psychotherapy (ADMP UK). These courses are located in Bristol, Derby, Lancashire and London. The MA DMP training is offered on a part-time and full-time basis.

Students wishing to apply should contact the institutions direct. The DMP training is structured to facilitate learning through experiential, interactive, and creative modalities alongside didactic learning. The DMP student will attend clinical placements that are supervised within a theoretical and movement-based model. All trainings encompass experiential groups, movement observation and movement analysis.

A graduate in Dance seeking entry for professional training as a DMP is required to have a range of experience. This includes exposure to a variety of dance and movement forms, and at least one year’s relevant practical work experience (voluntary or paid) in settings with vulnerable individuals for a minimum of 200 hours. The student will need to demonstrate personal intra-relational and inter-relational qualities, with a maturity and psychological robustness commensurate with training as a therapist. Please see detailed list of pre-requisites for training, on the ADMP website.

Post training, a DMP can expect to work with a range of client groups and across many areas including: Education, Health, and Social Services. There are opportunities to be research active, and DMP PhD programmes are offered in a number of institutions.

Julia Hall (Tutor for Dance Movement Psychotherapy) Further details can be obtained from the ADMP UK website: www.admt.org.uk

Module case study - Dance Placement Dance Placement is a third year (level 6) 30-credit module, which runs from approximately September to March every year. This module enables students to focus on an area of dance practice that interests them and to experience dance in a professional environment. Students are encouraged to find placement opportunities that enable them to enhance pre-existing skills and to develop new areas of learning. The module is structured around a variety of visiting speakers who talk about both their own career pathway and what it is like to work in a particular sector of dance. The range of speakers on offer provides students with an understanding of the breadth of employment possibilities that exist within the dance sector. Seminars that focus on CV writing, PGCE applications and business planning also support this programme of events.

Students have particularly valued visits from Chichester Dance graduates – for example, the Education and Development Manager with Jasmin Vardimon Company, who is also a recent graduate. Having graduate students return to share their experiences meant that they were able to discuss the importance of dance internships as part of their early career development.

Other speakers in recent years have included professional dance artist Cai Tomos, who led a practical session on teaching older adults, independent dance and arts manager; Lucy Frazer, who led a session on community dance; and Gus Garside, who has experience of many years working with a variety of charities including MENCAP. In addition to the lecture and seminar programme, each student spends a minimum of two weeks (or 60 hours) away from the University in a professional environment. Students each year undertake a variety of placements, many of which direct them towards employment or further training on graduation; for example, teaching (primary, secondary, and special needs), performance, arts administration, photography, and project management. In the academic year 2013-2014 students undertook placements which included the following places: Dance UK Arts Depot Hofesh Shechter Company Platform (London) National Dance Company of Wales (Cardiff) 35

Ceyda Tanc Dance South East Dance (Brighton), St Antony’s School (Chichester) Chris Nash (Dance Photographer) Whilst the skills acquired on these placements can be taken into a number of areas of employment, the following students continued to develop their area of interest either through further training or employment.

Student A (performance) - took two placements one at National Dance Company of Wales the other with Ceyda Tanc Dance; she is currently undertaking further professional performance training.

Student B (photography) - shadowed dance photographer Chris Nash; she also spent some time as an intern at Dance UK and had her interview with Joe Moran published in their journal entitled ‘Leaping Forward’. She is now developing her portfolio and establishing herself as a dance photographer.

Student C (cheerleading) - after taking her placement with Casablanca Cheer, she was offered a full-time coaching job with this company. One of the strengths that the Casablanca Cheer recognised in her was the ability to view cheerleading from a dance perspective in terms of choreography and also safe practice.

Student D (teaching special needs) - spent some time at St. Antony’s School, teaching dance and also taking part in Dance Movement Psychotherapy sessions with children who had a variety of educational and developmental needs.

She graduated on to the PGCE/School Direct scheme in order to qualify as a special needs teacher.

Student E (primary teaching) - worked at Preston Candover CE School. in Hampshire, delivering a series of dance workshops that fed into the schools Arts Week programme. She was offered places on two Primary PGCE courses.

One of the successes of this module is that, from the very beginning, students are required to be proactive and independent. Although all students are given one-to-one support in finding a placement, the application procedure is ultimately led by the student and is, therefore, comparable to professional employment applications. This process presents its own challenges however, as students might end up at a variety of locations making it difficult for the module leader to make a site visit and to see the student working.

In addition, it has also become increasingly difficult for students to find placements. This is probably due to an increasing number of students from various universities and conservatoires wanting to experience dance in a professional environment prior to graduation. An informal conversation with Dance UK administrator Michael Adamson suggests that organisations such as Dance UK are becoming inundated with applications from students.

Having confirmed organisations that are willing to work with Chichester students might alleviate this difficulty.

Fiona Wallis (Senior Lecturer and Module Leader for Dance Placement)

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Employer perspective on the value of supporting student placements – Hofesh Shechter Company Hofesh Shechter Company actively supports placement programmes offered by institutions such as the University of Chichester as we find that this not only supports the individual in giving them a valuable and practical understanding of the dance sector, but also exposes the company to the next generation of artists, producers and administrators all hungry to learn and develop their skills.

Over the years we have hosted a number of students on placement and find that this arrangement can be beneficial when longer term. In our experience, a 2-3 week placement is not really long enough to embed the students into the company’s working practices and give them a broad range of activity to engage with across the cyclical nature of a touring company. We are always grateful that the University of Chichester is able to accommodate this request by providing students who come to us on placement, with the opportunity to work for a period of three months minimum.

We would always provide a written contract to ensure clarity on both sides in terms of what the offer is and the level of support we are anticipating. Placements are supported one-to-one by various team members according to the area of work they are assisting with. They are line-managed by the company manager overall.

For us, a longer term placement enables us to provide a richer experience and a truer insight into the working practices of a busy touring company. In terms of advice to a prospective student placement, we’d say that we are delighted to be welcoming them to the team, that their work programme will be busy and varied, and that it’s important that they ask questions however small, so that we can aid their learning and understanding of work in this sector.

Our aim is to immerse a placement into all areas of our work focussing on key areas where they may have expressed an interest in gaining a deeper experience.

In the past a placement of three months has supported the following areas: Administrative duties supporting the company manager compiling tour-books for the company dancers; researching travel logistics and fares; booking flights and travel for the company and crew; drawing up schedules for planning purposes; attending all team & planning meetings.

Hands-on tour experience travelling with the company to important performances; supporting the Head of Development to run pre & post-show events; providing backstage running support to the artist & tour manager; opportunities to observe studio rehearsals & technical runs; FOH support with VIP’s.

Auditions supporting the head of admin & HR with the planning & management of company dancer and apprentice auditions; assisting with all associated paperwork and enquiries; working alongside the full office team to ensure the smooth running of these days on site.

Professional intensives assisting and then running the online booking process for the company’s regular professional intensives courses; supporting the company manager on day one on site; managing daily registration & final day feedback.

Events assisting the head of development to plan and run bespoke fundraising events for supporters and would-be 37

donors; assisting the participation producer to plan & deliver workshops/stalls at annual conference events such as the NDTA Conference; assisting the head of admin & HR to coordinate the company enrichment events taking place on tour.

Further information about the company can be found at www.hofesh.co.uk

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Further UG comments from the questionnaire

Q:

How prepared you were on completion of your BA Dance studies to move into a dance profession?

The responses for this question were mixed with 50% saying that they felt prepared but 50% saying that they didn’t.

Again, this might be reflected in the year in which the person graduated and the changes within the module content in more recent years. Comment highlights included:

“Very well-prepared, I feel it should be compulsory for all students to take the placement module in an area of the dance profession in order for everyone to leave with experience.”

“Fairly. I was interested in a career in dance criticism and I went on to secure an internship at Dancing Times following learning about dance criticism in a third year module.”

“Not very, but only because I didn't know what I wanted to do. When I gained a teaching position I had lots of information to draw in from my degree but still had a vast amount to learn.”

“Well-prepared, only thing I wasn't prepared for was what being "freelance" meant i.e. self-assessments.”

Q:

What are the core skills and personal qualities you can offer a prospective employer?

Here the responses allude to the broader graduate and reflective qualities which included:

“Resilience, creativity and versatility.”

“The ability to present ideas and take praise and constructive criticism. The ability to communicate with people of various ages, organising time and people to create a product.”

“The resilience to train as a dancer daily and not get lazy.”

“Communication was a huge and desirable skill I gained, confidence gained was beneficial, also written communication was a major factor in being employed by my first job after leaving uni.”

“Firstly organisation and preparation skills, I have good researching and annotating skills that came from core elements on this course. I feel the dance course offers students more opportunities to be creative and problem solve, more opportunities to work in a team.”

“Communication, independent learning, professional and proactive attitude. Working with many different lecturers enhanced my versatility and working on Dance Production really helped my confidence in approaching new situations.”

“Organisational and time management skills with time tabling rehearsals, working to deadlines, management and communication skills through group choreography, motivational skills through completion of compulsory modules of less interest to me!”

“Communication skills, confidence, enthusiasm, hardworking, willing to put in the time and effort. These were all gained through working hard in all classes, being pushed and encourages constantly with technique as well as theory work, committing to long rehearsal hours, putting time into your own personal practice, performance and theoretical studies. They all enable you to become independent and committed to what you want to achieve.”

“Good work ethics - through rehearsals and extra time spent in class. Punctuality, and working to tight deadlines. The discipline it takes to work in the dance industry is at the heart of Chichester's Dance training – invaluable.”

“A dance artist with strong choreographic and academic skills, including the ability to collaborate. A strong Somatic dance practice.”

The majority of responses to the following question identified the need for there to be more integration of working practices of being self-employed, including tax information, funding applications. This is an interesting area to consider in relation to embedding these aspects into the curriculum because if presented on their own, it is highly unlikely that students will select this as an option preferring to undertake more practical technical and choreographic study. Clearly therefore, these aspects need to be built into current Dance modules and made relevant to the area 39

being studied. The difficulty in doing this is that unless it is built into a compulsory module, only some of the students will benefit. Alternatively, making a new module that is compulsory for all students would be an option.

Q:

What do you think could have been included in your studies that would have enhanced your employment opportunities?

“More workshops and careers talks with people working within the creative industries throughout the three-year course.”

“I feel the course fully prepared me for employment. But perhaps mock interviews?”

“Work experience modules for all areas of study.”

“There could have been more focus of the structure of working as a self-employed artist as most dance artists who either work as teachers, performers even administrators are usually self-employed and how to manage this. More knowledge of all areas of the industry and job opportunities that are available, apart from the most obvious.”

“Audition preparation, interview techniques, teaching technique (I know this was available but I didn't choose it).”

“An additional module in self-employment legislation/CV writing/how to promote yourself and skills.”

“More advice and information about different career paths and jobs in the arts. Work experience or placements as a requirement to ensure you have industry experience before graduating.”

“As a freelancer I would have liked to have had a module on skills needed to do this such as making your own website,, doing a tax return, setting up a business etc.”

Q:

What do you think were the main obstacles to achieving the job you aspired to?

“I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and that was the main obstacle!”

“Help in creating a show reel as you have the studio, the time and the technique whilst at Uni to do this. The moment you leave you don't have the resources.”

“Having confidence to go for it! Managing the administration side of running a company.”

“For me it was about building up my portfolio and building contacts and a good reputation.”

“There is very little money in the arts, especially contemporary dance. This makes a career where you can support yourself financially very difficult.”

“Everything is relative and I was relatively a strong dancer in comparison with my peers at the university but compared to other dancers my age that I came up against at auditions, I had a lot to learn and a lot of hard work to do to come even close to some of the dancers I was up against for employment.”

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Dance student checklist – during university Getting the most out of your studies – engaging with a wide variety of industry professional tutors and visiting artists.

Be pro-active – exploring new areas of the subject – recognising the student-centred approach and your personal and professional development.

Recognising what you have learnt in relation to your future choices.

Seeking out and documenting opportunities to add to your CV. Networking – consider modules with work experience opportunities.

Placements with module credit or summer experiences provide real-life challenges.

Module selections – think about which modules will advantage you when you leave. Don’t avoid weak areas, work on them now.

Broaden your horizons and seek study abroad options – Erasmus and international exchanges.

Enterprise opportunities – working on a summer camp in the UK, USA, Europe.

Volunteering.

‘Graduate On’ and other funded opportunities.

Paid and unpaid internship.

Read the newspapers – know what is going on and stay in touch with the outside world!

Finally Read your assessment feedback; don’t just look at the grade! Act on the feedback on how to improve.

Continue to undertake classes and workshop (funds permitting) that keep you in contact with artists and people beyond your programme.

Keep notes about the new skills that you have acquired and remember to add them to your CV.

Q:

How has studying a creative arts subject enhanced your employability and how?

In answer to this question, all respondents could overwhelmingly see the benefits of having studied a creative arts subject, but as you will see from the comments beneath, one person says that some non-arts employers consider a Dance degree to be ‘silly’ and suggests that this is because they don’t really understand the complexities of what has been undertaken. Some of the comments were:

“It has as going into marketing having a creative degree has been hugely helpful as it proved I can dedicate time to work on an art and have a creative mind.”

“Certainly. It has given me confidence in approaching new situations, adaptability and versatility. I am highly disciplined to work with others and to challenge myself both physically and mentally.”

“As it has given me the training to succeed as performer, teacher, choreographer.”

“I am flexible in my thinking, coming up with creative solutions, able to work well with others in a team, motivated and not giving up but trying different ways to achieve goals.”

“It gave me a good background knowledge and encouraged me to learn more about the human body and become a personal trainer. Also wouldn't be teaching Dance at a school without my degree and expertise.”

“I believe studying a creative art does enhance employability. Dance specifically strongly develops communication skills, organising and team building skills, confidence and commitment.”

“I think with arts-related jobs what is beneficial is I can show I have a specialist knowledge. But with non-arts related subjects it can be seen as a silly degree as people don't understand it.”

“My study has enabled me work with others with compassion and with a sense of creative thing that encourages me to enjoy the challenges that emerge in a job and seek out answers where perhaps the answer is not obvious. It has allowed me to confidently offer ideas to peers, and take feedback with openness. I feel that over my job history I have taken these strengths into all experiences from working as a waitress to teaching professional class - it is about a foundation of interpersonal skills that has enabled me to read situations, work with individuals and respond intelligently to the nature of each situation.”

“All my dance skills are transferable to other non-arts based jobs.”

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Q:

Would you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur?

This was a revealing question because despite the comments articulated in the previous answers, which demonstrated entrepreneurial qualities and skills, two-thirds of the respondents who answered this question stated that they didn’t consider themselves to be an entrepreneur. Some went on to explain that they consider themselves to be “a

facilitator, delivering the knowledge of dance to the younger generation and giving them the chance to do something new with it”, whilst another person stated: “No … but I consider myself to work innovatively within a fast paced environment.”

Another response was that: “I did experience this when I first left Uni, but I wanted something more secure within my employment”, which emphasised the considered risk. Another played down their entrepreneurialism, but said: “To some extent, setting up a successful company and achieving two Arts-

funded tours was by no means easy.”

Those who said yes commented with responses such as: “in a sense, you have your hands in many different pots as a dancer. You teach, perform, write, everything all at the same time”. Another wrote: “In some

respects yes as I want to be my own boss and where I am working now focuses on entrepreneurial spirit.”

Entrepreneurship was the focus of the Susanne Burns (2007) study, entitled Mapping Dance Entrepreneurship and Professional Practice in Dance Higher Education, in which she discussed that dancers work differently to ‘entrepreneurs’ in different sectors stating that:

“Dancers create products that are not always market-orientated. Instead they need to find markets for it after creating it. This requires different approaches to marketing – creating demand rather than meeting it.”

(Burns 2007, p. 7).

Q:

Did you find yourself changing direction in order to secure a regular job?

There was a mixed response to this question with 50% saying yes and 50% saying No. Some of the responses included:

“Yes to an extent. I was working in arts administration but only had a part time contract with no prospect of a pay rise or to be made full-time due to arts council funding. Going freelance meant I had the power to make my own money where I choose how much I own depending on how much I put into it. I also now work in the commercial world where money is not as scarce as in the arts.”

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“No, I had to just be ready to try anything, and sometimes take on other non-dance work to pay the bills alongside dance jobs.”

“I made a choice to pursue a relatively more secure job than a performing career, but also my enjoyment and sense of achievement in teaching outweighed my desire to be a performer.”

“Yes, I wanted money and wanted to pay off certain debts and save to move into my own place, therefore a generic full-time office job seemed appealing at the time and has enabled me to do this.”

“No, as I continued to work in other aspects of the sector.”

“Yes and no. If my love of travel was not so great I would have persevered with staying in the UK and auditioning until I was blue in the face and getting some kind of performance job on a ship or something.”

These responses resonate with a comment that Pauline Tambling made when asked about her opinion in relation to some dance careers are ‘high risk’ and can be short term and those dance careers which are ‘lower risk’. Her response was:

“Young people are increasingly looking for an interesting career and who are coping quite well with portfolio careers, they don’t think about settling down into a job for life in any sense at all but package up volunteer work and subsidise it with tutoring in a way that probably our parents would have not considered. So I think that is going on, people are deciding that they are either going for the big job, the money, the career and status or they are going for a job that interests them and one that is satisfying.” (Telephone Interview conducted on 3.7.15).

Q:

What is your opinion about the pay and remuneration for dance-related employment?

“There is a naivety about how beneficial dance is on social intellectual and artistic development, this can be reflected in the pay dance-related employment is given.”

“I found pay in arts jobs very low for often long with unsociable hours and it was a large factor is deciding against an arts-based job.”

“The pay in teaching is the same as any other subject the amount of opportunities are few and far between. This makes it almost impossible to secure a permanent position in a school.”

“A lot lower than many other jobs and incredibly difficult to live on.”

“The pay is usually good but it is not consistent throughout the year/seasons.”

“According to my experience the remuneration for dance-related jobs is fair since it allows a dancer to have a good lifestyle as well as pay back the hard work and economic investment to become a professional dancer.”

“The pay for dance is good but it is often not a stable income and dancers struggle to balance sudden income with periods of unemployment. Self-employed workers often don’t have a long term financial strategy in terms of pensions, mortgages etc. It often leads many to shift career paths.”

“It can be low. When it is well-paid it tends to be short-term projects. You are expected to work for free a lot more than other artforms.”

“Pay is average but that is because I am in the educational system, if I was working for the NHS it would be different.

But to be honest I do my job because I love it not because of the pay.”

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Examples of graduate pay and remuneration Recent graduate – One year on Graduate case study – recent graduate: one-year on – portfolio career BA Graduate A - BA (Hons) Dance 2011-2014 Achieved: 2:1 After university I got accepted into an American summer camp programme as a camp counsellor and dance teacher for two months.

I volunteered at a private prep primary school …, that was going to be full-time for the year, but within a month the school recognised my hard work and offered me a new paid contract and backdated all of my pay.

I was headhunted by a local secondary school and received a phone call from the head teacher offering me a full-time dance instructor position starting in January 2015.

I am teaching Dance to Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 pupils and as Dance is a discrete subject at this school in Oxfordshire, pupils can specialise in Visual and Performing Arts which is compulsory for Key Stage 3.

I am now going on to a Schools Direct Programme i on June 1st which is salaried (around £16,000 for training year) and the above school are paying for my course.

Pay and remuneration I am paid £18,000 a year on an unqualified teacher’s salary (dance instructor) I am also a freelance choreographer at a local private secondary school for their drama show and I am charging £25 an hour.

I am a Dance teacher for a club at the … school and I am paid at their club leader rate of £31.92 a session.

In the Dance Mapping Executive Summary, Janet Archer , who was then the Dance Strategy Director for the Arts Council England, wrote: 17

“Dance needs to generate the confidence to value itself and position itself assertively. Perhaps more so than other artforms, there is a hidden economy within the dance field. Artists and producers will often elect to work for nothing or very little, in order to get things done. It should not be acceptable for talented people to rely on passion alone to fuel their work. We have many outstanding dance leaders working in the field. Unfortunately many choose to leave to pursue more realistic career options. We should be recognising and supporting them to build and diversify opportunity for dance, fostering their development and providing incentives for them to both work themselves and provide work for others.” (Archer in Burns & Harrison 2009, p.5).

These issues are still relevant for careers in dance such as performers and choreographers which are considered to be less stable financially and a higher risk with a shorter term career expectancy particularly for performers.

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Janet Archer is currently Chief Executive of Creative Scotland

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Graduate Case Study – Six years on Graduate case study: graduated six years ago, secondary Dance teaching specialist BA Graduate B - BA(Hons) Dance 2006-2009 Achieved: 2:1 September 2009- March 2010 Teacher of GCSE and A Level Dance … Grammar School I gained an unqualified position straight after graduation - maternity cover. Teacher training experience received in third year of BA Dance in Teaching Dance Technique and leading repertory workshops with 3Fall Dance Company. This helped me to gain a place on the Graduate Teacher Programme at the University of Chichester. My school placement was achieved through touring with 3Fall Dance Company and after leading a workshop in a secondary school I was offered the opportunity to complete the Graduate Teacher Programme upon graduation.

September 2010 - August 2011 Trainee Teacher of Dance … Community College and my second school placement at a school in another county.

Subject knowledge from BA was paramount to successful teaching - particularly surrounding technique and choreography.

September 2011 - August 2015 – First appointment at a secondary school in Kent September 2011 - June 2012 Teacher of Dance July 2012 - June 2013 Subject Leader of Dance July 2013 - June 2014 Lead Teacher of Performing Arts/ Subject Leader of Dance July 2014 - August 2015 Head of Performing Arts I used my subject knowledge to establish a Dance Department and modelled my teaching approaches very much on what I experienced at the University of Chichester. The GTP helped me to understand what constituted outstanding teaching and I have used this knowledge to develop and train teachers both within my subject area and with teachers of other subjects. I have received leadership training through three different leadership programmes; the first such programme was The Kent Future Leaders programme, and also The Middle Leaders Development Programme and Outstanding Leaders in Education programme.

I have been promoted because of my dance ability and how I use this to develop and enable my students to make progress. This is a direct result of my experience at University of Chichester. I have recently been able to attain the post of Director of Dance at …. Academy in the Midlands (a specialist creative and performing arts 14-19 academy) as a result of my training and experience.

My degree has been the basis for my career success.

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Pay and remuneration charting career progression (The pay rates are in line with teaching pay scales across all subject areas) Sept 2009 - March 2010

Grammar school (Unqualified)

£15,118

Sept to Dec 2010

Community college (Unqualified)

£15,813

Jan - Aug 2011

New secondary school (Unqualified)

£15,813

Sept 2011- June 2012

Different secondary school

£21,513

Teacher of Dance and Drama July 2012 - June 2013

Same secondary school Subject leader of Dance + TLR (Teaching and Learning Responsibility) (£2,355)

£23,300 £25,655

July 2013 - June 2014

Same secondary school Lead teacher of Performing Arts + TLR (£2,450)

£27,200 £29,200

July 2014 – Present

Same secondary school Head of Performing Arts + TLR (£4,360)

From September 2015

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Academy - Director of Dance

£33,560 £43,000

Module case study involving a teaching placement/work experience Teaching Dance & Creative Practice The following information is sent out to potential placement providers who have either been found by the student or with assistance from a member of staff.

Information for potential placement/work experience providers This information is coming to you because a student has approached you asking if they might be able to come into your school/institution to undertake either some observations or teaching/assisting experience and you would like to have some more about what they are doing.

It is my responsibility to reassure you that this student has already undertake the Teaching Dance Technique module last semester and this semester is taking Teaching Dance and Creative Practice, to which this work experience is attached to. The module details are outlined beneath.

The student will have approached you because they are interested in gaining a better understanding of the demands, content and delivery of teaching within your setting and age group. Once you have met with the student, you may prefer that they are only able to observe to gain this insight, but if you know the student or are happy for them to be more involved that would be fabulous and of course I would be willing to provide additional specific information about individual students if necessary.

What would be required of you?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Allow the student to shadow either you or a member of your team.

Offer support, guidance and an insight into the way in which dance is delivered in your establishment.

Enable the student to lead all/part of a series of sessions before the assessment – if you could offer feedback.

Teach one class which will form part of their final assessment for the module and to which I will attend.

Provide a short written feedback on the student in relation to both their subject content and delivery and their professional attributes.

I would welcome any suggestions and feedback that you might have.

Thank you for your support.

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Aims of the module To further develop individual skills and strategies for teaching and learning with a focus on the wider contexts that teaching Dance could include different age groups and abilities.

Learning outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students will be able to: formulate appropriate lesson plans for a specific age range/group; undertake a detailed written study into a specified interest group; prepare, lead and evaluate a practical dance lesson.

Indicative curriculum content: This module builds on the experience gained in Teaching Dance Technique to further hone the skills for the effective delivery of dance lesson content to different groups of participants. Where possible the group will observe or work/team teach with groups outside of the University to experience real situations in preparation for their final practical demonstration. Micro teaching and practical exploration will be undertaken together with key lectures.

Learning strategy: This module will include practical workshops exploring the different approaches needed when working with diverse groups ranging from early years, through the school ages groups (National Curriculum focus) to community dance teaching and working with the special needs or the elderly. Having established the group’s main interest areas, a selection of these will be explored through lectures, visiting artists and student lead practical sessions. The importance of safe practice, include health and safety issues when working with different groups is paramount.

Students will also learn about key areas of self-employment in relation to teaching such as CRB, First Aid and Public Liability Insurance. The core skills acquired throughout the dance programme in Dance Technique and Choreography will be applied during this module. This level 6 module requires students to take charge of the focus area of study and will require independent research for the various planning and delivery of practical and theoretical tasks.

Mode of assessment: Formative assessment verbal and/or written feedback will be provided following preparatory tasks which are designed to develop those skills needed for assessment.

Essay 50% (1,750-word equivalent) Practical demonstration or lecture demonstration 50% (1,750-word equivalent) Criteria for assessment:

Essay Students should demonstrate: selection of relevant research into a chosen area of Dance teaching; consideration for any health and safety or safe practice issues and strategies for dealing with them; a preparatory plan for a practical class; written work should be supported by accurate referencing, grammatical conventions and full use of appendices to include any additional supporting material or resources.

Practical demonstration or lecture demonstration

Students should demonstrate: effective physical demonstrations, verbal instructions and feedback (if presenting as a Lecture Demonstration – then this needs to show you clearly working with your group on DVD and submitted on the day of assessment); attention to health and safety of the group; content of the lesson in terms of suitability of taught material in relation to aims and objectives, time available and level of planned group; adaptability to changing situations that may occur and implementation of appropriate strategies if necessary.

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This work-based learning method provides concrete ‘on the job’ learning experiences. There are several opportunities at Level 6 for students to gain teaching experience if they are interested in going into teaching. In addition to the two specific teaching modules, students also develop these skills working with a variety of groups as part of the Dance Production (3Fall) module as well as those students who take the placement module who may want to be placed in a teaching environment. This might well be a community setting.

In evaluating this embedded approach for students who have ambitions to progress onto a formal teaching qualification, the skills that they have acquired - together with the opportunity to put into practice their subjectspecific knowledge, skills and understanding - provides a very good stepping stone through further training into employment as identified in the two case studies on pages 44 and 45.

Dance student checklist – preparing to leave university Reflect back on your studies as you look forward to analyse both your strengths and where you have engaged with employability focussed modules (see dance employment destinations at the back).

Start looking at where to find jobs for when you leave (see resources at the back).

Research into what dance-related job options there are in relation to your ability, knowledge and skills (see dance career assessment sheets at the back).

Preparing for auditions.  get as much rehearsal/performance experience, (volunteering) to be in other people’s work;  look out for opportunities by signing up for audition info on websites like Article 19 and Juice online.

Writing applications  start to look out for jobs that you can apply for;  work with the Careers Department for help in getting across your skills and experience;  spellcheck your application!

Written CV v Online CV  being articulate and succinct;  remember that you have just spent three plus years studying don’t forget to tell them about what you did on the course, it is likely to be very different to someone else’s.

Get connected  know who and where your Regional Dance Agency is and be clear about how you can engage with them.

Sort out your social media (see page 33).

Consider where you are going to live once you leave and who will be your local contacts.

Joining appropriate subject associations – NDTA, Independent Dance…

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Q: What three words best describe you as a Chichester Dance graduate?

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Post-graduation Responses from undergraduate BA students who went on to postgraduate study The survey goes on to reveal that 66.7% of the respondents have continued on to undertake a postgraduate qualification, with 83.3% gaining this qualification at another institution. Of the 17 responses to this question, 12 had undertaken a teaching qualification (PGCE in Secondary with some Primary), two had undertaken MAs in Dance Movement Psychotherapy, and one had undertaken an MA in Choreography. At Chichester, four respondents had been in mapdance and one on the MA in Choreography.

When questioned about the impact that they felt this higher level of qualification has had on their employability success in relation to their undergraduate studies, the responses included comments such as:

“I had the chance to improve my dance abilities by engaging new methods, tools and understanding onto my previous knowledge and training. At the same time, working with five different choreographers gave me the chance to explore my ability of using my dance training across different environments and processes. When I start auditioning after the MA I felt much more confident in understanding choreographers' requests.”

“I feel by doing the teaching modules I can now understand children more and have a job at a primary school.”

“It has definitely had impact on my career and made me more confident as an individual. A degree in any subject requires skills such as commitment, hard work and perseverance which enhances your chances with any employer.”

“I was able to become a primary school teacher with this specific qualification. I used the skills and knowledge I gain on the course and I was successful in securing a job at my placement school.”

“The various disciplines of both theory and practical helped with employability; however the lack of work experience hindered what areas I could work in.”

“The PGCE gave me skill set to teach in secondary schools within the frameworks set out in education. It is possible to teach without this qualification; however I feel that it enables teachers to be robustly trained to teach to an outstanding level. Furthermore the teachers are knowledgeable and more widely employable as they are required to work in two placements for an extended period, therefore have a greater understanding of the education system.”

“I wonder if the 'qualification' has given me anything for my employment. Because I don't go for jobs that look for qualifications, but definitely the experiences on the MA course, I gained the ability to articulate thoughts, issue or questions and skills to solve and develop with others creatively.”

Figure 6: Current employment status of Dance graduate respondents

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Figure 7: Current occupation of Dance graduate respondents

Youth Dance England reported in 2012 that there was an estimated 30,000 people employed within the dance sector, with only 2,500 of them being performers. (Youth Dance England, 2015 [online]). This gives an indication of the challenges in relation to the numbers of students training in dance, with whom a large number have the ambitions to progress into a performance-related career.

The questionnaire suggests that with further specialisation at Masters level, there is an increased chance of achieving the desired career outcome. In relation to the categories identified in Figure 6, the respondents stated that:

“I'm currently working for a contemporary dance company, Tavaziva Dance (London), as a performer, as well as being rehearsal director and teacher for their youth company (Tavaziva Male) and delivering workshops on their behalf. In the gap between rehearsals time and performances I perform for the Grange Park Opera.”

“Teaching assistant with special needs children at a primary school.”

“Digital marketing executive for a major property portal.”

“Marketing and Events Officer for Step into Dance (an inclusive Dance programme delivered to 200 schools, led by the Royal Academy of Dance in partnership with the Jack Petchey Foundation). I project manage events throughout the year, organising the planning, delivery and evaluation of the events. I also market these events creating promotional material and dealing with press releases.”

“Teach contemporary technique at a private vocational school for year 7 - 13 and on the Musical Theatre degree course.”

“Freelance performer/dancer with multiple companies. Choreographer for own work and others.”

“Education manager for a professional touring dance company.”

“Deputy head of faculty for expressive arts, teaching dance and drama in a secondary school.”

“Communications executive for a recruitment company. Day-to-day involved running social media, web content management and using Photoshop for photo editing and design work i.e., flyers.”

“Freelance performer and teacher for a few dance companies. Resident choreographer for Anjali dance company that employs dancers with learning disabilities. Independent choreographer for projects in communities.”

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This survey of Dance graduates provides food for thought in relation to: How to enhance the module content of the programme in embedding employment related content, work experience and support.

Highlighting the importance of understanding the relevance of pure subject study and for a student to be able to immerse themselves within the new areas of learning.

Raising questions about the sector in terms of the need for a clearer understanding of the expectations and standards of a graduate Dance student.

Questionnaire 2: Current and past MA Dance students The methodology for the data collection for this part of the project was to gather evidence from current and past MA students. The responses consist of people who have both studied for their BA at the University of Chichester and those who had studied elsewhere before coming to Chichester to undertake their MA studies. Using an anonymous online survey to students studying in the 2014-2015 cohort, this sample included a range of institutions and countries at which the respondents had studied and these included BAs from Falmouth University, Conservatorz of Music and Dance, Cologne, Germany; De Montfort University and the University of Chester, as well as the University of Chichester.

A total of 88% of the MA Performance: Dance students surveyed had progressed straight from their BA studies onto the MA and only 12% taken a gap year between the BA to MA. Students were asked to consider questions about their studies in preparation for the professional dance sector and employment.

How prepared do you currently feel to enter a professional dance environment?

The responses indicated that the additional year of training and higher level studies enabled a student to be able to place their knowledge, skills and desires into context and better equipped them for the direction in which they wanted to go in. The postgraduate year appears to be a maturing period which allows the student to see the realities and challenges that are ahead of them.

In addition to the Dance training at PG level, students are also building effective research skills and the Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited have produced an essential document entitled Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) which “is a professional development framework for planning, promoting and supporting, the personal, professional and career development of researchers in higher education (Vitae Researcher Development Statement 2010, p.1 CRAC)’.

How could your undergraduate training have been enhanced to prepare you for the professional environment?

Students’ comments included:

“I knew what route I wanted to take however was unsure how to go about it. Every company is looking for experience, and this is something you are unable to achieve at undergraduate level.”

“Modules such as marketing, making applications and understanding finance.”

“More technique classes in a range of styles to push strength, stamina and overall exploration of what we can find in ourselves.”

“Better network integration. More time beside the schedule to prepare for the life outside the university.”

“More technique classes, help with writing funding application/starting your own company/starting as a freelancer.”

“More technical dance training - more classes etc.”

“Upon completing my MA studies I felt ready to face the demanding UK dance industry. I felt my technique, stamina and performance abilities achieved the level necessary to make myself employable by professional dance companies.”

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Dance student checklist – transition to employment Don’t lose touch with your peers or the department – let them know what you are up to.

Join the Alumni to keep connected.

Continue to work with the Careers Department to ask for advice.

Don’t be frightened to go for something that you are not completely sure about (revisit the self-assessment sheets) but be realistic.

Do your research on a company, individual or organisation that you may want to work with or have an interview/audition:  have you seen their work well enough to be able to talk about it?  do you know the people who work for that organisation and what they do?

Once you have sent an application, keep a track on it.

Ask for feedback in relation to applications that are not successful, particularly if it is a company that you really want to work with. Ask about volunteering if appropriate.

Keep your CV up to date.

Transition to being self-employed Research into how to set up as self-employed and if you will be operating as a sole trader or a limited liability company.

Sort out insurance and public liabilities (you can do this with People Dancing – foundation for community dance).

You may need to have a Performing Rights Society Licence to play music for example if you teach in a public place.

Do you need a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) in order to work with young people?

Keep all receipts for end of year accounts.

Maintaining your profile on social media.

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BA and MA graduate case study – performer, choreographer, teacher Kay Crook BA Dance 2007-2010, MA Performance: Dance 2010-12 Achieved: 1st “I consider my time at the University of Chichester to be the core contribution and inspiration for my work as a dance professional today. If I were to go back and choose my pathway again, I would do the same again, as I believe the training I received at Chichester was the best possible training, learning environment and support system that I could have provided for myself at that time.

“One of the benefits of Chichester was the opportunity to make my training experience as intensive as desired. We were offered a range of technique classes on a daily basis, from teachers who were also working professionals.

Lecturers were therefore able to share their skills and knowledge about the current dance climate and prepare us for entering into the professional world.

“Alongside technique classes were opportunities to choreograph and participate in the choreography/research process of fellow students. Both the lectures and the overall choreographic experience hugely underpinned my understanding of choreography and creative processes and how I work as a professional today. This was also paired with extracurricular training, dance academies and work with associate company Lila Dance, who offered regular training and performance opportunities. Training with Lila Dance at the University proved to be one of my biggest inspirations, and I can think of no better professional development than the electric, energising classes, delivered by such passionate and devoted teachers. This could also be said for the academic teaching staff at the university, of whom guided us through our BA and MA dissertations and helped to shape and inspire our research processes. My particular inspiration was from lecturer Ann Nugent, who was a devoted teacher and role model, offering insights and inspiration when times were hard, the confidence and support to take risks and fulfil my potential in writing. Also, my MA advisor Marisa Zanotti, who took everything I thought I knew, put it in a blender and handed it back. I have never learnt so much in such a short space of time, from someone with countless knowledge and insight and still continue to carry the experience and inspiration with me throughout my practice. I went into the course at Chichester with the idea that I couldn’t write, yet because of the support I gained from these two lecturers I came out with a first class degree and the Valerie Briginshaw Prize for Dance writing and Academic Excellence.

“On graduating from the University in 2012, I immediately travelled to Bangalore, India, to commence a six-month residency at Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts. During this time I taught on a one-year intensive Professional Diploma Programme, led regular classes with the Internationally acclaimed Attakkalari Repertory Company and collaborated with local artists to build performance work for touring in India. I am now in my fourth year of working between India and UK, continuing work with Attakkalari, along with Lshva, Gati Dance, SUDC, Kha Foundation and Navaneetham Cultural Trust. I am now regularly commissioned to work across India for performances and choreographic residencies, in Hyderabad, Kerala, Pune, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. During this time I have set up Chhaya Collective, a contemporary dance company, working to establish relationships between artists in UK and India through cross-artform, cross-culture collaborative practice.

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“In 2013 Chhaya Collective were funded by Asian Arts Agency UK and Exeter Phoenix Theatre to develop ‘Antara’, a duet between myself and Indian dancer Ajeesh Balakrishnan, in collaboration with Interwoven Theatre Productions. In 2014 Chhaya Collective performed ‘Saugandya Paravam’ (2014) and ‘Falling Light in Liminal Spaces’ (2014) at venues across Southern India, including Kerala’s National Theatre. Last year Chhaya Collective began developing duet ‘Falling Light in Liminal Spaces’, in collaboration with writer Nakula Somana, filmmaker Nirup Divakaran and Abdul Raheem.

The work has been in development between Bangalore (India) and Devon (UK), with the first performances taking place this Autumn ’15 in Santarem and Lisbon in Portugal.

“When working in the UK, I regularly lead Dance in Devon’s Advanced Contemporary class, workshops for Earthfall Dance, Tacchi Morris, SYDC, Bridgwater College, Spindrift Dance, Dartington Arts, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance and launched the Exeter Youth Dance Company.”

Website: www.chhayacollective.com

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport publication entitled Creative Industries: Focus on Employment reported that: “There have been faster than average increases in the number of jobs in the creative economy for those with

either Higher Education or Degree (or equivalent) qualifications between 2011 and 2013. This has led in a shift in the proportion of jobs filled by those with a qualification from Higher Education or a Degree in the Creative Economy, from 63.9 per cent in 2011 to 67.3 per cent of jobs in 2013.” (DCMS 2014, p.25).

Students are increasing seeking to gain a higher level qualification with specialist training. The Warwick Commission

on the Future of Cultural Value stated: “To be successfully employed in the most creative roles in the cultural and creative industries requires specialist training to graduate level, and the UK has world-class and leading specialist training in Architecture, Film and Media, Design, Music and in the Performing and Visual Arts, which are essential to producing skilled creative talents. These specialist courses often combine academic study with intensive and costly vocational and technical training that requires significantly longer hours of study and much lower staff-to-student ratio.” (Enriching Britain: Culture, Creativity and Growth 2015, p. 48).

The training involved in the MA Performance: Dance is extremely intense with students working every day from 8.45am-6pm, but this is a necessary preparation and transition for entering the dance profession.

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Questionnaire continued - how has studying at postgraduate level enhanced your employability?

In response to the survey question, the students’ perspectives on undertaking an MA level qualification included:

“Become a well-rounded dance artist, with skills in many areas of dance. The regular and intense practical classes have developed my practical dance training immensely.”

“I think I will have a slight edge on those who haven't got a postgraduate degree. I have learnt more specifically about the area of dance I want to enter and therefore am more prepared to understand specifics of performance and auditioning, selling myself, pushing myself to stand out, confidence to explore alternative opportunities such as teaching which I have also had the chance to experience during postgraduate study.”

“It’s offered me a chance to become a lecturer at university which I am interested in pursuing.”

“I will have gained an extra 14 months of experience. I have worked with people who are already established in the industry. I have been shown how to put together a great CV and showreel, and told what company directors are looking for. I am also a lot more educated in this sector.”

“My technique has improved and overall dance performance, I have greater academic knowledge, I feel more mature and ready to start a professional career.”

How could your postgraduate studies be enhanced to prepare you for the professional environment?

“Help with auditions/job interviews/CV writing, etc.”

“There is this ‘university world’ and the outside is the rest and I don't feel enough integrated or that I know enough about having/creating a network.”

“Connections with other universities to potentially share dissertation presentations and or final performance work as research-based practice.”

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Module case study - Artist as Producer In conversation with the module leader Vicky Hunter Why do you feel this module is an important area for choreographers?

“Artist as Producer addresses the needs of freelance dance artists who may find themselves working in an increasingly

competitive market place where they are required to develop choreographic work and produce and promote that work thereby requiring a variety of skills beyond the purely artistic/aesthetic. The module introduces students to some essential professional protocols and practices such as; identifying funding sources, developing funding applications, diversifying their practice (through teaching/applied work) networking and website development.”

The learning objectives for the module are: Demonstrate detailed knowledge of current ways of thinking and operating within the U.K and European dance sector.

Critically evaluate current policies and rhetoric connected to the implementation of contemporary dance practice in a variety of contexts.

Critically review specialist areas of contemporary dance choreographic practice and situate their own work in relation to it.

Clearly identify their artistic approach, ethos and articulate the relevance and applicability of their work in a range of contexts.

Can you give me an overview of what the students have explored?

“This year's content has included: workshop sessions with professional dance artists who have provided an overview

of their practice and their approach to developing and producing work (Cai Tomos, Sara Wookey, Virginia Farman).

Students have also been tasked with finding a mentor, taking them out for a coffee and discussing their work with them in order to develop a professional contact and learn from emerging/established artists. A two-day intensive course with South East Dance (SED) staff explored the importance of arts funding, website development and communications, networking, the UK and European 'dance ecology' and continuing professional development.”

Tell me about the partnership links with South East Dance and any others?

“The partnership link with SED was established to provide students with a real-world experience and a contact with the world of professional dance through which they could develop their understanding of the world of work via tangible examples. Students were invited to spend a day with SED and witness first-hand the workings of a dance agency and to attend the SED-commissioned choreographic platform for emerging dance artists based in the south east, students learned about the selection process and had a tour of the Brighton Dome venue and spent some time with the technical manager who ran the evening event.

“SED also provided informal feedback on the final assessment submissions (a website and an 'opportunity application') whilst this was not a formal piece of assessment feedback it provided students with a further layer of professional feedback from colleagues who may well be assessing actual funding applications from the students emerging in the future.”

Assessment criteria Opportunity application Students should demonstrate: research of key industry opportunities relating to the development of artistic skills and or the presentation of choreographic work in a specific arena; clear evidence of analysis of the opportunity’s key criteria, aims and objectives; the ability to situate their own work in relation to the opportunity and align their own working methods and artistic ethos with those of the selected opportunity; clearly show the project aims and objectives in response to the opportunity’s agenda (s).

Website artistic statement: Students should demonstrate: clear understanding of and reflection on their artistic position, ethos, aims and objectives; evidence of industry research and an understanding of current dance practices, protocols and trends; reflective skills that enable the student to identify their own artistic key features and signature practices that distinguish and determine their choreographic practices; 58

clear communication, grammar, presentation and structuring of written work.

The Artist as Producer module is offered to students taking an MA in Choreography and Professional Practice and content offered within would seem to be what the questionnaire respondents want to see incorporated within other programmes as a compulsory module. Responses to the questionnaire also include comments such as:

“Guidance with funding applications, website building, more teaching experience.”

“More talks about the industry that we are going into. How to write a CV and the importance of networking and how to go about it.”

“The importance of networking and digital media for freelance dance practitioners.”

(MA questionnaire responses 2015)

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MA Case Study - Experiential learning model 2 mapdance Mapdance is the postgraduate dance company that comprises up to 14 dancers who want to enhance their technical, creative and performance skills to improve their employment opportunities upon graduation. Whilst undertaking this demanding schedule of rehearsals and technical practice, students are also undertaking their dissertation in order to complete their full MA/PGDip qualification.

Employability is embedded within in the MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Dance Performance course in the following ways: Work experience with four new choreographers in the creation and rehearsal process leading to the production of a new work.

The honing of technical and expressive dance skills in the following techniques:  ballet;  contemporary dance;  release-based;  Cunningham;  contact improvisation;  pilates/yoga.

Coaching sessions as a group and individually with the co-artistic directors throughout the process to evaluate strength and weaknesses.

Touring the performance programme over a 5-6 month period gives the dancers the reality of a professional touring company, including:  adapting to different theatre spaces;  working with new people;  maintain fitness and copying with injury and any health issues;  building relationships and working cooperatively whilst part of the company.

Planning appropriate dance content and material to teach in a workshop format to a variety of different age and ability groups.

Gaining a better understanding of the infrastructures of arts organisation, educational establishments gives them a clearer understanding of the arts setting in which they are placed.

Managing their time effectively.

Modules offered as part of the MA/postgraduate degree in Performance, specifically Mapdance, directly enhance students’ knowledge and skills within the dance industry.

The Techniques for Performance module introduce the students to a variety of ways to extend their movement palette and awareness of themselves as dancers within a broad field of disciplines. They experience ballet, releasebased contemporary classes as well as contact and improvisation. This movement diet allows the students to build strength, flexibility both mentally and physically, stamina and a solid understanding of how to look after themselves and fine tune their potential for future work within the field. The self-discipline and motivation needed to maintain progression reaps in rewards personally and also prepares them perfectly for the demands of working with a variety of choreographers.

The Repertory module involves intensive work with 4-5 professional choreographers over 3-4 dedicated weeks with each choreographer creating new works to be performed on tour. The work with choreographers exposes students to a variety of choreographic methodologies and significantly improves their versatility as dancers. Importantly it serves to train students to work within a professional company and enables them to discuss ideas and network with leading figures in the dance industry both in the UK and internationally. The intensive touring and education work that follows the creation period with choreographers focuses on performance and teaching skills.

Giving students a true experience of working as professional dancers, Mapdance performs the evening of created works in about 13-20 venues, across the UK as well as internationally. In addition as part of the tour our students work with children, schools, youth companies and BA students, teaching technique creative work, repertoire or creating short ‘curtain raisers’ to be performed alongside the Mapdance performance. This further introduces our 60

students to the ways in which professional companies engage with the wider community and enables them to become familiar with educational settings and arts organisations, networking with teachers and staff at venues and dance agencies which can further employment opportunities.

“Overall the work with choreographers, artistic directors, alongside the touring, enables students upon graduation to more successfully make links with and fully understand the requirements of work within the industry.”

(Yael Flexer, Co-artistic Director of mapdance) Our graduates have found employment with dance and theatre companies including: Tavaziva Dance Company, Royal Opera House, Xavier de Frutos (Sadler’s Wells), Protein Dance, Flexer & Sandiland, Apple Yang, Commotion Dance, Ceyda Tanc, The National Theatre.

Some students have joined as apprentices with Flexer & Sandiland led by Yael Flexer. Following the apprenticeship period they have become full company members touring and leading numerous educational projects across the UK/internationally.

Students have also set up independent companies and organisations: Freefall Dance Company, Replica Dance, Monix Arts, Yorkshire Dance Network & DeucendDip (Canada).

Students are now lecturers in other HE Universities such as: Bath Spa, Falmouth Universities, Hull College New College, Nottingham and Attakalari Centre for Movement Arts (Bangalore, India).

Several students teach in schools and colleges- GCSE, A-level and BTEC as well as dance companies and youth organisations such as Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Green Candle Dance Company, Royal Academy of Dance, Dance United and Wessex Dance Academy or private dance and/or Pilates and/or Yoga schools nationally and internationally including in Hong Kong, Cyprus, Japan, Greece, Germany, Australia and, of course, the UK. Some students have taken a more administrative and management route e.g. education manager for Yasmin Vardimon Dance Company, educational co-ordinator/administrator Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company or marketing at English National Ballet.

Whichever route these graduates take, their experiential learning methods and subject knowledge have enabled them to flourish within a wide variety of dance establishments and companies.

Yael Flexer/Detta Howe (Co-artistic Directors of mapdance)

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MA Dance student comment and reflections Graduate & MA Choreography student What’s missing for Dance graduates?

1. Apprenticeships and internships (paid).

2. Networking opportunities- young dancer conferences etc.

3. Equal opportunities for those graduating from universities and conservatoires.

What I know now that I didn’t know coming straight out of BA? 1. The importance of networking and how to network.

2. Who to contact in your local area for example - artistic development officer.

3. People are just people and although the industry is competitive, more often than not there is still a high level of support.

4. The importance of digital media for a freelance dance practitioner.

What are you still unsure of?

1. The amount of experience in other areas of the industry - too performer-specific.

2. Is there a correct level of specific experience as opposed to a broader experience?

3. Dance CV requirements.

4. Funding process when this has not been an integral part of the performance training.

How did taking the 3Fall administration module prepare you for the industry?

1. Tour management.

2. Networking skills.

3. Administrative skills.

4. A chance to break through the university environment.

5. Learn how venues programme a tour: a. hiring; b. bookings; c. a knowledge of pricing.

6. Commercial value and pricing 7. Personal skills: a. long and short-term time management; b. teamwork; c. communication skills.

How did 3Fall (performers) prepare you for the industry as a performer?

1. Career decision-making.

2. Postgraduate company/apprenticeship preparation: a. tour experience; b. experience of working with a number of choreographers; c. an understanding of different choreographic processes.

3. Teamwork.

4. Networking opportunities with a range of choreographers.

What could the BA programme include that it doesn’t already teach?

1. Self-marketing and promotion.

2. How to work as a freelance artist.

3. Networking skills .

Compiled by Katie Cunningham MA Choreography and Professional Practice & HEA Embedding Employability Student Research Assistant 62

Toolkit resources Figure 8: Dance employment destinations

From the questionnaires, one response stood out:

“I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and that was the main obstacle!�

When a Dance student is considering their career direction it can seem like a daunting prospect. Knowing what area you are interested in pursuing requires a clear starting point.

This diagram acts as a visual starting point discussion for students to have with a tutor, academic advisor, careers advisor (or on their own) in relation to the initial identification of the direction and aspirations being considered.

Working in conjunction with the Dance career self-assessment sheets, this document aims to trigger the initial reflections on the individual student journey through their Dance studies. A sample version is included on page 64 to give an indication of how this document could be used further.

The aim here is to reflect on the studies undertaken and where the employability links have already been initiated or undertaken in order to map the modules to potential career destinations and use the information to build a body of evidence for their CVs, social media (see page 33), covering letters, showreels, auditions, interviews.

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Sample Diagram

For example in the sample diagram on this page, module titles have been added to the maze showing a specialism in choreography and creative practice (teaching, Body Stories), but the person has undertaken a number of potential specialist areas such as Arts Administration (Journalism, Production, New Media & Technology, Artist as Producer) or Dance Movement Psychotherapy. So, although a person might be clear about what they want to do, it might transpire that they actually have strengths in several other area, that could open up more possible career directions.

Having identified potential areas of career interest/subject skills specialism, explore the following pages entitled the Dance career self-assessment sheets to take a more in-depth analysis of the individual strengths and gaps in learning, skills and qualification necessary to achieve the desired career destination. Each of the 12 dance employment specialisms from Figure 8 offer a series of checks on skills, personal qualities and questions and acts as a selfevaluation checklist for use with current students and graduates. This document could be used in conjunction with seeking the advice from the careers specialist, your academic advisors, year group tutors and is intended to act as a plan of action for the immediate or future needs

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Dance career self-assessment sheets How prepared or suited are you to the following dance careers?

Having identified the dance career destination/s that you are aspiring to pursuit, select from the following pages. Tick or add notes for each of the sections to assess your own strengths and areas for further development. Use these tables to reflect on where your skills are currently and where there are gaps and how you are going to fill them. These questions are by no means prescriptive or definitive but a starting framework

Choreographer/dance artist Skills/experience

Highly competent

Moderately experienced

A little experience

No

Evidence

experience

Compositional/artistic Artistic perspective and experience

Vision:

Building a body of work

Titles:

Stylistic traits – technical, site-specific, physical theatre, interdisciplinary, Preparing for self-employment Setting up your own company

Name:

Have you developed a strategy for social media presence?

What:

Applying for funding

Where:

Understanding budgeting Marketing skills

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Action

Personal qualities Communication Directorial and decision-making skills Interpersonal and organisational Self-belief - have the confidence in your work - if you don't then who will?

Questions How are you currently documenting your choreography?

How are you currently promoting your choreography?

Have you prepared a showreel?

Articulate your creative, stylistic approach in writing ?

Have you researched where you live in relation to regional dance agencies, funding opportunities, collaborative partnerships?

Have you thought about getting a mentor?

Other notes: 66

Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

Dancer/performer Skills/experience

Highly competent

Moderately experienced

A little experience

No

Evidence

experience

Technical specialisms Traditional Contemporary Cunningham/Limon Ballet Release-based/improvisational Specialist styles – Gaga, yoga, Nikolais, Dunham South Asian dance styles – Kathak, Bharatanatyam Jazz/hip-hop African dance styles Other styles (state beneath) Choreographic/creative/ performance skills I make my own work

Titles:

I’ve danced in new work of others

Who:

Worked with professional choreographers

Who:

Dance in other student work

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Action

Am confident improvising?

Personal qualities Communication Self-belief Organisational Timekeeping Fitness Questions What levels are you achieving in your technique assessments?

Have you attended an audition?

Have you prepared your CV? Have you developed a strategy for social media presence?

Have you done your research into the area/company that you are interested in?

Other notes:

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Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

Community dance practitioner Skills/experience

Highly competent

Moderately experienced

A little experience

No

Evidence

experience

Choreographic/creative performance skills Making work for others – Youth Dance/school/college settings Working with inclusive dance practice Working in challenging settings Working as a freelance artist/teacher in a school or college setting What additional experience have you had working in the community?

Preparing for self-employment as a freelance dance artist How to promote what you do?

Setting up your own company Applying for funding Understanding budgeting Marketing skills

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Additional qualifications:

Action

Personal qualities Communication skills Interpersonal skills Organisational skills Questions What are your key specialisms?

What additional qualifications do you need to gain?

Diploma in Dance Teaching & Learning (DDTAP) First Aid Safe Practice in Dance PGCE Will you need to be able to drive?

Write a statement outlining your creative approaches?

Have you done the necessary research in the area that you live in relation to regional dance agencies/funding opportunities/ Collaborative partnerships?

Other notes:

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Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

Further education/university lecturer Skills/experience

Highly competent

Teaching and professional expertise Dance technique Choreography Dance history Critical analysis Community practitioner Somatic practitioner Cultural theorist Dance Science/health & wellbeing Professional experience With a company In a regional/national organisation

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Moderately experienced

A little experience

No experience

Evidence

Action

Personal qualities Organisational skills Communication Teamwork Questions Have you completed an MA/PhD/PGCE? What are your key specialisms?

Do you have sufficient professional experience?

What is your research specialism?

Have you done your research into the institution that you are interested in?

Other notes:

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Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

Secondary Dance teaching specialist Skills/experience

Teaching expertise Ability and qualifications to teach the Dance curriculum at Key Stages 3 & 4 Dance technique Choreography Dance history Dance analysis Cultural dance perspectives Health & well-being Anatomy Professional expertise Understanding the wider school curriculum agendas Inclusion

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Highly competent

Moderately experienced

A little experience

No experience

Evidence

Action

Personal qualities Organisational skills Communication Teamwork Leadership Time management Questions Have you completed a PGCE/MA? What are your key specialisms?

Do you have sufficient experience of volunteering or working in a school?

Other notes:

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Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

Primary teaching Skills/experience

Highly competent

Moderately experienced

A little experience

No

Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

experience

Teaching expertise Ability and qualifications to teach all subjects within Key Stages 1 & 2 Take a lead to support other staff as a dance specialist Professional expertise Understanding the wider school curriculum agendas Inclusion Personal qualities Organisational skills Communication Teamwork Leadership Time management Questions

75

Evidence

Action

Have you completed a PGCE/MA? Do you have sufficient experience of volunteering or working in a school?

Do you have the personality to work with young children?

Other notes:

76

Dance & digital media Skills/experience

Screen Dance Do you make your own work?

Do you prefer to be involved in the production side?

Have you applied to show your work at any screening events?

New technologies Creative innovation using technology Performance making Interactive choreographic work Computer programming Mobile technologies Personal qualities Communication Directorial and 77

Highly competent

Moderately experienced

A little experience

No experience

Evidence

Action

decision-making skills Interpersonal and organisational Self-belief Questions How are you currently documenting your choreography?

How are you currently promoting your choreography?

Have you prepared a showreel?

Have you developed a strategy for social media presence?

Write a statement about your creative processes?

Have you done the necessary research in the area that you live in relation to regional dance agencies/funding opportunities/collaborative partnerships?

Have you thought about getting a mentor?

Other notes

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Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

Technical theatre/stage manager Skills/experience

Technical expertise Competence in programming and operating software applications/desktop production documentation Understanding of technical systems with quick problem-solving response Numeracy – calculating rig weights/power loads and circuits Knowledge of Health and Safety regulations and undertaking risk assessments Creative/artistic Worked with a choreographer to realise the lighting & design requirements Practical experience of dance Lighting design Sound mixing Stagecraft

79

Highly competent

Moderately experienced

A little experience

No experience

Evidence

Action

Personal qualities Communication Teamwork – programmer, operator, rigger, stage manager Decision-making skills Interpersonal and organisational Calm when working under pressure Questions

Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

Can you complete technical tasks within an appropriate time frame?

Can you work under pressure?

Have you undertaken any voluntary training or experience?

Document the experience that you have undertaken?

Have you researched where you live in relation to the local theatres, schools & colleges with theatre provisions, arts centres?

Do you have a specialism and do you therefore need to undertake any additional training?

Other notes 80

What: Where:

Health & well-being Skills/experience

Highly competent

Moderately experienced

A little experience

No

Evidence

experience

Specialist technique and professional expertise Fitness instructor Alexander Pilates Personal trainer Somatic practitioner Yoga practitioner Feldenkrais Other styles (state beneath) Creative & movement skills Working sensitively with others Worked with other professionals Are you confident improvising?

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Who:

Action

Personal qualities Communication and interpersonal skills Organisational Timekeeping Fitness Questions Have you undertaken the necessary training yet?

Have you gained the necessary qualifications to practice?

Do you have relevant experience in your chosen area?

Where will you undertake this practice?

Have you done your research into the area where you live?

Other notes:

82

Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

Dance Movement Psychotherapy Skills/experience

Highly competent

Moderately experienced

A little experience

No

Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

experience

Creative & movement skills Working sensitively with others Embodied knowledge and theoretical understanding?

Worked with other professionals Are you confident improvising?

Personal qualities Communication and interpersonal skills Organisational Timekeeping Fitness Questions Have you undertaken the necessary training yet?

Have you gained the necessary qualifications to practice?

83

Evidence

Action

Do you have relevant experience in your chosen area?

Where will you undertake this practice?

Have you done your research into the area where you live?

Other notes:

84

Arts administration Skills/experience

Highly competent

Moderately experienced

A little experience

No

Evidence

experience

Subject knowledge/skills Knowledge of the dance industry

Work experience:

Knowledge of the wider arts and cultural industries Good subject knowledge & confidence when liaising with other professionals Competent IT skills including spreadsheets, InDesign and creative software, budgeting

List:

Personal qualities Communication and interpersonal skills Organisational Timekeeping Working under pressure Adapting skills and applying them to new situations Questions

85

Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

Action

Do you have the training beyond your dance skills yet?

Have you gained any additional qualifications?

Are you good at creative problem-solving?

Do you have relevant experience in your chosen area?

Have you done your research into the area where you live to seek new opportunities?

Other notes:

86

Self-employment/freelance dance artist Skills/experience

Highly competent

Moderately experienced

A little experience

No

Evidence

experience

Subject knowledge/skills Knowledge of the dance industry Understanding the skills and creative qualities that you have to offer as a dance artist Good subject knowledge & confidence when liaising with other professionals Competent IT skills including spreadsheets, InDesign and creative software, budgeting Communicating your range of skills effectively in written or online communications Personal qualities Communication and interpersonal skills Organisational Timekeeping Working under pressure Resourcefulness 87

List:

Action

Questions Do you have the training beyond your dance skills yet?

Have you gained any additional qualifications?

Have you developed a strategy for social media presence?

Do you have relevant experience in your chosen area?

Have you done research into the area where you live, who to contact for funding, support, space?

Other notes:

88

Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

Employment outside of dance Skills/experience

Highly competent

Moderately experienced

A little experience

No

Evidence

Action

experience

Big questions If not dance, what interests you most right now?

List areas:

How can you best use your knowledge of dance in another industry/setting?

Competent IT skills including spreadsheets, InDesign and creative software, budgeting

List:

Personal qualities Communication and interpersonal skills Creative thinking Organisational Teamwork Timekeeping Working under pressure Flexibility Questions

89

Add notes

Action points

How to achieve this?

When will I do this?

Have you gained any additional qualifications in another specialist area?

Do you have the training beyond your dance skills in another area?

Do you have relevant work experience in another area?

Have you researched your local area where you live in relation to potential employment?

Other notes:

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Conclusion This study has provided an insight into the effectiveness of an embedded approach through the case studies, student opinions and graduate employment journeys. Further data gathering on a national scale is essential in order to be able to assess the impact that dance graduates are having on the wider economic and artistic landscape.

Embedding effective employability into the Dance curriculum works when: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

There is a learner-centred pedagogical approach that preparing the Dance student for a variety of potential career destinations.

Making module content that links to employability more explicit through the student experience.

Empowering and equipping students as ‘thinking dancers’ who can take control of their own growth and development within a supportive environment.

Academic staff are actively engaged in professional practice and research: a. research-informed teaching; b. research-informed and professionally-inspired teaching.

There are clear links with professional organisations and companies at institutional and module level through performances, workshops and lectures.

The department works collaboratively with the Careers and Employer Engagement team to draw upon their expertise.

Students are encouraged to be pro-active beyond their studies in gaining summer internships/placements/work experience/paid work with the support of academic advisors, year tutors. These experiences feed back into the effectiveness of the whole curriculum experience.

All students are given the opportunity to be able to engage with a work placement or through public engagements or performance/organisational opportunities.

The impact indicators of this study and toolkit are: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

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A clearer transparent approach for students to actively engage with their studies in relation to employment.

Help for students to make more informed choices in identify areas of study that will enhance their future prospects.

That students are better supported through the transition from curriculum and assessment experiences into employment.

That in reflecting on the curriculum design, it can positively impact on surveys such as the NSS statistics, KIS data and the programme profile.

Involving students in decision-making including refinements to the curriculum content can enhance the embedding content of module content rather than a bolt-on approach.

That the student-centred approach and engagement with professional artists and practitioners increases the departmental profile.

Enhanced communication and collaborative relationships with other key departments across the university.

To build an alumni database that can enable a continuation of both contact and data regarding the employment of Dance graduates.

The continued communication and collaborations with industry, arts organisations and potential employers in order to better inform them of the curriculum content and relevance.

Acknowledgements As the project lead, I would like to thank the Higher Education Academy for funding the development of this toolkit resource for Dance. In particular, my thanks goes to Jane Owens from the HEA for her continued supportive guidance throughout. The funding has provided the opportunity for two student research assistants - Katie Cunningham and Phil Barton who brought their subject knowledge and recent experience to enhance the lively discussions whilst undertaking the groundwork in gathering data. Their hard work and commitment has been invaluable. To my colleague Andy Clegg, who with his Learning and Teaching hat on, would offer a steer of sensibility and memorable diagrams and plans. Also part of the project group was Natalie Rowland who contributed to the overall project but particularly in relation to social media and the Figure 5 checklist: Supporting your career with social media. The contributions and early discussions with colleagues Chris Caswell and Alice Stuart from the Careers and Employability Service have helped enormously to frame this document alongside their on-going relationship with the department to support the careers of Dance students.

All photography within the document was taken by Chris Nash, Andrew Worlsfold, Rinsique Sidhique and Abdul Raheem as detailed in the introduction.

Dance Department faculty have contributed their module expertise and in particular this includes Fiona Wallis, Yael Flexer, Natalie Rowland, Carrie Whitaker, Abi Mortimer, Julia Hall, Detta Howe and Vicky Hunter. Assistance was given by the Marketing Department – Emma White, Chris Anderson and Roy Donaldson in sourcing the photographs.

To Nick Russell for the artwork for Figure 8: Dance Employment Destinations which was constantly changing.

To professional colleagues and new associations, I am grateful to them for taking the time to discuss and contribute a fresh and employer/industry perspective. These include Pauline Tambling (Creative & Cultural Skills), Jamie Watton, Kirsty Sulston, Becky Edmunds (South East Dance), Lauren Baldock (Yasmin Vardimon Dance Company), Colette Hansford, Lucy Moelwyn-Hughes, Melanie Zaalof (Hofesh Shechter), Rebekah Jones (Arts Council), Lou Rogers (Stop Gap Dance), Judith Hibberd (Vincent Dance Theatre), Sacha Lee, KJ Mortimer, Vicky Hargreaves (The Point), Fiona Bannon (DanceHE Chair), Laura Griffiths (Leeds Beckett University) and to Susanne Burns, who I have referenced, know from years ago but never quite got to talk to this time.

Finally as mentioned in the introduction, this study would not be possible without the contributions from past and present students. I am grateful to everyone who took the time to share their experiences which have been so valuable in drawing all the opinions and information together.

Cathy Childs

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References CBI (2009) Future Fit: Preparing Graduates for the world of work. CBI & Universities UK Creative and Cultural Skills. (2015) Building a Creative Nation: The Next Decade. Creative and Cultural Skills Burns, S. (2007) Mapping Dance: Entrepreneurship and Professional Practice in Dance Higher Education HEA. Palatine Burns, S. and Harrison, S. (2009) Dance Mapping: A Window on Dance 2004-2008. Arts Council England Brown, R. S (2004) Performing Arts Entrepreneurship. Lancaster: Palatine Bryan, C. (2012) Portfolio Career Report. Preparing for a Portfolio Career in Performing Arts. York. HEA Cole, D. and Tibby, M. (2013) Defining and developing your approach to employability. York. The Higher Education Academy Department for Culture, Media and Sport (2014), Creative Industries: Focus on Employment. DCMS Employability: Judging and communicating achievements Healey, M. Flint, A. and Harrington, K. (2014) Engagement through partnership: Students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. York. The Higher Education Academy.

Hills, J. (2015) From Portfolios to Portfolio Careers: Are Arts Students Prepared? Times Higher Education.

Higher Education Statistics Agency. www.hesa.ac.uk Hills, J. (2015) Sharing the Talent Around . Times Higher Educational Supplement Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: experience as the source of learning and development, 2nd ed, Englewood Cliffs. NS: Prentice-Hall.

Rees, C. , Forbes, P. & Kubler, B. (2006) Student Employability Profiles: A Guide for Employers. London: The Council for Industry and Higher Education Tambling, P. (2015) What are the future employment opportunities for dance? Animated Magazine (March). People Dancing: the foundation for community dance Vitae Researcher Development Framework (2010) Career Research and Advisory Centre The Warwick Commission on the Future of Cultural Values (2015) Enriching Britain: Culture, Creativity and Growth.

University of Warwick Yorke, M. and Knight, P. T. (2004) Embedding employability into the curriculum. York: ESECT and the Generic Centre, Learning and Teaching Support network.

Youth Dance England (online) www.yde.org.uk University of Chichester’s Dance programme and modules details are available in full at: www.chi.ac.uk/dance Arts Council – http://www.artscouncil.org.uk Artswork - www.artswork.org.uk What Uni - www.whatuni.com

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Useful website resources Article 19 – Contemporary Dance Online

www.article.org

Arts Council England

www.artscouncil.org.uk

Arts Marketing Association

www.a-m-a.co.uk

Creative Alliance

www.creativealliance.org.uk

Creative and Cultural Skills

www.ccskills.org.uk

Dancers’ Career Development

www.thedcd.org.uk

Dance UK

www.danceuk.org

The Dance Register

www.thedanceregister.org.uk

Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS)

www.gov.uk/government/department-for-culture-media-sport

Equity

www.equity.org.uk

Graduate Prospects Limited

www.prospects.ac.uk

Independent Dance: ID

www.independentdance.co.uk

Juice online resources

www.theplace.org.uk

LondonDance.com

www.londondance.com

Mapdance

www.mapdance.org

National Dance Agencies Birmingham DanceXchange Edinburgh Dance Base London Artist Development Newcastle Dance City Dance North West Nottingham Dance 4 Dance South West Suffolk Dance East South East Dance Swindon Dance Yorkshire Dance

www.dancexchange.org.uk www.dancebase.co.uk www.theplace.org.uk www.dancecity.co.uk www.dancenorthwest.org.uk www.dance4.co.uk www.dancesouthwest.org.uk www.danceeast.co.uk www.southeastdance.org.uk www.swindondance.org.uk www.yorkshiredance.com

National Dance Teachers Association

www.ndta.org.uk

National Resource Centre for Dance -

www.surrey.ac.uk/NRCD

People Dancing (formerly the Foundation for Community Dance)

www.communitydance.org.uk

Pilates Foundation

www.pilates.foundation.com

Prince’s Trust

www.princes-trust.org.uk

Register of Exercise Professionals

www.exerciseregister.org

Shape Arts

www.shapearts.org.uk

Vitae Careers Research & Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited

www.vitae.ac.uk/rdf

Warwick Commission

www2.warwick.ac.uk/research/warwickcommission/futureculture

Youth Dance England

www.yde.org.uk

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