Ginny Brown Chief Executive
T
he year 2020 signals an exciting new phase for the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. For more than 100 years, the Society has provided training for dance teachers, enabling them to teach students, enter candidates for examinations and spread the joy of dance. Now celebrating our 116th year, we have a proud history and a brand that stands for the pursuit of excellence in the dance world. It is our privilege to support a community of more than 6,000 members worldwide, with whom we delivered over 20,000 hours of Continuing Professional Development and nearly 130,000 examinations last year. The scale of our work became evident when we were recently listed as one of the top 20 largest awarding organisations in England and in the top five for delivery of performing arts examinations. The Society’s new visual identity is an important step towards ensuring that we remain a dynamic and a future-focused organisation. We want to promote the benefits and enjoyment of dance for all. To do so, it is important that we present ourselves in a way that is both current and accessible.
“ For more than 100 years, the Society has provided training for dance teachers” Our belief in the educational, cultural and artistic value of dance for all is a founding principle that has shaped our ambitions. We recognise that the rising profile of dance through technology, competitions and reality TV shows puts increasing demands on our teachers. We are also all concerned about the physical and mental impact of children’s increasingly sedentary and digitally-focused lives. I want every child and young person to experience the life-enhancing
qualities of dance and I’m confident that together we can build a strong network of opportunities to learn dance – both in the UK and internationally. We are already working to remove barriers to dance participation by increasing our charitable activities to support learners on low incomes to achieve their dance ambitions, and by creating new syllabuses, working to make dance more inclusive and growing our international reach. In particular, our new Contemporary Dance syllabus is now being introduced worldwide. We are also investing in research into improving access to dance training for disabled learners, with a view to beginning research into inclusive assessment processes next year. In addition, we are proud to be working in partnership with the Royal Opera House on its new, national Chance to Dance programme, which introduces ballet to children in areas of social and economic need. To achieve these ambitious goals, we are investing in our organisational capability and improving our business performance through the digitisation of services. This includes our new website, which will feature an integrated dance teacher search facility, online event booking and an enhanced members’ area. We are also renovating our London premises to ensure we have the facilities to meet our ambitions. Most importantly, we will continue to support your career progression so that you, in turn, can nurture the next generation of dancers and dance teachers. So we will be developing new services and resources to meet the needs of our current members and working to become a truly diverse and inclusive organisation that reflects the communities in which we work. To quote an African proverb – it takes a village to raise a child. And it will take a whole community of dance educationalists to create a secure dance network for future generations. By working together, pooling our knowledge and expertise, I am confident that we can build a future in which all children and young people have opportunities to experience the benefits of dancing. Together let’s lead the world in dance! Dance | Issue 489
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