one Special focus on
Sustainability Programming dance Leading arts venues on building audiences Taking climate action with Julie’s Bicycle English National Ballet Reviving Swan Lake in-the-round Boy Blue’s new production Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy MBE in conversation Zoie Golding MBE Career longevity in youth dance
The One Dance UK Magazine Issue 15, Spring 2024
TRINITY LABAN
TRINITY LABAN
London’s creative conservatoire
Start your career in Dance
Photo credit: Stephen Berkeley-White
Undergraduate and Postgraduate Dance and Dance Science: BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance (including Foundation Year options) BSc (Hons) Dance Science MA/MFA Choreography MA/MFA Creative Practice MA/MFA Dance Leadership and Community Practice MA/MFA Dance Performance MSc/MFA Dance Science Research Degree Programme Find out more about the right programme for you
#chooseTL
@trinitylaban
Special Focus on Sustainability
Welcome
Andrew Hurst MBE Chief Executive, One Dance UK
One Dance UK connects and supports members Along with receiving free copies of One, the magazine for the UK dance sector, One Dance UK members receive a wide range of benefits, discounts and resources. For information about One Dance UK Membership or to find out more about how we can support your work, please visit onedanceuk.org/become-a-member or email membership@onedanceuk.org
Dear members and friends, Welcome to this Spring 2024 edition of One which takes a special focus on ‘Sustainability.’ We explore its meaning in many different contexts, including environmental responsibility, managing health, wellbeing and performance, advocating for positive change, and maintaining creativity and a sense of purpose. I encourage you to read our article on how we can achieve a more sustainable future for dance which (page 12) details how we ensure dance has a voice, and offer meaningful advice on how to encourage change in your own work. Hear from the team at Julie’s Bicycle on environmentally considerate best practice in dance (page 16), programmers from leading dance venues on sustaining dance audiences (page 36), English National Ballet on reviving its popular Swan Lake in-the-round (page 21), and Boy Blue’s Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy MBE about Boy Blue’s groundbreaking journey and new production, Cycles (page 18). Health and wellbeing takes a front seat in this edition too, with articles on neurodiversity in the dance studio (page 30), disability and mental health on stage (page 28) and systematic strategies for improving wellbeing (page 40).
A huge amount of work has gone on behind the scenes at One Dance UK. You may have noticed our brand new website, which helps you connect more easily and meaningfully with our work and that of the wider sector. In February we celebrated outstanding work from across the dance sector at our Awards ceremony, held in Coventry. Congratulations to all nominees, the shortlist, and, of course, the Award recipients, some of whom are featured in this issue. This summer the U.Dance National Festival heads to Liverpool, with groups selected from thousands of young dancers who recently took part in Regional Platforms nationwide. Alongside the talent on stage and screen, I am always impressed how young people support each other and with their eagerness to try new things. Providing opportunities like this, and lobbying to reverse the decline in arts infrastructure for young people, is essential to sustaining the UK’s worldleading place in the cultural and creative industries on the global stage. As the Subject Association for Dance we work tirelessly to champion dance in schools and ensure our CPD offer helps teachers to upskill and enhance their work. The One Dance UK team and I look forward to connecting with you in person or online soon.
One Dance UK Staff
Board of Trustees
Patrons
Amanda Skoog Chair, Executive Director, English National Ballet School
Carlos Acosta CBE Children and Young People Patron
Andrew Hurst MBE Chief Executive
Jo Gatenby Dance in Education Manager
Cameron Ball Special Projects Manager
Ríona O'Dowd Marketing and Communications Assistant
Rebecca Bertram Project Manager Amelia Bickley Membership and Business Development Officer Dani Bower Marketing and Communications Manager Lara Coffey Head of Marketing and Communications Barny Darnell Membership Manager
Photo: A Ayuso
Paul Hibbert Head of Finance and Operations Alisha Kadri Head of Membership and Business Development Jessica Lowe Healthcare Manager, Dance Access Manager
Laura Nicholson Head of Children and Young People’s Dance Chinyere Ogbue Head of Workforce Development
Anthony Bowne Principal, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Jane Bonham Carter Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury, Member, House of Lords
Peter Badejo OBE Arlene Phillips CBE Sir Richard Alston Champion of U.Dance and Young Creatives
Erin Sanchez Head of National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science, Lead Specialist Health, Wellbeing, and Performance
Andrew Carrick Director of Carrickworks
Chloe Sprackling Marketing and Design Manager (maternity cover)
Victor Fung Artistic Director and Joint CEO, Pavilion Dance South West
Katie Stevens Operations Manager
Emma Keith Managing Director, Digital, National Theatre
One Dance UK Dance Hub Thorp Street Birmingham B5 4TB onedanceuk.org
Denise Nurse Legal Consultant
One Dance UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee.
Susannah Simons Arts Strategist and Director of Partnerships, Marquee TV
Registered in England and Wales: No. 2931636 Registered Charity: No. 801552 Copyright One Dance UK
Alan Tuvey Finance Manager Amy Roberts Education and Training Manager
Julian Flitter Partner, Goodman Jones LLP
The One Dance UK Magazine | Spring 2024 3
Special Focus on Sustainability
Contents
Introduction 3 Welcome by Andrew Hurst MBE
In the Spotlight 6 News 10 One Dance UK Membership: Member Q&A with Genevieve Tawiah Special Focus on Sustainability 12 A Sustainable Future for Dance by Andrew Hurst MBE and Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie 16 Strengthening our Creative Climate Action by Julie’s Bicycle’s Becky Hazlewood and Sheena Balkwill 18 Cycles of Reinvention by Cameron Ball with Boy Blue’s Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy MBE 21 Reviving a Classic with English National Ballet Swan Lake in-the-round's Derek Deane, Adrian van Winkelhof and Lola Stott 24 A Moment of Movement featuring Akademi’s Suba Subramaniam 26 Creative Exports by Arts Council England’s Cate Canniffe 27 Schechter II: Developing Dancers for Sustainable Careers by Lucy Moelwyn-Hughes 28 Creative Honesty by Chinyere Ogbue with Stuart Waters 30 Neurodiversity in the Studio by Rambert School’s Phaedra Petsilas 33 Parenthood and Dance by Dr. Angela Pickard 34 Logical Approaches to Youth Dance by Amy Roberts with Zoie Golding MBE 36 Building Dance Audiences by MAC Birmingham’s Deborah Kermode, Theatre Royal Plymouth’s James Mackenzie-Blackman and Southbank Centre’s Aaron Wright 40 Wellbeing for Dancers by Dr. Imogen Aujla 42 Sustainability, Racism and Me by TIRED Movement’s Stacey Green 44 One Dance UK Projects 46 U.Dance
Editorial and Advertising Lara Coffey Head of Marketing and Communications Cameron Ball Magazine Editor Chloe Sprackling Design Manager Katie Stevens Assistant Editor Advertising enquiries Contact Amelia Bickley amelia.bickley@onedanceuk.org Funders and Supporters With thanks to our funder
With thanks to our project partners, funders and supporters. Design tm-studio.co.uk Cover image : Schechter II in Hofesh Schechter’s From England with Love, premiering at Southbank Centre, April 2024, and touring. Photo Todd MacDonald. Read more on page 27.
In this Issue
Photos: Laurent Liotardo, Courtesy Boy Blue, Kate Green & Brian Hartley
Page 18
Page 21
Kenrick 'H20' Sandy MBE, Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director, Boy Blue Page 24
Page 36
Suba Subramaniam, Artistic Director, Akademi 4 The One Dance UK Magazine | Spring 2024
Derek Deane, Choreographer, English National Ballets Swan Lake in-the-round
Deborah Kermode, Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director, MAC Birmingham
Reader Competition
WIN TICKETS to the world premiere of Boy Blue’s production of Cycles Boy Blue presents Cycles at London’s Barbican Centre from 30 April–4 May. The Olivier award-winning dance theatre company returns with a world premiere that celebrates change and the beauty of perpetual motion.
Cycles is movement at its most fluid, distilled and skilled. Resolute and unapologetic, Boy Blue's latest production is a tenacious exploration of hip hop dance in all its forms. Experience the connection between the movement on stage and the rhythm, groove and bounce of the music, as nine powerful dancers fill the space in what feels like unending motion.
Founded by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante and Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy, Boy Blue has earned critical acclaim and Olivier Award nominations for its work. They have wowed audiences from New York to Taiwan and recently cocreated the smash hit Free Your Mind in Manchester. Read more about their new production and approach to their work on page 18.
“ There are two major energies that I'm really connected with right now. One is the notion of the hip hop dance battle energy of continuous movement. The second energy is the notion of the natural order of life, the organic nature of things, from birth to death, sunrise to sunset. It keeps on going, no matter what is happening in our lives, or what is going on in the world.” Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante Co-Founder, Boy Blue
The Prize: We have two pairs of tickets to Cycles on offer to lucky winners, One Dance UK Members receive two entries per submission, doubling your chance to win! To be in with a chance of winning two tickets to any date of your choice EITHER Email info@onedanceuk.org with your name and membership number OR Head to the One Dance UK Facebook or Instagram page (@onedanceuk) and comment on the competition post. Closes 26 April 2024 For further information about the company and the production, go to boyblue.co.uk
Terms and conditions apply. Go to onedanceuk.org/terms-and-conditions for details. The One Dance UK Magazine | Spring 2024 5
Special Focus on Sustainability
News
New National Collaboration to Strengthen Youth Dance in Wales
Three leading dance organisations have marked a significant milestone in Welsh arts through the signing of a memorandum of understanding, in a bid to support the growth of dance in Wales. National Youth Arts Wales, National Dance Company Wales, and Ballet Cymru have joined forces to enable strengthened youth dance engagement and participation across the country. The signing of the memorandum of understanding marks a pivotal moment in the collaborative journey to support and strengthen the dance
Isaac and Layla, NYAW, perform at the U.Dance National Festival 2023
landscape in Wales. With a shared commitment to nurturing talent and fostering inclusivity, the alliance will lay the groundwork for sustainable growth and innovation in youth dance initiatives across the country. National Youth Dance Wales Producer Jamie Jenkins notes "This new partnership will play a vital role in helping shape the future of youth dance across Wales whilst supporting and celebrating already established youth dance provision. NDCWales, Ballet Cymru and National Youth Arts Wales working closer together is a step in a positive direction."
NDCWales Artistic Director, Matthew Robinson said: “National Dance Company Wales seeks to inspire and propel the development of the artists of tomorrow through the work we do on and off stages. As we embark on this strategic collaboration with National Youth Arts Wales and Ballet Cymru our collective ambition for young people fills me with optimism for the future.”
Further information bit.ly/WalesDanceCollab
Photos: Brian Slater & the Parlor family
Remembering Helen Parlor Helen Parlor, founder and Artistic Director of MÓTUS Dance, is being remembered for her outstanding contribution to dance. Helen impacted so many lives for the better, working with dancers of all ages across her 25-year career. MÓTUS, based in Milton Keynes, has created two initiatives which will celebrate Helen’s achievements and continue her legacy of being a collaborator and champion of dance for all. In collaboration with Milton Keynes Community Foundation and Milton Keynes City Council, the Helen Parlor Dance Bursary has been established to provide support for dancers and choreographers in Milton Keynes. The 2024 Helen Parlor Dance Bursary will be for £1000. To support their 6 The One Dance UK Magazine | Spring 2024
development, the recipient will also be offered mentoring sessions from their choice of a pool of successful dance artists, choreographers and producers. On 26 May the dance community will be convening in Milton Keynes to celebrate Helen’s life and vast archive of dance work. A range of incredible professional and local community artists will be sharing their dance works and reflections at a free openair concert at The Rose, Milton Keynes. All are welcome. The performance will be curated by Helen’s long-time colleagues and friends Kate Taylor and Stuart Waters and will include Motionhouse, Autin Dance Theatre, Pagrav Dance Company Helen Parlor and many more. The first recipient of the Helen Parlor Dance Bursary will be Further information motusdance.co.uk announced at the event.
Special Focus on Sustainability
News
Breakin’ Convention 2024 returns to Sadler’s Wells Blue (UK), When Time Was New Breakin Convention – Gully South Block, Breakin' Convention 2023
Created and emceed by UK hip hop maker and Breakin’ Convention Artistic Director Jonzi D, Breakin’ Convention Festival returns to Sadler’s Wells in Islington to celebrate hip hop culture in all its forms over the Early May Bank Holiday. The Festival showcases international acts from the USA, South Korea and France, as well as performances from local and national talents on Sadler’s Wells stages. Performances, activities
(UK), Gully South Block (GSB)(UK), Company DHW (UK), Sasha Mahfouz Shadid (UK) and ShaolinOrShao (UK) – plus a solo by Jamal Sterrett (UK). During the interval, Cie Kilaï (France) performs in the Lilian Baylis Studio. The Festival’s programme displays a wide variety of hip hop styles including breaking, popping, krumping, threading, funk and bruk up. 2024 is a significant year for breaking as it becomes an official Olympic sport for the first time at the Paris Olympics this summer. Academy Breakin’ Convention will open at for children of all ages, live DJ sessions, Sadler’s Wells East, offering a full-time dance and bespoke graffiti workshops, further education programme for 16 to freestyle sessions and shows take over 19-year-olds that includes training in the entire building. all aspects of hip hop – the first of its From 6pm on Saturday 4 & Sunday kind. Academy Breakin’ Convention 5 May, audiences will be able to will have a stall at the Festival on both see performances from some of the days, where audiences can find out world’s leading hip hop acts including: more about the course, and will host Femme Fatale (USA), Sons of Wind auditions on Sunday 5 May. (France) and Jinjocrew (South Korea), CREATE4 (Netherlands) and Ekleido Further information (UK), Ivan Michael Blackstock’s sadlerswells.com company TRAPLORD (UK), Boy academybreakinconvention.com
Photos: Belinda Lawley & Jamie Barnett Photography
Let’s Dance International that opens the door to a realm of Black theorists, from Édouard Glissant’s Frontiers 2024 “right to opacity” to the paradox Camouflage: of the invisibility/hyper-visibility Embodied Dance of Black women discussed by bell Let’s Dance International Frontiers (LDIF) is an annual dance festival launching each year on 29 April, International Dance Day. With dance at the heart, LDIF pushes boundaries with a creative programme that reflects the international nature of Leicester through performances, discussion seminars, masterclasses and an annual conference. Over the last fourteen years, LDIF has presented over 280 artists and companies, including 69 UK premieres and 42 world premieres. Let’s Dance International Frontiers 2024 (LDIF24) explores the theme of Camouflage: Embodied Dance. The theme is a deceptively simple premise
hooks and many others, through to the socio-political commentary of Caribbean carnival and Mas reflected through the camouflage of oneself. Ultimately, the premise tackles issues of the Black performing body, the histories embodied within and the transformation of a dance artist sharing these stories. Attendees of LDIF 2024 can expect masterclasses, panel discussions, networking events and performance from leading UK and international artists including Raul Reinoso/Acosta Danza, L’Antoinette Stines, Clemence Oliver, BlakBrik and many more. Further information 29 April-4 May, Leicester. serendipity-uk.com
LDIF - Kerry-Ann Henry in Chris Walker's Mountain Climbing The One Dance UK Magazine | Spring 2024 7
One Dance UK Awards
One Dance UK Awards The One Dance UK Awards aim to celebrate, acknowledge and reward the people who have made an impact on the vibrant UK dance landscape! The Awards took place in February at The Box, Coventry. and were hosted by Coventry’s Poet Laureate John Bernard. Audiences saw performances from Motionhouse, Ankura Dance and BreakDots Ltd and a panel discussion on supporting dance freelancers with C-Dare, Lakshmi Srivasan, Ascension Dance and Mercurial Dance. View the One Dance UK Awards Recipients here:
Congratulations to all recipients and nominees! 11 Awards 31 Shortlisted Nominees 400 Nominations 1800 Public Votes
With thanks to the One Dance UK Awards 2024 Silver Sponsor:
Reach the UK dance sector One Dance UK connects sponsors and advertisers with a diverse audience of venues, artists, freelancers, teachers, organisations, healthcare practitioners, dance scientists, students and professionals in the UK. Share your brand across our digital and print platforms as well as in-person programmes.
Photos: Point Of View Photography and Dani Bower
As a programme sponsor or advertiser, you can deepen engagement with our dance community, including members and programme beneficiaries. One Dance UK is committed to the wellbeing of the dance ecology; protecting dancers’ health and future career prospects. We invite sponsors, who share similar values, to further our mission as well as continue protecting the welfare of dancers and the wider community. We offer a range of sponsorship opportunities; from in-person events to bespoke digital advertising campaigns. Exclusive advertising rates are available to members of One Dance UK.
Further information and connect with the team:
New MA Diasporic Dance Styles ty of London
Validated by Goldsmiths, Universi
NEW For 2024
e designed to A flexible low residency programm diverse range of support artists working within a dance styles and contexts. re, shape and Join our professional Hub – sha ce theatre. dan ! IRIE define your practice with
Course enquiries: 8 6916099 MA@iriedancetheatre.org | t: 020 www.iriedancetheatre.org | e:
Learn to Teach Our programmes are designed to meet your aspirations and reflect our international reputation for excellence in dance teacher education. • BA (Hons) Ballet Education • BA (Hons) Dance Education • MA in Education (Dance Teaching) • Certificate in Dance Teaching (Ballet) • Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance • Professional Dancers’ Graduate Teaching Diploma
Find out more
radprospectus.info Email: faculty@rad.org.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 7326 8086 Royal Academy of Dance® is a charity registered in England and Wales No. 312826. Photo by Tim Cross
10495 One dance ad Jan 24 draft 2.indd 1
LEARN / TEACH / DANCE The One Dance UK Magazine | Spring 2024 9 29/01/2024 19:18
Special Focus on Sustainability
Meet a Member In our series of Q&As with members, Membership Manager Barny Darnell caught up with Healthcare Practitioners Directory member Genevieve Tawiah, a chartered physiotherapist. Genevieve has a particular interest in the performing arts, working with dancers to advise on strategies to prevent injury, support recovery, and maintain their physical health whilst performing.
Genevieve Tawiah
1. What are you up to currently? I'm working in a clinic in London at Complete Physio and popping up elsewhere upon request. I’m also writing an article (which is new for me!) which I’ll be sharing later this year. I'm hoping to collaborate with more performing arts schools, and will be looking after Strictly Come Dancing artists again with my colleagues at ‘P-rehab UK’ later this year. I’ve otherwise been mapping out projects I want to be part of and people I'm keen to work with, in manifesting mode.
Photo: Melanie Gail Photography
2. What are your first memories of dancing? My family are generally music lovers so I'm sure I was dancing about before, but my first proper memories of dance were back at the first dance school I went to. The purple leotards, the crazy show outfits, me absolutely loving tap dancing. 3. What advice would you give to someone hoping to start a career in dance? Train your weaknesses, in dance and in body. Spending time with things you're not good at or areas that aren't 10 The One Dance UK Magazine | Spring 2024
strong can feel uncomfortable, but can reap rewards in confidence and in performance. Though you'll spend a lot of time in rooms being compared to other people when you train or audition, know that you are different to them and so your needs will differ too. You may need to warm up or train differently to achieve what outwardly looks like the same result. 4. What’s a common misconception about dancers? That they'll work for free. These are expensive times, so it’s unfair and hard to justify jobs that ask dancers to come just for exposure. When you book dancers for a job, payment will go towards them keeping themselves well, managing any injuries, feeding themselves well, getting suitable accommodation and more. It's a representation of the work they've done to get there too and beyond the work they do in the studio.
“ Dancers are athletes. And should be treated like they are.” 5. What concerns you most about the future of dance in the UK? We've seen it increasingly since the pandemic, but funding for the creative sector seems to be getting even tighter. We see training or performance spaces struggling to survive and rising prices making it
more difficult for people to access training that could help their dance development or give them the space to develop their ideas, particularly underprivileged groups. 6. Why did you join One Dance UK as a member? I think One Dance UK is a fab community and resource for dancers and individuals working with dancers. The Healthcare Pracititioners Directory is great for signposting, development opportunities and it also helps for dancers to see that I’m actively working with other dancers! 7. How does dancing help you in your life? Dancing is my number one outlet, and it has been for a lifetime. It’s a place I can pretty consistently switch off out of the world and just be. It’s often a mood lifter or a supply of energy to do the rest of the day as I choose. It’s what connects me back to me. 8. This edition focuses on Sustainability. In your field you no doubt have worked with many dancers to sustain their bodies through rigorous schedules. What do you enjoy about your work? I love that I get to work with people who utilise their bodies to express their art, and that I can try to facilitate their journey of producing that art and often witness the end result. That to me is just beyond.
Special Focus on Sustainability
9. What are some simple tools you recommend dance artists use to sustain their physical condition? Take time to look inwards. Body scans can give you a moment to try and translate the information your body is giving you, so you can do something about it. Train differently. Set yourself up well: consider implementing strength training separately; add in Reformer Pilates for control or other strategies; and don't forget that part of your training schedule is to rest. Fuel yourself well. Your diet needs will change as your activity does. Stodgy snacks won’t leave you feeling good when you are busy. Meal prep - source well if you’re buying on the go; make time to sit down and eat properly.
Genevieve Tawiah treats a client
10. Finally, if you could have one last dance, what would that be? I'm keenly working on my freestyle and I've been to some really cool freestyle movement spaces that encourage individuality in movement, led by Vikki Clark, ‘Tali’ Fergus and Kloe Dean to name a few. It would easily be one of these. Dancing in a supportive space, in a room full of people who love to move. tawiahphysio.co.uk @tawiahphysio
Photos: Tawiah Physio & Dani Bower for One Dance UK
One Dance UK’s Healthcare Practitioners Directory The Healthcare Practitioners Directory is a free searchable online database listing details of medical, psychological, and complementary health practitioners throughout the UK. All the individuals on the directory have been recommended by members of the dance profession.
Would you like healthcare support? See the directory here: bit.ly/HP-Directory
Are you a qualified healthcare practitioner? Join us as a member! onedanceuk.org/become-a-member
The One Dance UK Magazine | Spring 2024 11
Special Focus on Sustainability
A sustainable future for dance Photos: Chloowe, Martha and Dance Transports by Dani Bower.
by Andrew Hurst MBE and Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie
Since One Dance UK came into existence on 1 April 2016, dance in the UK has seen a lot of change, and faces some very real challenges to its survival and sustainability going forward. One Dance UK itself has faced an enormous amount of change too, and we continue to learn and evolve to ensure we remain responsive to your needs and provide the support the dance sector needs to survive and thrive. 12 The One Dance UK Magazine | Spring 2024
The UK dance sector is an international success story and the envy of many of our international partners, but our vision at One Dance UK is for an even stronger, more vibrant and more diverse dance sector. Our overarching aim is to empower the dance sector workforce to be connected, unified, highlyvalued and sustainable. This informs our mission to provide
the information, training, resources and opportunities needed to ensure the dance workforce is well-equipped to secure dance’s prominence in the cultural landscape of the future, and to champion excellence across the sector. Hopefully you will see some of this reflected over the coming pages and in everything we do to support and connect you.
“Representatives from across all of the performing arts should make it as easy as possible for Government to know what needs to be done, to understand the full implications of their actions, whilst also organising ourselves as a sector to recognise and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.” Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie, Co-Chair, APPDG
Special Focus on Sustainability
How do we work with politicians and civil servants? And what is the impact? Through our work with the Government and policymakers, we make sure your needs are understood and represented at the highest level when policy is being developed and decisions are being made that will impact our artform. We have worked hard over the past 8 years to build strong positive relationships and are now able to work closely with government and officials as trusted partners. This is perhaps the greatest success of the merger which formed One Dance UK and is where the real strength and value lies in bringing together members working in dance across a range of different contexts and across all corners of the UK.
“Life for the performing arts remains extremely challenging as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact all our lives in many different ways, economically, socially and in terms of health and wellbeing… the effects of [the pandemic], the impact of the restrictions,the substantial rise in anxiety levels and fear of being in crowded spaces, is still having a significant impact on behaviours today… [we] need to improve resilience and preparedness for a volatile and uncertain future. This is something the performing arts instinctively know and understand as the ability of the sector to adapt and problemsolve is, I believe, one of its greatest strengths.” Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie, Co-Chair, All-Party Parliamentary Dance Group
As a result of our briefings the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Alliance wrote to the Home Secretary and the Partnership Council highlighting the ongoing disproportionate impact of Brexit on young and less experienced artists, urging them to prioritise the mobility of touring artists, with a view to developing a comprehensive approach that would allow artists and their teams to tour freely in the EU and UK - potentially as part of the forthcoming Trade and Cooperation Agreement Review (recommendations 15 and 22 to the Partnership Council in December 2023) We are now able to raise specific issues that impact the way you work day-to-day (like visa delays, the claiming of tax reliefs, or the issuing of A1 Social Security needed forms for international touring) with the relevant government departments to ensure delays are addressed and issues are resolved. We represent the sector and your needs through our participation in various committees and working groups like the Cultural
Recovery Task Force through the pandemic, and the Task and Finish group currently creating an action plan to address the recommendations for the Creative Industries from the Good Work Review. We are also part of the Department for Education’s Out of School (OOSS) Steering group. We speak to parliamentarians directly and provide the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Dance Group (APPDG), taking guest speakers and key dance sector representatives into the heart of parliament so MPs, Peers and officials can hear about the issues that matter to you most directly from you, in your own words. The Officers and Members of the APPDG are drawn from across all parties, and both Houses and with your help become passionate advocates for dance in the UK, The TheOne OneDance DanceUK UKMagazine Magazine||Spring Spring2024 2024 13
Special Focus on Sustainability
and key allies in addressing the issues which impact your work the most.
Photos: Linden Dance and Aishani Ghosh by Dani Bower.
We provide policy notes and briefings for members of both the Commons and the Lords so that they can raise parliamentary questions on our behalf, challenge existing or new policy passing into law, and contribute to important debates in both Houses with accurate sectorspecific and up to date knowledge like for the most recent EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Alliance meeting last December, and for the Shadow DCMS and Education teams ahead of the recent Labour Creatives Conference. One Dance UK provides the secretariat for the Programme Board: Children and Young People’s Dance, which brings together all organisations with
14 The One Dance UK Magazine | Spring 2024
a strategic remit for dance education and training in England, including DfE and Arts Council England. We work hard to always put your needs at the centre of everything we do and provide the support you need to champion best practice and promote positive change in the dance sector. Increasingly we are working more closely with other Creative Sector bodies to align messaging and policy priorities. Together we are calling on the incoming government to: ensure every child and young person has access to high quality dance education and training as part of a truly broad and balanced curriculum; review and reform the Progress 8 and EBacc accountability measures for schools in England; protect
the talent pipeline and touring post-Brexit; champion the value of the dance sector at home and abroad; and recognise the contribution dance makes on the health and wellbeing of the nation. A policy paper from the Save Our Subjects partners (One Dance UK, the Incorporated Society of Musicians, and the National Society for Education in Art and Design who are all Subject Associations) provided key information that featured in Sir Keir Starmer’s speech at the Labour Creatives Conference with a commitment from Labour to review progress measures as soon as they enter government.
“[When] Churchill was asked to cut funding to the arts in order to support the war effort in World War II, he [allegedly] responded ‘Then what would we be fighting for?’ Even if he didn’t say this, he is recorded as saying in 1938,‘The arts are essential to any complete national life. The State owes it to itself to sustain and encourage them.’In that case, we, the representatives and supporters of the performing arts, must ensure we remain as united and resilient as we can in order to hold the State to account for this.” Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie, Co-Chair, All-Party Parliamentary Dance Group
Special Focus on Sustainability
What can you do to make a difference? We rely on you, our members, and the sector more broadly to work with us to develop the strongest possible evidencebased arguments for continued and increased investment in dance. We will need to work even more closely together to do this going forward, to bolster resilience and safeguard our artform for future generations. With a general election fast approaching, how government policy affects us all is at the front of people’s minds and being hotly debated, but what can you actually do that can make a difference?
There are three key things you can do:
1.
We often get asked for data on the dance sector at short notice, and so the first thing you can do to help is to respond to requests from us for information (short polls, or surveys) and share any relevant stats and stories on your work and the impact of dance on the UK population in order to help us present the strongest possible evidence-based arguments for investment in dance.
2.
We work hard to ensure dance is part of the conversation, and that your needs and the impact of policy on your work are clear and understood across government and officials but you can also do this yourself, helping to get dance on the political agenda by raising key policy issues with candidates campaigning for the local or general elections, and by writing to your local MP about dance in your constituency and any issues that affect your work. As a constituent they effectively work for you, and it’s their job to listen and respond to your needs.
3.
You can also write to your MP to ask them to become a member of the APPDG which will ensure they are fully informed of the issues affecting you, as a constituent, and someone who is passionate about the importance and impact of dance. You might express to them how becoming a member would be a valuable declaration of commitment to the importance of dance in the UK. It might be helpful to highlight dance organisations or activity in the constituency, especially if you are able to include details like the number of schools or young people engaged in dance, or the proportion of voters engaged in dance activity. We share invitations from members for the APPDG to attend events and performances so they can see, get to know, and speak to dancers and dance professionals in person to learn about their work first hand, so you can also let us know if you have an event or performance you are able to host the APPDG at, so we can invite them to join us there. You can of course write to your MP to invite them personally to come along too.
One Dance UK was involved extensively in consultations around the Cultural Education Plan, both directly and by hosting listening exercises with key stakeholders. The Plan was due to be published by the end of 2023, but has not yet been released. Once published, we will be providing a summary of recent key policy developments and hosting facilitated roundtable sessions so you can get involved in shaping policy asks for dance in response, which we aim to use in an update to the Dance Manifesto ahead of the General Election. Look out for further details on this.
Work with us to make sure your voice is heard, because we exist to amplify your voice. Quotes from Baroness Fraser are taken from a keynote speech at the recent launch of research entitled “Resilient Stages: Live Performing Arts and Crisis Policy after Covid-19” comparing pandemic responses across the G7 countries, with her permission. Our thanks to her and the rest of the APPDG for their ongoing support. The TheOne OneDance DanceUK UKMagazine Magazine||Spring Spring2024 2024 15