The Stage

Training failing dance companies’ needs

Published Tuesday 7 February 2006 at 16:45 by Nuala Calvi

Britain’s ballet schools are failing to train dancers fit for working in an increasingly competitive, globalised market, according to industry leaders.

Too many dancers are being trained for a limited number of jobs, with many leaving college poorly equipped to meet the rigorous demands of working for an international company, it is claimed.

The warnings emerged at a summit of 32 industry leaders from 12 countries, organised by development agency DanceEast in Vevey, Switzerland this month.

DanceEast director Assis Carreiro said: “There is a worry there are too many dancers and not enough jobs. We are worried they are training too many. In some countries grants are based on how many students there are, which is quite frustrating. Some of the companies are getting dancers who are not trained for them.”

Directors of ballet companies and schools at the summit, including Jane Hackett from the Central School of Ballet, Deborah Bull from ROH2 and David Nixon from Northern Ballet Theatre, have agreed to set up an international ballet network to address the changing training needs of the industry.

Alistair Spalding, artistic director of Sadler’s Wells, said more communication between ballet companies and training establishments was crucial to ensure the latter provided the kind of dancers required.

“There’s a feeling there has been a disconnection,” he said. “Companies weren’t really getting the kind of dancers they needed, in terms of technique and training and how receptive they were to choreographers coming in. Even with some of the companies which have schools, there is often a very small connection between them.”

Concerns were also raised at the conference about the level of resources available for dance training and performance. The directors called for dance to be regarded as an elite activity requiring rigorous training to produce high calibre professionals, in the same way as sport.

Jeanette Siddall, director of dance at Arts Council England, told The Stage: “There are a number of areas where more funding would be effective. Dance science is becoming much more significant - based on sports science - so increasingly we are recognising that psychologists, nutritionists and so on are all necessary to train good dancers. Some of the schools also have a need for capital input - for things like sprung floors, heating and ventilation systems.”