The Stage

Government discusses state of dance industry

Published Tuesday 28 March 2006 at 10:45 by Nuala Calvi

Leading figures from the dance sector are to meet Whitehall officials to discuss pressing issues facing the industry, from education and training to health and professional development.

The Government Dance Forum, set up by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport earlier this year, has identified six key subject areas that will be investigated during the coming months, including the relationship between the commercial and subsidised dance sectors, links between higher and further education and employment issues.

Members of the group, among them chair of Rambert Dance Company Prudence Skene, Sadler’s Wells artistic director Alistair Spalding and Anthony Bowne from Laban, will call in specialist advisors to help them with their investigations, and will report back to ministers on a regular basis.

Welcoming the announcement, member Beverley Glean, of Irie! Dance Theatre, said: “To be around the table, engaging with the wider dance sector and other government departments in shaping a broad and inclusive framework can only be a positive thing for dance enthusiasts through to professionals nationwide.”

Forum member Farooq Chaudhry, of Akram Khan Dance Company, said he hoped the new forum would be able to position dance in its rightful place in the nation’s cultural life.

“Over the coming months I hope we will negotiate a new pathway for dance where issues of excellence, access and health do not seem a million miles away from each other,” he said.

The news follows an international summit of dance industry leaders last month that heard how ballet schools were failing to train dancers fit for work in an increasingly competitive, globalised market. According to experts, 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.

The Government Dance Forum, the first of its kind, was announced by culture minister David Lammy in January.

Speaking earlier this year, Lammy said the government had recognised that it needed to support dance in a more informed way and set up a constructive, ongoing dialogue with the sector.

He added: “We have invited a wide range of individuals representing a diverse mix of organisations to take part in the forum. We are keen to learn from their expertise and knowledge in the hope that, collectively, we can make dance an even stronger and accessible art form.”