Dance Mapping - Arts Council England

• perception and confidence
• workforce development
• supply and demand
• diverse working patterns
• leadership
The following sections outline the issues supported by quotes drawn from the workforce
survey.
7. Perception and confidence
The way the field sees itself is rooted in a historical perception that dance is lagging behind
other fields and needs to catch up and yet it is a world leader in some areas such as
education community and participatory dance. This seems to indicate that confidence is
lacking within the field but it is also because the dance community does not speak as one:
‘Dance is entering adulthood as an artform so we need to take responsibility for our
achievements and failures, for our employees and stand together on arguing for resources
and profile of the form.’
‘To work together (all dance/all dancers) to champion dance/be ambitious for the ongoing
development of the dance sector and to use future high profile events (e.g. the 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games) to profile dance and what it can achieve / influence – grow the
available resources for the sector /lead ourselves!’
‘The dance world in the UK, although varied, is small enough to achieve better
communication.’
‘A more unified sector which greater knowledge’
‘Getting the folk movement and the English cultural heritage to be understood, accepted and
supported by the arts movement and the media.’
‘Inter-genre dialogue; to establish and maintain a culturally diverse base that reflects the rich
and diverse cultural heritage. We should be establishing a contemporary English style that
reflects our broad base (as evident from the list of genres one can tick in this form). We all
work in isolation and none more so than the folk sector.’
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