Dance Mapping - Arts Council England

‘Keeping traditional dance alive in the UK’.
‘There seems to be reluctance in younger people to join traditional dance sides and of course
the older dancers aren't getting any younger!’
‘Getting the "arts" side of organisations to recognise ”social styles” of dance i.e. ballroom,
Latin, Argentine Tango are just as important (if not more important to the general paying
public). Not just contemporary or ballet as most organisations focus on. Not everyone wants
to be onstage they just want to dance socially.’
‘Poorly educated/shy dance community – who can't speak up in cross-artform context.
Bringing all styles together to show the massive amount of activity–- the breadth of work in
the UK is so exciting!’
Workforce respondents
There were some specific issues raised around the hierarchy within the field, specifically the
lack of value placed on folk and participatory dance and it is clear that this must be addressed
by the dance field as a whole if we are to move forward with confidence and a united vision
on what dance can bring to society.
Whilst contemporary dance may be a relatively young dance form in England, the overall field
of dance has a much longer history, with folk forms, ballroom and ballet having greater
confidence in their tradition and place within the field of the arts. These multiple identities
could engender greater confidence in the field as a whole.
‘Dance does not have a cohesive whole. Is it ballet? Is it Street. Is it South Asian? Is it the dance taught
at the conservatoires, at the local WI hall or at the street corner? It is all of these things, of course, and
more, but who has the courage and the insight to make this happen, but, primarily, who has the ability to
take their humility to dance....not their company, their team, their workforce, their students, their staff,
their agenda, their mission or their vision....but their humility. Who can forego their profit margins, their 3
Year Plans, their audience numbers, their members, their self-interest for the greater good of
recognising and establishing dance as an important social, cultural, economic and satisfying endeavour
which crosses boundaries and builds bridges. Dance has been said to be a universal language...but
there are too many dialects today. Who will step forward and inspire the common voice? I believe that
there is too much self-interest for any single organisation to make a difference and defeat the greatest
challenge we have...to build consistency and commonality into dance. The longer people view dance
produced or performed at the Sadler's Wells with more esteem and critical worth than a school dance
production, we will not move forward. We are teaching young dancers that a divide exists; we are
teaching them that they must be more than they are to be accepted and we are teaching those who do
inspire schoolchildren every long and difficult day that their contributions to dance are lesser than that of
those who swan in the foyer of the glitterati London theatres with their cravats and witty wittering. If
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