Dance Mapping - Arts Council England

• 564,000 people have management roles in these groups; 147,000 on a paid basis,
planning and developing creative activity; the DCMS report concludes that engaging
and meeting the needs of members is complex and challenging
• the sector is embedded in the grass roots of local communities and has a complex
impact on developing vibrant and inclusive communities; they are well placed to
engage new audiences and participants in the arts
• local authority arts officers can play a crucial role in developing capacity but their
engagement is often reactive and ad hoc; the introduction of local data collection on
levels of arts engagement will enable comparisons to be made between local
authorities.
• appreciation of the artform is the main motivation for participation in a group; they
strive for the highest standards and take pride in the quality of their work.
• 97,100 members are from a black or minority ethnic background; 154,000 members
of voluntary and amateur arts groups consider themselves to have a disability.
• groups spend £125 million employing professional artists, £67 million on venue hire
for performance and £26 million for rehearsals and meetings.
Table 68 shows the number of voluntary and amateur dance groups in England by region and
the number of participants within these groups
Region Number of groups
East 450 12,000
East Midlands 280 15,000
London 490 12,000
North East 140 2,000
North West 320 15,000
South East 550 43,000
South West 240 6,000
West Midlands 250 8,000
Yorkshire 310 16,000
England total 3040 128,000
Table 68: Dance groups and membership by Arts Council region
As a percentage of the total number of groups, dance accounts for 6% and for the number of
members 2.2%. The largest number of groups can be found in the South East excluding
London with the largest number of members. The North East has the least number of groups
and the smallest membership
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