Dance Mapping - Arts Council England

The StepBack project supports inclusion of English traditional performing arts in higher
education and its use by professional creative artists. It seeks to ensure that the traditions are
available and understood as source material to inform both education and creativity amongst
arts professionals. StepBack takes as its premise that the living tradition of performing arts is
a genetic pool of material, style and vocabulary, and that its diversity is best preserved in the
community.
The English traditions have not evolved in isolation, and the process of interaction and
exchange with other cultural sources continues through direct exchange and osmosis within
the evolving and diverse community in England. Nevertheless, EFDSS consider that it should
provide an essential part of course material to students in England studying any of the
performing arts.
To this end we establish a two-way exchange between the community and professionals, and
seek ways to learn how better to teach the traditions so that they may be used creatively as
an element inspiring and informing new work and artistic practice, without becoming a
pastiche.
Similarly English traditions are deserving of academic study and research. With a century of
collection in the field they provide a unique insight into the issues surrounding collection of
ethnic traditions, and the weakness inherent in treating material resulting from field research
as fixed and immutable. StepBack supports artists directly through involvement in creative
projects, and welcomes enquiries.
StepBack was created by the Broken Ankles Dance Company, and run directly by them from
1997 to 2004. When the company retired the project was transferred to SEFAN to ensure
material and expertise were not lost.
http://www.sefan.org.uk/STEPBACK/StepBack_Home.html
For and UK come together to celebrate the diversity of folk dance over a memorable weekend.
The recent emergence of the extreme Morris film Morris: A life with bells on, 96 a documentary-
style comedy following the fortunes of a group of dancers, has generated intense excitement
on the internet and on a regional tour of town and village halls in the south-west, where it is
set. The Daily Telegraph reported: ‘...Yet with big studios more reluctant to take financial risks
during the recession, it has failed to obtain a widespread distribution deal. However, its
website is attracting 100,000 visits every week and the producers are having to employ
assistants to deal with a "deluge" of emails from Morris fans demanding to know where they
can watch it. A petition drawn up demanding a mainstream release has attracted 3,000
signatures.’
13. Central Council for Physical Recreation (CCPR)
According to the CCPR, dance is a popular activity for five million participants, or 10 per cent
of the UK population.
Table 73 presents a summary of membership of CCPR movement and dance clubs and
individuals.
96 For more information on Morris: A life with bells on, visit www.morrismovie.com
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