Current State of Dance

A friend of mine very kindly suggested an article for me to read regarding the current state of dance written by the head of youth dance education Linda Jasper. 
It is a very clear article which outlines the problems that dance has in the education sector.
From her background and knowledge the expectation that she desires from the curriculum to encourage dance is inspiring and it expresses more to me how far dance has come over the years, but now how more importantly we as dance professionals have to work in order for it to stay there. I have taken snippets out of the article which stood out to me but at the end of my blog please see the link which will take you straight to the website and you can read it in full. 

'In England there has been noticeable and fast-paced change since the change of government in 2010 and the world-wide economic crises in 2008. The school system is a very important system to work with if we want to ensure access to dance and the arts for all. Fundamentally, this is where all children and young people should get an arts education – free at the point of delivery' (Linda Jasper)

Jasper talks about what is next? But before we can make this evaluation, it is important to look at figures. She touches on how Dance is evolving in the PE departments of school however can't help but mention the negativity that still oozes out of some individuals. The statement from Nicky Morgan sums it up for me and what a selected group of people think about Dance in education. She states ' Choosing to study arts subjects at school could hold students back later on in life'.
Reviewing this I believe it is right that everyone can speak freely about their opinions however that bold comment cannot do anything more but infuriate me. To me, dance was a subject I was able to enjoy because it was active, enjoyable and fundamental to my own practise. I know I do not speak for everyone and those of us who wanted to continue on with dance later on after school are naturally going to enjoy the lesson, but for those who want it not to be a part of school choices should open their minds up to what it can offer students. Jasper also touches on its physicality's and by including and encouraging dance as a subject it is able to keep student active, it is a form of physical activity which pushes the obesity numbers down as this opens up a wider variety of activity based lessons within a school timetable.
As you read on through the article Jasper states that the STEM, Ebrace subjects (Science, Technology, English, Maths) and how this effect has encouraged students to drop arts subjects and the decrease in numbers across the country has taken an immediate effect. Please see a quote from the article relating to this;

'Nicky Morgan, Secretary for Education, speaking in early November 2014, warned young people that choosing to study arts subjects at school could “hold them back for the rest of their lives”. This statement revealed clearly the Government’s policy to focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects as they are seen to be linked with wealth generation that leads to economic security. This focus on STEM is driven by the need to become more competitive in the world, especially in economically challenged times. The introduction of the EBacc and then the Best of 8, where a school’s performance is judged against GCSE scores in core ‘academic’ subjects, has contributed to a decline in the arts offered in schools.(1) 15% of schools surveyed by Ipsos MORI in 2012 for the Department for Education withdrew one or more arts subjects as a result of the EBacc. This was higher in schools in areas of deprivation: 21% of schools with a high proportion of free school meals withdrew one or more arts subjects, compared to 8% of schools with a low proportion of free school meals' (Linda Jasper)

I am not here to argue that the Best of 8 subjects are important to every student attending school, what I am interested in fighting for is how the Arts departments as a whole should not be pushed aside as a 'doss' subject. Seeing the percentages are an eye opener and I am fascinated to take this back to the school I am helping at and discuss with the teachers there. 
On a happier note, dance has now become a full feature in Key Stage 1 & 2 and funding of a huge amount of money is currently available until 2020 - this is until the new election. 

'Focus on progression routes
It is interesting that in this climate of cuts in public funding, the area that has been retained, even though not kept up with inflation, is the publicly funded pre-vocational training sector in England (Centres for Advanced Training and vocational residential schools). This government has also supported the creation of a National Youth Dance Company, which joined the other companies in Scotland and Wales. These developments are very useful for dance as supporting young people to develop their skills from an early age can enhance the possibility of them going on to have professional performance careers, regardless of their backgrounds. Perhaps we have made the argument concerning the importance of creating a world-class workforce for the cultural industries? But these involve relatively small numbers of young people, which means that the financial commitment is containable whilst government intervention is highly visible.
We have created a range of opportunities for talent development – but access to them is being eroded through reductions to opportunities for young people to dance in schools as well as falling participation rates in outside school activate'
What emerged clearly from the seminar is that the most urgent issue is less about the nature of the value of arts to education (although that case needs to be strengthened and deepened), but more about how we move forward in a period where there will be less national prescription to schools and reduced funding to the arts.
What steps can we take and whose responsibility is it to make all this happen? (Linda Jasper)


Having looked over this article and jotted some notes down, I wonder if this could lead my inquiry more down the funding/dance application in schools route. I will take Jaspers comment on board and believe this research will correspond nicely with what the teachers at the state school think too. If you have chance to read through this I highly suggest you take a look!

http://www.communitydance.org.uk/DB/animated-library/current-state-of-children-and-young-peoples-dance-.html?lib=33829


Bio;

Linda Jasper - Current state of Children and Young People in Dance