Advice & Information - Working with Dance Artists
Dance in Partnership Project
In 2004, NDTA was asked by Dance in Partnership, a Yorkshire based trust, to plan and deliver a unique training opportunity for dance artists working in education. The Trust had been set up in recognition of the pioneering work carried out by Margaret Dunn and Robin Howard following a unique Celebration of Dance event held in York Theatre Royal in 1986 at which all of the professional companies associated with Margaret Dunn performed and donated their time willingly and freely. For twenty years, the Trust acted as a grant-giving organisation supporting the development of partnership work between professional dancers and teachers in schools and colleges in the North of England.
The Trust wanted to complete its work through sponsoring a major dance in education project that enshrined the ideology and vision of its founder members and planned as the culmination of the Trust’s work. Following a successful Grants for the Arts bid to Arts Council Yorkshire for further funding, the project brought together ten artists from Yorkshire and Humberside and ran from February 2005 - Easter 2006. Each participant artist received a grant of £1,000 grant each with further funding available for expenses. Artists were required to make a written application and to attend for interview during which they were asked to make a presentation about their work. The successful applicants were drawn from across the region. All had experience of working in education, some as freelance artists and some through working with new or established dance companies. Some were in the early stages of their career and others were looking to move in a new direction. The training element of the project included:
an induction day event in March held at Leeds Metropolitan University
a five-day Easter School at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance which included the opportunity to work with experienced practitioners and teachers
a further three days training in the autumn term
a plenary day at the end of the project
a ten day placement in a Yorkshire school supported by an experienced dance artist in education practitioner and by a teacher at the school
a one day CPD event for teachers supporting the artists.
Overall the project was very successful and created interest in other parts of the country. We hoped that it would reflect the pioneering spirit of Margaret Dunn and that it would help to pave the way for future developments in the field. An independent evaluation of the project by Dr Jo Butterworth, outlines the context of the project, the aims and objectives, the structure, an evaluation of the written materials, an evaluation of the feedback provided by artists, schools and mentors and concluding remarks.
This page is dedicated to the memory of Margaret Dunn