The Dancers

1

• The Dancers World of Work
• Entrepreneurship in Dance Higher Education

2
The Dance World

• Dance deals in the generation of intellectual
  property through original choreography
• that is then performed by dancers in live, filmed
  and broadcast contexts. The
• performance is the result of many other processes
  that are essential to making it
• possible, including management, technical support
  and training and education. This
• means that the dancers world of work is complex.
  It is multi facetted with a
• framework of interconnected employment sectors
  characterised by complexity,
• creativity and dynamism.
• This is a socio economic network.  
• It is an aggregation of many smaller micro-worlds
  or subcommunities, a social
• network emerging from the cooperation of these
  micro worlds all with greater or
• lesser knowledge of the entire network.
• These subcommunities are best viewed as art
  worlds.

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Dance Entrepreneurship

•  
• The ability to balance creative independence with
  the ability to work collaboratively
• The ability to manage artistic integrity with an
  understanding of finance and self management
• The ability to create financial self sufficiency
  through a creative and lateral approach to the
  management of skills
• The ability to create networks, maintain and
  manage them and communicate effectively
• Above all the ability to be proactive, pragmatic
  and flexible
•  

• In addition, dancers work differently to
• entrepreneurs in different sectors
•  
• Dancers work as part of a cluster, a creative
  community that brings the collective set of
  skills required to realise production and
  distribution. Collaboration lies at the heart of
  the dancers world.
• Dancers create products that are not always
  market orientated. Instead they need to find
  markets for it after creating it. This requires
  different approaches to marketing creating
  demand rather than meeting it. This therefore
  requires an understanding of the market, its
  trends and an understanding of context and what
  has gone before.
•  

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Characteristics of Employment within the Creative
Industries

• The sector is highly fluid characterised by rapid
  change
• It is comprised of a small number of large
  enterprises and a large number of small
  enterprises with a huge number of sole traders,
  freelancers and micro businesses
• The age profile of the sector is young with those
  working as freelancers and sole traders largely
  within the 22 40 age range, though there are
  wide variations across different sub sectors
• Davies and Lindley (2003) found that 39 of those
  employed in cultural occupations as a main job
  are self employed. This compares with 12 of
  those in non cultural employment.
• Permanent employment is declining and self
  employment growing.
• Flexible employment is increasing, with multiple
  job holding and portfolio careers becoming a norm

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The Research

• Mapping the sector
• Interviews with Leading Industry figures
• Desk Research
• Mapping HE provision
• Desk Research
• Questionnaire
• Identification of Good Teaching and Learning
  Practice
• Sampling
• Case Studies

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The Dance Labour Market

• It is widely recognised that artists labour
  markets are different from other labour markets.
  (Towse, Baumol and Bowen, Throsby)
• The labour market is fragmented and the artist
  must use their art form knowledge as a flexible
  resource for many purposes.
• A narrow depiction of the dance world would
  revolve around those directly engaged in
  performance. But this group is small in
  comparison to other parts of the sector.
  Performers only make up a small proportion of the
  dance labour market.
• The largest group (estimated at around 75) is
  teachers of dance.
• There are a myriad of people supporting dance
  including those managing, presenting and
  organising it, those offering dance therapy,
  journalists and critics.
• There is often overlap between different roles
  due to multiple job holding

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Peculiarities of Dancers Career

• Dancers are usually drawn to the discipline as
  young children. Their dancing life may have
  started as young as three or four and may have
  informed their overall education. Time is a major
  pressure for the aspiring performer.
• The dancer uses their body as their instrument
  and as such there are particular issues around
  injury, ongoing training and maintenance of the
  body. Dancers need to have a good understanding
  of nutrition, health related issues and must
  maintain their own physical well being to
  minimise risk of injury
• Dancers face short performance careers. The
  physical demands they face mean that dancers know
  that their career as a performer is likely to be
  time limited and they may have to develop a
  second career which may or may not be dance
  related at some stage. Lack of performance
  longevity means that there is a need to consider
  how a dancer can sustain a career after retiring
  from performance
• The field is predominantly female. The demand for
  good male dancers is strong whilst it is highly
  competitive for women.

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Employment in the Dance World

•  
•  

9
Dance Courses at FE/ HE Level

• Institutions offering Dance at FE/HE and
  Vocational Levels 80
• HE Institutions 43
• FE Institutions 23
• Vocational Schools 15
• Number of CDET Accredited Institutions 15
• CDET Accreditation of HE courses 7
• BA Single Hons programmes 55
• BA Top up programmes 8
• Foundation courses 22
• HND 7
• National Diploma 19

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Student Numbers

• Full time Undergraduate places Dance
• 2002/03 1540
• 2003/04 1790
• 2004/05 2335
• 51 increase in full time undergraduate places
  since 2002/03
• Unprecedented expansion in HE dance provision
• Size and scale of the sector suggests potential
  over supply
• BUT, demand for community dance artists and dance
  teachers is high

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Course ContentLevel of importance allocated to
differentareas of study within courses

• Choreography and Composition
• Technique
• Theoretical Skills
• Improvisation
• Production
• Management Skills
• Education/ Workshop skills

• HE appears to be developing conceptual dancers
  able to conceive and create work within a
  theoretical context
• Lower importance appears given to the education
  and workshop skills which are in demand within
  the dance world
• Management skills are ranked lower than
  conceptual and theoretical skills

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Course ContentEntrepreneurship

• Some Key Findings
• The skills associated with entrepreneurship
  including Self Management, Reflection, Creative
  Problem Solving, Communication, Negotiation and
  Networking are all being taught in an explicit
  way by the majority of courses over all three
  levels.
• Strategic thinking is more often covered in an
  implicit way (76)
• Aptitudes such as flexibility, ability to take
  risks, work in complex situations,multi task and
  manage independently are encouraged by the
  majority of courses at all levels.
• 82 of programmes explicitly encourage the
  ability to work collaboratively and in teams over
  all three levels
• Knowledge of the sector (policy, infrastructure,
  support agencies etc) are delivered in an
  explicit way over all three levels
• Knowledge of business planning, self employment,
  marketing, finance, CV writing, job search and
  audition techniques are mainly delivered at level
  3 (79) in an explicit way.

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Links with the Professional Dance World

• 79 of courses surveyed offer placements at level
  2 and 57 at level 3.
• All courses surveyed work with Dance
  Practitioners in teaching, assessing and as guest
  choreographers.
• Case studies are used as a method of teaching and
  learning with 69 of courses citing them at
  level 2 and 77 at level 3
• 46 of the courses surveyed use professional
  artists as mentors for students at level 1
• The majority of courses surveyed have close links
  with professional dance organisations and/ or
  professional dance companies

• Students are gaining professional practice
  through projects which appear to support the
  dance worlds need for resources
• There are few pure academics working in the
  field. This practitioner emphasis means courses
  are well connected to the dance world and respond
  and adapt rapidly to its needs
• There is a direct connection between research,
  teaching and learning and knowledge transfer
  within many courses
• Of the 8 courses sampled, 5 have recently
  revalidated or are about to revalidate to ensure
  the course remains relevant.

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Case One Embedding Knowledge, Skills and
Aptitudes

• De Montfort University BA (Hons) Dance
• Interaction with professional practitioners and
  organisations enable students to appreciate
  current practice and policy.
• This helps students form real world conceptions
  of how dance artists currently work and enables
  students (from Level 2) to begin to re-envisage
  themselves as providers
• (rather than consumers), as professionals (rather
  than students) and as autonomous (rather than
  dependent) learners.
• This is met by a curriculum design that enables
  increasing student choice, independent learning
  and negotiated study.
• The Universitys Personal Development Planning
  initiatives have encouraged students to think
  more strategically about their futures from the
  start of their courses. Most students are
  thinking seriously about their futures at the
  start of year 2.
• Students become more aware as they progress in
  the course and dialogue with practitioners and
  representatives of dance and other cultural
  organisations of the range of possible
  opportunities.
• They begin to appreciate that career paths are
  not pre-determined.

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Case Two Delivering Entrepreneurship in an
Explicit Way

• Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts has
  embedded modules within the BA (Hons) Dance
  programme at all three levels that develop the
  students professional practice skills.
• The course was designed to meet the varying
  demands of the dance profession.
• Level One Professional Development Module
• The aim of this module is to provide students
  with the necessary skills, knowledge and
  experience to take full advantage of their
  programme of study. The module will develop both
  the generic study skills required of an
  undergraduate and the specialist skills required
  of a student of dance.
• Personal Development Planning (PDP)
• Level Three Professional Preparation The
  Independent Dancer
• This module aims to direct the student to
  organize and present themselves and their work to
  a professional level, demonstrating a thorough
  range of management, performance and promotion
  skills. This is to prepare them to seek out and
  create employment opportunities in and around
  their chosen dance field(s). They will produce a
  portfolio, including personal and company
  business plans. They will gain experience in
  audition and interview techniques and leading a
  community workshop.

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Case Three Professional Practice and Engagement
with the Dance World

• 'DanceUS.Com'(Dance and the University of
  Sunderland and Community)project.
• Arts Council England / City of Sunderland funded
  programme
• Aim is to establish the University as a centre of
  excellence for dance activity in the City.
  Provides professional practice whilst also
  meeting the needs of the community
• The post of 'Dance Entrepreneur' - based within
  the Dance team/managed by subject/programme
  leader for dance at the University to develop a
  range of community projects, enhance networks and
  involve under-graduates in projects (on both a
  voluntary and for assessment basis). This in turn
  is generating employment for dance graduates.
• The Entrepreneur also acts as mentor for
  students.
• The dance team is currently working on bids for
  new projects which will also have a research
  outcome For example
• 'Small Steps, Giant Jumps' - Healthy Nurseries,
  working in conjunction with City of Sunderland
  Family Learning to develop dance project with
  nurseries across the City (growing out of
  government papers eg Every Child Matters etc)
• 'Down our Street' tri-partite University project
  for URBAN II funding - will address Engaging
  Young People specifically linking education to
  employment - Dance element will focus on raising
  aspirations and self esteem.
• 'Phoenix House' working with Drug and Alcohol
  Rehabilitation Unit

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Case FourPartnership Delivery

• Northumbria University and Dance CityNational
  Dance Agency for the North East of England -
  partnership in developing and delivering the BA
  (Hons) Dance Choreography
• Professional concerns, which arise through Dance
  Citys role as a producer of contemporary dance
  performance and curator of regional, national and
  international artists, informs curriculum design.
  
• The collaboration enables synthesis of the values
  of professional practice and university
  education.
• Teaching Artists, resident at Dance City, lead in
  many areas of the programme, where their
  knowledge of professional practice supports
  students in their artistic development.
• Teaching Artists and Dance City staff lead in
  areas such as performance and dance management.
• In addition, artists and companies visiting Dance
  City also contribute to the programme.
• Dance City Visiting Dance Artists teach and
  assess 25 of the curriculum
• Challenges in building a team comprising
  artists and academics
• Students benefit from formal and informal advice
  and mentoring.

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Case FivePlacement

• University of Surrey offers a unique 4-year
  degree programme that has a Professional Training
  Period of 30 weeks in Level P (third year).
• During this period, students work at a host
  organisation within the dance sector Dance
  Company Education, Dance and Disability, Dance
  Education, Community Dance or Dance Management
• CV preparation, application and interview process
• Three way relationship between Host/ Workplace
  Mentor, Placement Tutor and Student
• Assessment includes high level of self evaluation
  and critical reflection
• The year transforms people they come back as
  mature confident professionals.
• Employability high with many students graduating
  to work with host
• Reputation built over long period of time pre
  existing list of hosts