Ausdance National update—October 2009

by Julie Dyson

October has been an exceptionally busy month for Ausdance National staff, with several interstate meetings and conferences to attend, continued work on the publications and database programs, work on the 2010 budget, and preparation for presentations at three international conferences, as well as two interstate professional development courses. I managed to catch some exciting performances in October, including Korper at the Melbourne International Festival and Miracle in Brisbane, a new Indigenous opera which was supported by Treading the Pathways.

National Council Meeting

The quarterly National Council teleconference was held on 2 October, with an agenda that included discussion of the 2010 Australian Dance Awards, reports from various Ausdance National projects, plans for Dance Plan 2012 forums in the States and Territories next year, and some important governance issues. Tamara has been working on a constitutional review of the network’s existing constitutions, and the National Council is now considering suggested amendments across the network, board terms of reference, a board evaluation process and a revision of current aims.

Ausdance Directors’ Meeting

The network’s directors (including Marilyn Miller, the National Indigenous Dance Coordinator) meet twice annually, and this year our October meeting was hosted in Melbourne by Ausdance Victoria. Our two-day agenda included identification of critical issues for the dance industry, detailed discussion of the Australian Dance Awards and their future beyond 2010, issues falling under the ‘Schooldance’ heading, including the new Ausdance skill set for Teaching Dance and artists in schools, ideas for Dance Plan 2012 forums, and a sneak preview of the new Torres Strait Island dance kit for schools being produced by Marilyn Miller and the Treading the Pathways project. We also reported on the many Ausdance National projects underway, and had Carin Mistry, Acting Director Dance at the Australia Council, as our special guest.

These meetings are incredibly useful to all of us working in the Ausdance network, and provide a real opportunity to debate, share ideas and develop action plans. The issues discussed also help us to set agendas for the future, and to remain relevant and connected to our professional colleagues across the country.

Short + Sweet

I recently met with Mark Cleary, Executive Director of Short + Sweet, to explore ways in which Ausdance could support some of the excellent work they do in assisting the independent sector to profile work, pick up touring opportunities etc. through its 10-minute theatre festival. Until now the project has focused more on theatre than dance, but it was exciting to hear some of Mark’s plans for dance, and we will continue to work with him to provide access to our networks and other resources. The festival currently happens in Sydney, Melbourne, Central Coast, Singapore and Malaysia, and this year is expanding to Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne.

Council for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS)

CHASS is currently undergoing a major review of its work, and I was able to contribute to that through a telephone consultation process in October. I also attended the first day of ‘HASS on the Hill’ on 27th, which brings together the very broad CHASS membership from the sector to discuss their work and to lobby parliamentarians about the value of the arts, humanities and social sciences. This is always an exciting networking opportunity, and it was great to participate in the advocacy workshop, where people were invited to pitch their work in three minutes, and then receive feedback from an expert panel. Even those of us experienced in lobbying had a lot to learn from this particular workshop!

Australian Teachers of Dancing ‘Come Together’ convention

I was delighted to be invited to speak at this rare event, a gathering of studio teachers from all teaching societies, convened by the ATOD’s President, Karen Malek. My brief was to provide an overview of Dance Plan 2012, and it was great to reconnect with many old friends and discuss the dance action plan. I then invited Karen to join the Ausdance Directors for lunch the following week – she has a big vision for future conventions, and Ausdance will be pleased to support her in planning for the next one, and perhaps assisting with some of the arrangements. One idea is to hold it during Dance Week next year to maximise publicity opportunities, and Karen will be discussing this further with Ausdance NSW director, Cathy Murdoch.

Reference Group for the National Curriculum

All members of the National Advocates for Arts Education (NAAE) were invited to participate in the second reference group meeting convened by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). We had an opportunity to review our discussions from the previous meeting, and then moved on to share ideas about implementation and the special characteristics of each art form. In the dance group we had Nanette Hassall, Jeff Meiners and Ruth Bott, so it was a lively discussion, and we have since provided ACARA with written information from our dance discussion.

ACARA is now moving on to wider consultation, and will appoint a writer later this year, but it is immensely pleasing to note that the notion of five art forms – and an education in each – is still on the table. Several NAAE people also attended a meeting of the Joint Implementation Working Group of the Cultural Ministers’ Council late in October, and had an opportunity to brief that group on the NAAE’s position.

Treading the Pathways

National Dance Coordinator Marilyn Miller visited Canberra in October to meet at Parliament House with Rita Markwell, adviser to Jenny Macklin, Minister for Indigenous Affairs. We had a very good meeting with Rita, who was interested to hear about developments with the TSI dance kit for schools, and suggested ways in which we might apply for departmental funds.

Performing Arts Training Package (Dance)

The development of the new training package for dance is happening very quickly, with consultation meetings about to be held in each State and Territory. I was invited to chair the National Project Reference Group meeting for the Performing Arts Training Package – National Dance Qualifications in Melbourne recently, and it was good to find that the work Ausdance had done in the 1990s, especially the Australian Guidelines for Dance Teachers and the Interim Competency Standards, will form the basis for the new nationally-recognised qualifications. The Ausdance skill set for Teaching Dance, which has been designed to reflect these documents, will also sit neatly within this Training Package. I encourage everyone with an interest in dance teaching to participate in this important consultation phase, and to check out more information here: What is a Training Package? (21 mins)

Registering your interest: http://verve.org.au/projects/national-dance-qualifications)

Ausdance skill set for Teaching Dance

Dr Katrina Rank, Ausdance Victoria’s Manager of Education and Training and the writer and developer of the skill set, conducted an induction workshop in Melbourne in October for course leaders. There were six dancers/teachers from across Australia at the induction, plus Leanne from the national office, and everyone was impressed with the quality and detail of the trainers manual and skill set content.

Ausdance Victoria will be offering the course soon, and other States and Territories will follow in 2010.

World Dance Alliance (WDA)

Cheryl Stock visited Canberra to discuss the online publication of the papers from last year’s WDA Global Summit in Brisbane. The coordination, peer review process and editing of these papers has been a mammoth task for Cheryl and Denise Richardson of QUT, and we are proud to be the publishers of these incredibly important papers. Rachael is now working to publish them in time for the WDA Asia-Pacific conference and AGM to be held in New Delhi at the end of November.

World Alliance for Arts Education (WAAE)

By the time you read this I will have joined other Australians at the WAAE conference in Newcastle, UK for a four-day conference to plan for the UNESCO conference in Seoul in May next year. I will try to keep up the news while I’m away, but will back in the office on 8 December, after a second conference in Hamburg, and then the WDA meetings in New Delhi.