Ausdance National update

by Julie Dyson, Ausdance National Director | October 2008

Advocacy & representation

Dance Plan 2012

Since its launch in July, Dance Plan 2012 has been presented at the Lyon conference in France, and formally to the ACT Chief Minister by Ausdance National, Ausdance ACT and QL2 Centre for Youth Dance. The Chief Minister was very receptive, and particularly interested in extending dance education in the ACT, as well as hearing about several issues of concern to Ausdance and QL2. A co-ordinated Ausdance implementation plan will be discussed by all Ausdance Directors at their meeting in Melbourne on October 23 and 24.

National Curriculum, minus the Arts

Everyone is probably aware of the push for new National Curriculum standards across the country. Phase one is focusing on English, mathematics, science and history and will be implemented in schools from 2011. A second suite of curricula will include languages and geography. Ausdance National convened a group of arts education colleagues in Sydney on 13 October, and its members, under the banner of the NAAE (National Advocates for Arts Education), agreed on a joint advocacy campaign to ensure that the Arts are included in the National Curriculum.

We have written to Ministers Julia Gillard, Kim Carr and Peter Garrett, and to Maxine McKew and Shadow Education Minister Christopher Pyne. We are seeking meetings with each of these politicians in Canberra in late November, suggesting that the Arts are essential to the Government’s plans for an ‘education revolution’, with their emphasis on innovation, creativity, social inclusion and cultural understanding. The NAAE currently consists of representatives from Ausdance, the Australian Music Council, the Australian Society for Music Education, the National Association for the Visual Arts, Art Education Australia and Drama Australia.

Events

World Dance Alliance

The WDA Global Summit was held in Brisbane in July, a truly international event and a tribute to the organizational skills of Cheryl Stock and her team, and hosts Ausdance Qld. The WDA was certainly strengthened by the event, which was intellectually rigorous and diverse. There were opportunities for practitioners to present their work in ‘performative dialogues’, as well as through papers and formal ‘conversations’.

The public Dance Dialogues were particularly well attended, and congratulations must go to our National President, Sue Street, for her inspirational Peggy van Praagh Memorial Address, along with the latest edition of Asia Pacific Channels, published by Ausdance National. Other more comprehensive reports of the WDA conference will also be online shortly.

Industry development

SCOPE (Securing Career Opportunities for Professional Employment)

SCOPE has a new ‘futures’ committee, charged with ensuring that SCOPE continues beyond its initial Australia Council funding period to February 2009. SCOPE was established to provide career development opportunities for Australian dancers, and at present has 41 dancers participating in a wide range of further education and employment programs, initially designed for athletes, and now extended and tailor-made for the dance profession.

Members of the steering committee are Patrick McIntyre (The Australian Ballet), Lois Fordham (formerly Corporate Services Manager at the AIS, now AbaF Canberra manager), Marilyn Miller (Treading the Pathways), Ian McRae (Chair, The Australian Ballet School, formerly Chair of the Theatre Board of the Australia Council), Lindy Wills (principal, The Australian Ballet), Claire Stonier-Kipen (Senior Manager Strategic Projects at Arts Victoria), Shane Carroll (freelance dance consultant, former Chair of the Dance Board), Grant O’Neill (Sydney Dance Company), and Julie Dyson (Ausdance National). John Waser (Manager of the National Athlete Career Education Program at the AIS) and Kay Helliwell (SCOPE consultant) are also on the committee.

The futures committee will seek funding from a range of private and public institutions, and in the meantime has made a submission to the Australia Council for an additional year of transitional funding to June 2010. If these funds are granted, there will be a call before the end of this year for new applications for 2009. SCOPE is a partnership between the Australian Sports Commission and the Australia Council, and is an initiative of Ausdance National.

Publications

Brolga

The 28th edition of Brolga—an Australian journal about dance was published by Ausdance National in July, and includes an index by Meg Denton of Brolga Nos. 22 to 24.

Dr Robin Grove has stepped down as editor of the December edition for health reasons, and Dr Amanda Card is the new editor, with Dr Alan Brissenden continuing to edit the June editions. The peer referee panel is Dr Kim Vincs, Dr Maggi Phillips and Dr Cheryl Stock, and other members of the advisory panel are Lee Christofis and Rita Clarke. However, as not all articles published in Brolga are peer reviewed, we encourage everyone to submit articles for publication.

Copies of Brolga are available from the Ausdance National office, and library copies are available in most Ausdance network offices. For notes to contributors, see the Ausdance website under ‘Journals’

International networks

Australia's Dance Plan 2012 has been presented at the Lyon conference in France, Biennale de Danse de Lyon

Ausdance was invited to present the Dance Plan, along with a panel of people from different countries to discuss their own versions. Belgium, Germany and Switzerland had all developed Dance Plans this year, and in addition to the UK Dance Manifesto and the NZ Dance Strategy (neither of which was represented on the panel), it appears that we are all on track to promote dance in very strategic ways in our countries.

Although able to present the four ‘ambitions’ of the Australian version, I was particularly asked to elaborate on dance education in Australia and the strategies we are developing. I included information about SCOPE and Treading the Pathways, as well as our plans for Schooldance and information about the publication Australian Guidelines for Dance Teachers, to indicate the breadth of our definition of ‘education’.

Many countries want to learn from our experiences, ideas and future plans. Representatives from Germany and Switzerland were interested in the ways we work with the Ausdance State and Territory organisations to support the dance profession.

Our panel later formed an informal alliance to monitor progress and share ‘best practice’ in delivery, and we hope that the UK and NZ will be invited to join this informal alliance.

It’s been a wonderful opportunity to attend this conference, and develop new networks and alliances for Ausdance.

Montpellier Choreographic Centre—where vast resources allow its visionary program to succeed

While in France I also spent time at the Montpellier National Choreographic Centre. The program incorporates local, national and international artists, and a comprehensive education program, both for the participating artists and with surrounding schools and universities.

There is a small education unit within the Centre which manages the outreach program, and an enviable list of visiting choreographers and other artists who participate in a range of residency programs, showings and performances. Its focus is, of course, on choreographic research and development without the requirement for final performances, but there is a well-equipped theatre for showings and lecture-demonstrations.

Fanny Delmas is the Public Relations officer, and her brief is to educate schools and communities about dance through the work of the Centre. She has developed a very structured and highly regarded program for working with audiences, students, teachers and other artists, and my hour with her was barely enough to comprehend its breadth.

Catherine Hasler, project co-ordinator for the Centre, was also very generous with her time, outlining the artists’ programs and providing insight into aspects of planning, funding and choreographic development.

This choreographic centre is one of 19 throughout France, and it was interesting to discuss their strategies for attracting funding, the emphasis they place on education and audience feedback, and the acceptance that funding international artists actually contributes hugely to the city’s cultural life. Some of these issues and experiences are definitely worth further discussion in this country.