ausdance National quarterly update

Ausdance National update—5 October 2007

As Ausdance celebrates its 30th year, it can fairly be said that its success has been defined through building the capacity of the dance profession through its initiatives and partnerships. These have value-added to the range of government programs available, and have helped to build infrastructure support in an extremely fragile sector of the arts. Ausdance National initiatives include a safe, reliable and ever-expanding insurance scheme, career development programs, the preservation of Australia’s dance history, Indigenous dance development, regional dance partnerships and international opportunities through its participation in the World Dance Alliance. Our advocacy for dance is also a strong priority area, as demonstrated by last year’s Petitions and our focus on this year’s federal election.

Initiatives & partnerships

Ausdance insurance scheme

In the process of canvassing universal standards for dance teachers in 1987, several studio teachers approached Ausdance National with concerns about the availability of suitable and affordable insurance for the sector. After several years of development, Aon Risk Services agreed to take on the scheme and provide tailor-made insurance products for the dance industry. The partnership is enduring, with two new products being launched in 2007, and income generated for dance through the partnership.

IADMS Conference

When The Australian Ballet School (ABS) was approached to consider hosting the 17th IADMS conference in Australia, Ausdance National offered to partner with the ABS and to approach another of its partners, the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), with a proposal to become a co-host. With agreement of the ASC secured, a successful bid was then launched, profiling the unique partnership between dance and sport as the centerpiece of the Canberra conference, to be held at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra this October.

World Dance Alliance

When WDA–Asia Pacific was formed in Hong Kong by Carl Wolz in 1990, Ausdance National was there, sharing the aims and structure of this organisation in the debates about how WDA–AP would be structured. Since then Ausdance has contributed some of its best strategic thinkers to the growth of the organisation, and is now working with Ausdance Queensland to present the Global Assembly of the World Dance Alliance in Brisbane next year. Ausdance is the Australian chapter of WDA–AP, and all Ausdance members are automatically WDA–AP members.

Treading the Pathways

This project’s predecessor, Creating Pathways, was the result of an initiative between the Australia Council’s Dance Board and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) Arts Board, and Ausdance National. With a long history of collaboration with ATSI organisations, Ausdance had developed a policy of inclusion which resulted in several major Indigenous projects, particularly within the first four Australian Youth Dance Festivals. Many recommendations from these and Creating Pathways resulted, and these are now part of the Treading the Pathways strategic plan.

SCOPE — for the life of dance

In 1989 Ausdance and Actors Equity (now the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance) commissioned the Dancer’s Transition report by Catherine Beall, from which a national discussion group emerged. In the 1990s Ausdance worked with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) to form the Elite Performers Lifeskills Advisors Association, which eventually led to a partnership between the AIS and Ausdance National, enabling 17 professional dancers to participate in the Athlete Career Education program in 2005. In 2006, with Australia Council funding, a new partnership was formed resulting in the SCOPE project.

Australia dancing

After years of advocacy within the organisation, Ausdance National identified the need for a national dance archive. In 1995 Ausdance applied to the Australia Council for partnership funding, and brought together two major collecting institutions—the National Library of Australia (NLA) and the National Film and Sound Archive—to discuss joint policy for collecting dance. The funding application was successful, enabling Ausdance and its partners to employ a dance curator for the first time in Australia. The NLA then incorporated the dance curator’s position into its ongoing strategic plan, enabling the growth and development of Australia Dancing.

Advocacy & lobbying

Federal Budget delivers for dance

Ausdance welcomed much-anticipated additional funding of $43.6m, announced in the Federal Budget in May to assist the small to medium performing arts sector and the major performing arts companies. $25.1m will go to the major performing arts companies, with dance companies receiving significant increases, and $19.5m will go to smaller companies via the Australia Council. Other initiatives announced included $20.4 million over four years to enhance Australia’s cultural diplomacy and improve market access for our cultural exports.

Ausdance has long campaigned for a better deal for smaller companies and independent artists, noting their contribution to Australia’s economy, its cultural life and international profile. In October last year Ausdance co-ordinated a grassroots campaign, with almost 3,000 people signing Petitions to both Houses of Parliament seeking greater investment in the dance sector. This campaign was in addition to personal representations to Ministers and a barrage of letters to every MP, Senator and Cabinet Minister. The Australia Council has also been an extremely strong advocate for increased funding, as have many of the larger companies, including The Australian Ballet.

These new funds will enable dance companies to increase productivity and assist them to meet international demand for their work. It will also provide more certainty in dancers’ employment, and assist further development of new audiences, particularly in the small to medium sector.

We look forward to working with both sides of politics in the lead-up to the Federal election to ensure that the dance profession—including the independent sector— continues to have certainty through ongoing investment, enabling it to grow creatively and productively.

Ausdance succeeds with ALP Policy Platform amendment

We are also pleased to have succeeded — with the support of Shadow Arts Minister Peter Garrett, ACT Senator Kate Lundy and SA Labor Party members Kym Davey and Roger Zubrinich — in having the following clauses included in the ALP’s Arts Platform at its National Conference in April:

‘Labor recognises the importance of the performing arts to the cultural development and health of Australia. Labor will continue supporting performing arts companies through the Australia Council, ensuring that adequate attention is given to second and third tier companies and independent projects in dance, music and drama.’

The platform also includes the following:

Labor recognises that artists and arts workers earn their living through a range of mechanisms in any year, from casual work to entrepreneurial activity. Labor will support workers in the arts industry and protect their individual rights, employment conditions and entitlements.’
‘The tax and welfare systems need to be responsive to the needs of students and workers in arts and culture. In particular, they should reflect the varied nature of artists’ income generation within years and over different years.’

We need to ensure that these clauses are represented in the ALP’s arts policy and we will be advising on implementation should there be a change of government. In the meantime, we will continue to work with the Howard Government on its arts policy in the lead-up to the election.

Council for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS)

The annual ‘HASS on the Hill’ event will again be held at Parliament House in Canberra on June 19 and 20. CHASS is an important part of Ausdance National’s work, and we encourage anyone interested in lobbying and advocacy for the arts to attend. The CHASS website provides details at <www.chass.org.au>

Joint meeting between artistic and tertiary dance directors

For the first time since 1989, the directors of dance companies and tertiary dance courses will meet in Melbourne on September 24, hosted by The Australian Ballet and facilitated by Ausdance National. The agenda is designed to consider ways in which both sectors can better support and resource projects and independent dance, share Safe Dance information and develop lobbying and advocacy strategies to complement the Ausdance effort. Company managers will also meet that day and tertiary and artistic directors will continue with their meetings separately.

Dance education

The Active After-school Communities (AASC) program is funded by the Federal Government to help address obesity concerns in young children. The program is administered by the Australian Sports Commission, and has produced some wonderful resources for teachers and administrators who run these programs. In 2007 Ausdance has, for the first time, become a partner in this program, providing a dance games and activities booklet which will be included in the AASC resource pack to enable the delivery of dance in over 3000 schools and Outside School Hours Care Services across Australia. Funding is now also being sought for Ausdance’s Schooldance project, which will build on those programs already in place throughout the Ausdance network.

Publications

Asia Pacific Channels

Channels is a comprehensive newsletter published twice a year by Ausdance National on behalf of the Asia-Pacific chapter of the World Dance Alliance (WDA). It contains chapter reports from many of the countries in our region, as well as details of activities of the WDA networks.