20 November 2024

Earlier this year, a group of leading dance organisations – Candoco Dance Company, Corali, People Dancing, Stopgap Dance Company and TIN Arts – formed a collaborative working group to address the lack of representation and leadership opportunities for D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent, blind and visually impaired, learning-disabled, and chronically ill individuals within the dance sector.

Together, they have committed to exploring ways to challenge existing barriers and promote long-term, meaningful inclusion in the workforce.

Through a new research programme titled Barriers to Progression & Employment in Dance for Disabled People, the working group aims to shed light on these issues, with a focus on informing sector-wide change and supporting colleagues in making sustainable, collaborative improvements.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of the independent research team, who will lead this important investigation:

• Imogen Aujla (PhD, Dip. CBT) – Freelance Dance Researcher, Lecturer, and Life Coach at Dance in Mind

• Louisa Petts (PhD, AFHEA) – Researcher, Lecturer, and Community Dance Artist

• Kate Marsh (PhD) Assistant Professor at C-DaRE (Centre for Dance Research) at Coventry University.

The research team will conduct a nationwide study, engaging with individuals, groups, and organisations within the sector to identify and address the systemic barriers preventing disabled people from entering, sustaining, and advancing in their dance careers. This research is funded by Arts Council England, and the findings will be shared in April 2025.

More information below or please contact Louise Wildish, Head of Inclusion at People Dancing at louise@communitydance.org.uk.

20 September 2023

Candoco Dance Company, Corali, People Dancing, Stopgap Dance Company and TIN Arts are co-collaborators in a shared enquiry and Working Group to challenge ourselves and others to increase and sustain the presence and representation by disabled people in the dance workforce and its leadership.

We mean business.

The Working Group will act with focus and solidarity through long-standing shared histories and collaborations to:

• Strengthen and renew connections, practices and shared project activities

• Amplify diverse voices, and engage widely in dialogue

• Catalyse change, influence and activism with new thinking, critical reflection and tangible actions.

Working Group members are all National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) of Arts Council England.

When using the term ‘disabled people’ we mean this to include but not be limited to, people who define as D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent, or who are chronically ill, have a learning disability or live with impairments or mental health conditions. We also understand that our terminology and language may not fully represent or be the preferred descriptive definition for all individuals who define as having a disability, condition or impairment.

This is a BSL video about The Working Group.

The Working Group, supported by Arts Council England present:

Barriers to Progression & Employment in Dance for Disabled People

Research Tender

Deadline 3 June 2024 - 5pm

Expressions of interest are no longer being taken for this tender

In 2019/20, the Diversity Data Report of Arts Council England revealed that disabled people made up just 5% of the workforce of core funded Dance organisations, the lowest percentage against all other artforms. The Department for Work and Pensions estimated that for 2020/21, 24% of the population identify as disabled/have a long-term health condition. In more recent Arts Council England released data for 2020/2021 - 2022/23:

• Only 9% of the workforce are disabled, with 8% being artists

• Only 8.5% of National Lottery Project Grant applicants in dance are from disabled people, compared to 15.6% in theatre and 15.3% in visual arts (2022/23).

The Working Group aims to change this through a new research programme, and by doing so increase disabled representation in dance. Disabled people will continue to have prominent roles as leaders, managers, and artists through our respective companies, but inclusive dance organisations like us cannot work alone to change this landscape. It is our belief that our sector colleagues must implement a meaningful, long-term change programme in better collaboration with us and with each other.

To inform this change programme The Working Group wishes to appoint an independent disabled researcher/s (or co-led with a disabled or person/s with lived experience researcher/leader) or organisation or agency which has a disabled person within the team, to undertake a nationwide investigation that brings together individuals, groups and organisations in the sector to identify systemic barriers that prevent disabled people from entering, sustaining and progressing their careers in the dance sector.

This research is supported by Arts Council England and the overall aim is to gather and analyse current data and evidence so that we can identify and prioritise changes that the sector needs, and develop collaborative and impactful actions, leading to further research and/or projects that will monitor progress of sector change.

To arrange an informal discussion about the brief in the first instance please contact Louise Wildish – Head of Inclusion at People Dancing louise@communitydance.org.uk

This is an audio file about the invitation to tender.

This is a BSL video about the invitation to tender.