Barriers to Progression and Employment in Dance for Disabled People.
Leading dance organisations – Candoco Dance Company, Corali, People Dancing, Stopgap Dance Company and TIN Arts – have 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.
The headline findings for the Arts Council England funded research – Barriers to Progression & Employment in Dance for Disabled People – will be presented via a live, free, webinar on Wednesday 30th April from 11am–12.15pm, followed by a discussion session on zoom from 12.30pm–1.30pm.
The research is in response to the Equality, Diversity and the Creative Case: A Data Report, 2019-20 that revealed that disabled people made up just 5% of the workforce of core funded dance organisations, the lowest percentage against all other artforms.
The most recent Arts Council England Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Review (2018–23) does show a slight improvement, 9% across the workforce and 10% within dance, this remains significantly lower than the percentage of disabled people in the wider population indicating there are improvements still be made.
Through the research findings the working group aims to increase and sustain the presence and representation by disabled people in the dance workforce and its leadership.
The independent research team includes 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 at LAMDA; and Kate Marsh (PhD) Assistant Professor at C-DaRE (Centre for Dance Research) at Coventry University.
They are conducting a nationwide study, engaging with individuals, groups and organisations
within the sector, including Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs), to identify and address the systemic barriers preventing disabled people from entering, sustaining, and advancing in their dance careers. The initial headline findings will be shared and discussed on 30th April.
Louise Wildish, Consultant and Project Manager for this research said: “For too long now it’s fallen to a small number of leading NPO dance organisations and smaller non NPO organisations who embed inclusive practice to provide the pathways and support for disabled people in dance.
“We need to do better as a sector and work collectively to ensure that more than 10% disabled representation is achieved. This new research will share the lived experiences of disabled people working in dance and the truths of those working within organisations. This can only lead to better understanding of the needs of disabled people so that individually and collectively we can make impactful, sectoral, and embedded change in our dance ecology.”
Arts Council England, Director, Dance, Cate Canniffe said: “We are pleased to have funded this research as it provides valuable information to support organisations with improving the representation of, and opportunities for, disabled people in dance.
“We are grateful to the steering group, and the to the artists who contributed, for their invaluable insight and expertise which they’ve shared so generously. I’d encourage anybody working in dance to attend the webinar on 30 April so that they can share in those insights.”
Together, the working group have committed to exploring ways to challenge existing barriers and promote long-term, meaningful inclusion in the workforce, this research is the first phase in that direction.
Further information can be found here.
