One Dance UK has recently been awarded a £200K grant as part of the latest spate of Paul Hamlyn Foundation grants. The organisation announced a number of awards with a total value of £1.3m over five years, to seven organisations in the latest round of Backbone funding.
The aim of the Backbone Fund is to support organisations which are important connectors, collaborators and advocates, whose work is helping to strengthen civil society. It enables organisations to build resilience, resource their core services, fund essential posts and ensure that there is funding that can be relied upon over a significant timeframe, free of political cycles.
One key area of activity for One Dance UK is to strengthen the support given to dance teachers and to advocate for the importance of dance in education; this funding will enable the organisation to take a strategic and long-term approach to making this happen. Some areas of focus include:
– Providing training and resources to up-skill non-specialist teachers in primary settings to improve their dance teaching.
– Campaign for dance to be valued as part of every school’s curriculum and continue to apply pressure on government as part of targeted and wider cultural education advocacy work.
– Build local and national networks of teachers, to help support them and combat professional isolation.
– Assess the needs of teachers to ensure our resources and support are useful and relevant.
One Dance UK is the sector support organisation leading the way to a stronger, more vibrant and diverse dance sector. It provides one clear voice to:
– Support all those working in the sector to achieve excellence in dance performance, education and management
– Advocate for the increased profile and importance of dance in all its diverse forms and settings
– Enhance dancers’ health, well-being and performance
– Identify gaps, provide opportunities and improve conditions for dance to be learnt, discussed and seen
Its aim is to create a workforce that is well-equipped to secure dance’s prominence in the cultural landscape of the future by providing services, information and opportunities for:
– Dance organisations
And all dance professionals including:
– Dance artists and choreographers
– Dance teachers, educators and practitioners
– Dance managers and producers
– Dance medicine and science/research professionals
– All children and young people.