Tag: Education

CDET’s Dance Careers Conference

CDETTaking place on 10th May, CDET’s Dance Careers Conference is not an event in the dance calendar to be missed. Hosted at Elmhurst School for Dance in Birmingham, the event offers a unique and informative one-day event providing high-quality, relevant and up-to-date information and guidance about further education, training and career opportunities in the dance and musical theatre industries.

Three bespoke strands will run independently through out the whole day. Students will each receive a ballet, jazz and musical theatre class, and gain an insight into what it is like to audition for a vocational college. They will also have the opportunity to take part in seminars providing them with information on choosing a course and college, as well as the audition process involved. Parents and carers’ seminars will include information on how to choose a vocational school, the different qualifications on offer, as well as auditioning, funding and careers information after training.

Additionally, teachers will be able to engage in technique class, often a rarity for busy teachers with hectic class schedules! Sessions focusing on how to create solos for student auditions will be held, as well as seminars on how to advise students when they are in the process of choosing a professional training school. Numerous industry professionals will also be involved with the busy conference, hosting sessions on building a dance business and how to market dance schools.

As with MOVE IT – the annual dance exhibition at London’s Olympia – a number of CDET Accredited Schools will be present to talk to attendees during the conference. These include Urdang Academy, Performers College, Northern Ballet School, Liverpool Theatre School, Bird College, Laine Theatre Arts, Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Cambridge Performing Arts, LIPA, The Centre Performing Arts College, London Studio Centre, Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama, Hammond School and Elmhurst School for Dance.

First National College For The Creative And Cultural Industries

High HouseProduction ParkThe first National College for the Creative and Cultural Industries is to be established at the High House Production Park in Thurrock, with backing from the government, it has been revealed. The college will open in September 2016 and will provide specialist training for the technical skills needed by the artistic industries.

It will be managed by Creative and Cultural Skills on behalf of industry employers including the Royal Opera House, Live Nation, White Light and the Association of British Theatre Technicians. Coincidentally, High House Production Park is also home to the Royal Opera House’s set and scenery workshop and costume centre. This first for artistic education should be a great asset to the industry, providing opportunities for aspiring learners to gain the skills they need for this type of work.

The college is one of four employer-led national colleges announced by business secretary Vince Cable in December, with other colleges including centres for advanced manufacturing, digital skills and wind energy. It is important to nourish the talent which brings plays, operas and films to life on stage and screen, as it is the driving force behind our world-leading creative sector. By continuing to invest in the next generation of talent, we are prolonging the industry for the future.

The four colleges will receive up to £80 million capital funding that will be matched by employers, and will cater for around 10,000 students by 2020. High House Production Park will become an important centre for young people to develop the technical skills the creative and cultural sector needs, as well as ensuring the creative sector grows for the long-term. By developing these opportunities and having professionals and training facilities in backstage and technical skills in one place is unmatched and will help enormously in equipping people with the right skills for jobs in the creative industries.