Dance Hub Birmingham is delighted to share the selected projects from rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the Investment Programme.
Sonia Sabri Company: Future Dance Leaders Strategic Apprenticeship Programme
Future Dance Leaders Apprentice Programme (FDLAP) was delivered by Sonia Sabri Company in partnership with Black Country Dance Hub and Birmingham Hippodrome. Running from October 2022-May 2023, it aimed to enhance the opportunities for dancers and producers informed in South Asian dance practice, and to bring greater understanding of the opportunities in the dance sector to people trained in a particular cultural tradition.
With a cohort of 4 apprentice dance artists and 1 apprentice producer from South Asian backgrounds and/or with a specialist in South Asian dance styles, the programme included mentoring, alongside workshops and masterclasses with experts in music, film, producing, fundraising, healthcare including physical and mental, education (early years, primary and secondary) choreography, academic and arts research, outdoor performance, safeguarding and access. It also involved a seed commission to create new work, and the chance for apprentices to deliver workshops.
The programme catered for the specific needs of the apprentices and the South Asian Dance sector. Bridges were built between the apprentices and with a range of choreographers, producers, and collaborators and all described gaining insights into how to build their careers as dance artists: from seeing opportunities in outdoor work they had not considered previously, to how to work with elders around health and well-being.
The programme and the sharing event created new connections and interest which could begin to influence the sector as a whole. Importantly, it also showed Sonia Sabri and partners the scale of the challenge in the sector, creating greater understanding of the different levels of gaps and challenges faced, and informing consideration of new models.
Sampad South Asian Arts and Heritage: PRO-GATI
Pro-Gati was a 15-month programme to upskill and engage with the South Asian dance sector, taking stock of the sector and looking to the future through dance labs, roundtables and knowledge sharing. Activities within the programme included two Dance Labs for South Asian Dance practitioners to explore Dance & Digital and Applied Dance in Health and Mental Health, and three roundtable discussions on LGBTQ+ issues in the sector, climate change and the role of producers – plus a digital bursary. The roundtables took topics that were important but rarely explored in public discussions around dance and brought expert provocateurs together with engaged practitioners.
The Labs were successful in encouraging a focus on Research and Development, building the skills of South Asian dancers. Participants gained an increased knowledge and understanding of working in health and mental health settings from three very experienced facilitators working in the field, and three artists have begun to work more consistently and purposefully with digital.
The roundtable events brought people together in a collaborative space, putting the development of ideas and talent in the context of shared approaches to talent and sector development. Coming together to explore the key topics created a more collaborative space than usual, and a sense of belonging to a sector in Birmingham and the West Midlands. Sampad also benefited organisationally by building relationships with artists and dancers they had not previously known.
Dance Leadership Group: Critical Mass – What Next 2022-2024: An Audacious, Ambitious Infrastructure Leadership and Innovation Development Project
The Dance Leaders Group (DLG) is a network of 70+ dance professionals working in all parts of the West Midlands who share a collective passion for inspiring and involving young people in dance and movement and ensuring that opportunities are open and accessible for all. With producing partners Birmingham Royal Ballet, they designed a programme which aimed to strengthen and diversify the regionwide network of dance participation leaders, support new models for growth in the sector, enhance talent retention by working with emerging artists and build new audiences for dance, especially young people. The programme comprised four interlinked strands: network leadership and advocacy; learning and skills development; practice, innovation, research and sustainability and resilience. Six sub-regional hubs, each convened by an established dance organisation and bringing in Senior and Youth Ambassadors, were responsible for developing strategic sub-regional infrastructure to maximise collaboration and shared vision.
Positive outcomes from the programme were the increased connections and connectivity across the dance ecology, and a boost of energy, ideas and confidence at a crucial time. Members were able to find their own voices as leaders, and also a collective voice on behalf of dance as a sector, with greater awareness of the big picture. Overall, there is a clear sense that the DLG serves as a community in which people can feel valued, heard and able to contribute. This links to the characteristics needed for sustainability in any sector but is especially helpful in dance which has such a high level of individual and micro-businesses.
ACE Dance and Music: Springboard Programme
The Springboard Programme was an 8-month talent development project for four Midlands-based emerging dance artists working in an artistic practice that comes from the African diaspora. The programme included Action Learning, skills development for teaching, facilitation and co-creation in the Black Country, commissioning of new work and documentation of the progress of the artists. It responded to a need identified by ACEDM for more dance artists working in this field, and their strategic aim to build strong development pathways for emerging dancers with a clear progression from pre-school to successful careers working at the highest industry standard.
This included understanding of how to engage with the potential ‘markets’ for dance such as schools, how to structure a business or freelance practice, and how to make work.
Providing opportunities for the dance artists to articulate their vision, ideas, working processes and choreographic instructions was important. This initiative was transformative for the dance artists involved and provided a step change to their career aspirations, their skills and confidence to steer their next steps.
There is an ongoing need to support emerging dance artists skilled in African diasporic dance styles to become the next generation of artists, choreographers, producers and dance film makers – and the project identified that further critical discussion is needed around how to appropriately tailor this support to the needs of freelancers.
Birmingham Dance Network: Dance Artists Co-operative
Birmingham Dance Network led a 6-month project exploring the creation of a dance co-operative in the West Midlands to benefit freelance dance artists of any dance genre, working in entrepreneurial ways and bringing people together to work towards a common goal: making dance a vibrant and resilient contributor to the artistic and economic life of Birmingham and the West Midlands.
The aim of the research was to investigate whether setting up a dance co-operative in Birmingham could be beneficial to the local dance ecology and serve as an innovative way to elevate dance in the region. There is currently a thriving community of freelance dance artists in the city, whose ongoing professional development and careers are supported by the work of artist-led organisations such as Birmingham Dance Network and initiatives such as Brum Pro Class – but could a co-operative be a beneficial addition to the ecology?
The research showed a strongly positive response, and work has since been ongoing to formalise and develop the co-operative, which will be a national innovator in the dance sector.
Brum Pro Class: Inclusive Dance Practice Professional Development Programme
Organised by a collective of dance artists, Brum Pro Class operates with a membership model to provide regular open classes for students and professionals. The DHB Investment Programme supported a 5-month sector development programme to build a robust inclusive and empowered dance leadership in Birmingham and the West Midlands.
The project aimed to support the professional dance community to upskill in meeting access needs for dance artists with visible and invisible disabilities and create a genuine and impactful step-change. It created development opportunities for disabled artists and non-disabled artists and dance practitioners alike, in order to explore how classes – and people’s dance practices in other settings – could be adapted to be more inclusive for people with access needs.
The impact on those taking part was very positive, but the steering group acknowledged this was the beginning of a journey: the end goal remains to improve pathways for disabled dancers. Overall, confidence about the ability to be inclusive has grown, alongside the skills to build this into all activity.
Dancefest Research and Development Project
Dancefest delivered a 6-month project to increase opportunities for community dancers, raise the scale and ambition of their outdoor work and support the development of regional dance artists, by maximising the potential of a new space for dance and movement in Worcester with a specialism for developing work with community performers/dancers. The key elements of this were a short-term pop-up dance space for Worcester, with a mix of dance classes, performances and workshops for all ages, and development of a commission for dance artist Robby Graham (Southpaw).
This research and development process was extremely useful for Dancefest in clarifying future models and strategy. It affirmed the viability of some changes – greater integration of community and professional dance artists, for instance, the benefits of a dance space – and helped understand the capacity that would be required to do this long-term. As such it is likely to have a lasting impact on the organisation, and its impact on the city and sector.
By being able to proactively engage in research and development Dancefest has strengthened its position as a key stakeholder in the local creative sector. The organisation is now part of a Creative Consortium arts and creative organisations working with Worcester City Council on the delivery and management of a new arts venue in the city centre.
