Dance in schools fights back onto the agenda

An adjournment debate on the position of dance in the education system was held in parliament yesterday, led by Frank Doran MP, Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Dance Group, in response to growing concern from dance professionals that dance in education is under threat. The debate specifically responded to recent comments by Universities Minister David Willetts  who said he believed that ‘soft’ subjects such as A-level Dance should be worth less points for students applying to attend university.

During the debate, Schools Minister Nick Gibb responded on behalf of the Government, confirming the role of dance in schools as having benefits if studied alongside the core English Baccalaureate. He interpreted Willetts’ earlier comments as relating to the combination of subjects studied by able young people from poorer backgrounds, which could narrow their range of options for university or beyond, indicating that dance A-level might be right for students wanting to study an arts subject at university, but not necessarily for those wanting interested in the sciences. Commenting on the issues raised, Caroline Miller, Director of Dance UK, said: “The whole dance industry is seriously worried that dance is being overlooked in the Department for Education’s curriculum review. This is about ensuring that young people get a fair deal at school and have the chance to study dance because it brings positive outcomes at multiple levels… if we don’t give all children, no matter what their economic circumstances, the chance to study dance at school how are we going to spot the most talented dancers of the next generation?”