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Dance mapping shows that popular culture has helped raise the profile of dance. TV shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and Billy Elliot the Musical captured the public’s imagination, leading to classes across the country filling up with dance accounting for more than one in 10 of all adult learning classes.
Despite England becoming home to a dance sector that is the envy of the world, the research shows that though the dance workforce is highly educated (62% hold degrees) they are underpaid; 38% of people who make a living from dance only earned £5,000- £20,000 in 2008/09 and almost a quarter (23%) earned under £5,000. The Arts Council fears that the low levels of pay may affect the sustainability of careers, leadership within the sector and the ability of potential champions to emerge.
New research on the Dance Sector in England
Date: 12 Oct 2009
Dance mapping: a window on dance - the largest piece of research of its kind - offers a deep insight into the breadth and range of dance in England. The overwhelming message is that dance is an artform in growth with more than 40,000 people currently working in dance, and the amateur sector accounting for a fifth of all arts participation in England. Dance mapping shows that popular culture has helped raise the profile of dance. TV shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and Billy Elliot the Musical captured the public’s imagination, leading to classes across the country filling up with dance accounting for more than one in 10 of all adult learning classes.
Despite England becoming home to a dance sector that is the envy of the world, the research shows that though the dance workforce is highly educated (62% hold degrees) they are underpaid; 38% of people who make a living from dance only earned £5,000- £20,000 in 2008/09 and almost a quarter (23%) earned under £5,000. The Arts Council fears that the low levels of pay may affect the sustainability of careers, leadership within the sector and the ability of potential champions to emerge.
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