The pair, who are National Young Dance Ambassadors, were invited to interview the Minister as part of the Youth Dance England conference focusing on the future of dance provision, and culture for young people.
Asked by Demi Cooper, 16, from Birmingham, what the Government plans to do to support dance education are, Vaizey said that what was needed was “clear route through county councils and education authorities” similar to that currently used with music education.
When asked by Chris Scott, 19, from Berkshire, what support he (Vaizey) felt was needed for young dancers to progress into the creative industries, the minister said that he was aware there is a lot of education in dance happening in London and that it is an expensive city to live in. He added that he knew of the large number of internships that take place in the cultural sector and that the Minister for Skills, John Hayes, was currently reviewing the use and benefit of apprenticeships.
Demi Cooper went on to ask, “Do you think in your position you need to work harder to promote dance?”, to which the minister replied that it was seen as ‘natural’ to provide music classes in schools but not so for dance, he went on to say that they were on a journey to deliver good quality music, dance and art. The Minister also said that in the past there had been a number of initiatives that had taken place in the sector but where they had gone wrong was by having too many.
Vaizey added that the cultural sector, and the country faced ‘very, very tough times’, but that he fully supported opportunities for youth dance and praised the Ten Year Vision, the strategy produced by Youth Dance England outlining a proposed route for developing opportunities for increased participation in dance, high quality teaching and progression route into careers. He said that he shared the values of the vision and the goals and agreed that the country needed a strategy for youth dance.
In his opening speech to delegates the minister said that he aimed to use the resources that they had as effectively as possible adding that the Government departments were meeting regularly to work together to achieve a common goal and that details would be unveiled in the next few days, with a plan to ‘roadmap’ forms of cultural education and put a clear structure in place.
