Getting started in the profession: The case of the contemporary dance apprentice
© Dr Henrietta Bannerman, Head of Research and Academic Practice, London Contemporary Dance School
London Contemporary Dance School is always in the vanguard of contemporary dance practice - no less so than in its scheme for apprentice dancers and choreographers. The idea of the apprentice is old but it has been popularised in the national media by the multi-millionaire boardroom dragon, Sir Alan Sugar through his BBC television series broadcast over the last couple of years. It is not such a quantum leap from the cutthroat world of business to the aesthetic ambitions of art because they are adjacent fields operating within twenty first century society and culture. The desire to become an apprentice within the dance industry has gained currency within British and international contemporary dance, and, one could argue that making the grade in the dance profession is just as competitive as a career in business.
A glance at the websites of dance companies suggests that there are several schemes for apprentice dancers but if one digs beneath the surface, it is clear that the opportunity for a year’s formative experience with a professional dance company is hard to find. Such a period of extended study is often incorporated into a postgraduate programme which manifests in a range of qualifications from Certificate or Diploma to MA, and places on such programmes are hotly sought-after particularly as new government initiatives for undergraduate and postgraduate vocational training make funded places on such courses more accessible. UK and EU students pay in the region of £3, 500 with the government contributing around £8,000 towards the £11,580, the actual cost of postgraduate education. In cases of financial hardship or difficulty, scholarships and bursaries are also available.
Auditions for postgraduate student companies such as EDge at London Contemporary Dance School or Trasitions at Laban can attract as many as 140 applicants to take part in the auditions which in the case of EDge, take place over approximately four days and for Transitions intermittently throughout the year. Clearly the idea has caught on and there is no shortage of applicants for the dozen or so places each year in each of these companies.
[...article continues (2178 words). Use the link on the right to download the complete article as a pdf]
London Contemporary Dance School is always in the vanguard of contemporary dance practice - no less so than in its scheme for apprentice dancers and choreographers. The idea of the apprentice is old but it has been popularised in the national media by the multi-millionaire boardroom dragon, Sir Alan Sugar through his BBC television series broadcast over the last couple of years. It is not such a quantum leap from the cutthroat world of business to the aesthetic ambitions of art because they are adjacent fields operating within twenty first century society and culture. The desire to become an apprentice within the dance industry has gained currency within British and international contemporary dance, and, one could argue that making the grade in the dance profession is just as competitive as a career in business.
A glance at the websites of dance companies suggests that there are several schemes for apprentice dancers but if one digs beneath the surface, it is clear that the opportunity for a year’s formative experience with a professional dance company is hard to find. Such a period of extended study is often incorporated into a postgraduate programme which manifests in a range of qualifications from Certificate or Diploma to MA, and places on such programmes are hotly sought-after particularly as new government initiatives for undergraduate and postgraduate vocational training make funded places on such courses more accessible. UK and EU students pay in the region of £3, 500 with the government contributing around £8,000 towards the £11,580, the actual cost of postgraduate education. In cases of financial hardship or difficulty, scholarships and bursaries are also available.
Auditions for postgraduate student companies such as EDge at London Contemporary Dance School or Trasitions at Laban can attract as many as 140 applicants to take part in the auditions which in the case of EDge, take place over approximately four days and for Transitions intermittently throughout the year. Clearly the idea has caught on and there is no shortage of applicants for the dozen or so places each year in each of these companies.
[...article continues (2178 words). Use the link on the right to download the complete article as a pdf]
Published: 16 January 2007
Image: Tory East and Matthew Slater rehearse Between Being and Becoming, (chor: Joana von Mayer Trindade) a Leche Commission for EDge 2006