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• 2010 DTAP Conference
  • Introduction - Overview of DTAPs Mission and Work to Date
  • Professional Standards Presentation
  • Diploma in Dance Teaching & Learning (Children & Young People) Presentation
  • Keynote Speeches - DTAP in the Bigger Picture
  • Regulatory Framework Research Presentation
  • Regulatory Framework - Report back from Breakout Discussion Groups

History of DTAP

DTAP began in 2006 as a collective response to an increasing concern about the lack of recognised professional standards and qualifications at an appropriate level that equip dance professionals / artists for the nature and range of work that they are undertaking with children and young people. This reflected the shared belief that the quality of dance provision for young people rests on the quality of the dance artists and practitioners delivering it. 

DTAP's brief has now expanded to address issues of participation in dance across all ages and sections of society, and aims to:

• Enhance the quality of the leadership and facilitation of participatory dance for people at all stages of their development and points of engagement with dance

• Build capacity in the dance sector to develop a workforce qualified and skilled to meet demand

• Take forward work to develop regulation of dance leadership, teaching and facilitation in the informal sector

• Develop greater communication and collaboration across the dance sector on issues of quality, standards and good practice

History

DTAP was instigated by Trinity Laban in 2006 as the Dance Training Accreditation Project. The aim was to bring together key national dance organisations with remits for dance education and youth dance, to discuss ways in which access to participatory dance for young people might be more readily available. The original project partners were: Council for Dance Education and Training, Dance UK, Foundation for Community Dance, Trinity Laban, National Dance Teachers Association and Youth Dance England.

A report, commissioned by DTAP and written by Susanne Burns was published in January 2008 (to download a copy click on the 'download the detailed DTAP report' button on the left navigation bar). It focused on the training and accreditation needs of dance professionals without formal teaching qualifications who work with young people both within and outside of the formal school sector. The report was presented at a dissemination event held in February 2008 and attended by representatives from across the dance industry.

Following the report and dissemination event, the original DTAP partners took developments into a new phase with the creation of the Dance Training and Accreditation Partnership, thus maintaining the DTAP acronym. The group also established a committment to expanding its membership to include other partners that reflect the breadth of the dance industry and contribute to the provision of dance for young people.

The Dance Training and Accreditation Partnership, established as a consortium, now comprises:

• Association of Dance of the African Diaspora (ADAD)
• Council for Dance Education and Training (CDET)
• Dance HE (formerly SCODHE)
• Dance UK
• Exercise Movement and Dance Partnership (EMDP)
• Foundation for Community Dance (FCD)
• National Dance Teachers Association (NDTA)
• South Asian Dance Alliance (SADA)
• Sport and Recreation Alliance
• Youth Dance England (YDE)
• Together with National Dance Network (NDN) and Trinity Laban as observer members

In 2009, DTAP was awarded £200,000.00 by Arts Council England, Grants for the Arts scheme to take forward four work packages. In 2010, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation agreed to fund the research phase of the Diploma in Dance Teaching & Learning (Children & Young People) or DDTAL (CYP). These funds enabled DTAP to create:

• The Level 6 DDTAL (CYP) qualification, which is now being rolled out nationally by Trinity College London and Youth Dance England via a network of delivery organisations
• A suite of National Occupational Standards (NOS) in Dance Leadership, created following dance industry-wide consultation, and approved by Creative & Cultural Skills (the sector skills council for the creative industries in the UK)
• A model and development plan for The Uk Register of Dance Teachers, Leaders and Artists working across all dance styles, genres and settings
• A marketing and communications strategy to support the initiatives

As a result of its work between 2009-2011, and with continued investment from Arts Council England through a further Grants for the Arts award, alongside investment from CDET and EMDP as part of their investment from Sport England, DTAP is now developing the following interconnected areas of work:

• Creating the The Dance Register - The UK Register of Dance Teachers, Leaders and Artists
• Further developing and disseminating the NOS, and using them as the foundation for developing a continuing professional development (CDP) framework for dance leadership
• Building capacity for and further developing the DDTAL (CYP) qualification
• Developing and rolling out a communications plan to share knowledge, raise awareness and ensure that the work DTAP is undertaking is truly national and representative of the whole dance leadership workforce
• Future-proofing the DTAP business model