The Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre (CDMT) has released a manifesto for performing arts education, offering government and the education sector with informed targets to strive for.
Launched at the House of Commons on Thursday, the manifesto has five key strands to help tackle the lack of accessibility and patches or poor provision across the UK.
The key messages are that the sector should:
- Encourage the development of creativity through dedicated time for children and young people to experience the power of the performing arts.
- Bring together in- and out-of-school performing arts provision across the board, building on existing expertise and enhancing it through collaboration.
- Improve the performing arts progression route, and celebrate achievements at both the institutional and individual level.
- Promote partnerships across the sector, and harness the power of technology to increase access and enhance outcomes.
- Support specialist training institutions to continue contributing to our thriving cultural sector by supporting practitioners and teachers as they develop into the professionals of the future.
As part of its offerings, the manifesto proposes a review of GCSE and A Level provision which more widely recognises young people’s experiences of the performing arts, both informal and formal (such as graded exams), acknowledging achievement across all genres.
It also asks that the full range of Ofqual-recognised creative and performing arts qualifications be included in the evidence used to inform schools’ performance measures, including Progress 8.
Director of CDMT Glyndwr Jones, who also spoke at the ceremony, said: ‘This is not to ask for charity. As well as improving life outcomes, and giving space to artistic expression of all types, the performing arts industry contributes hugely to the UK economy, and in this context the maintenance of a viable pipeline of talent through to the highest professional levels makes financial, as well as cultural, philosophical and humanitarian.’
The manifesto, supported by the Lloyd Webber and Mackintosh Foundations, includes quotes from Lord Aberdare, Baroness Benjamin, Baroness Bonham-Carter, Lord Vaizey of Didcot, and Baroness Wilcox of Newport.
A digital copy of the Manifesto for Performing Arts Education is available here.