• Goals /
  • Dance part of every young person’s education!

Dance part of every young person’s education!

Participating in dance provides creative, healthy and stimulating experiences for young Australians. Dance is now a part of the Australian Curriculm which means every young person will have the opportunity to experience dance. This offers huge potential for developing creativity and innovation across the curriculum.

The current popularity of dance with young people, evidenced by rocketing attendance at dance classes in studios across Australia, offers huge potential for developing creativity and innovation across the curriculum.

Dance is a valued part of every person’s education, offering creative, healthy and stimulating experiences for all Australians throughout their lives.

Supporting dance in education

We do this through:

  • Curriculum development to have the benefits of dance clearly stated and understood at every level of education. And to make sure dance has parity with other artforms in the curriculum, from early childhood through to tertiary level.
  • Accredited professional development courses for dance educators in schools and studios. Nationally recognised teaching standards for dance educators are delivered through registered training organisations and safe dance practice is embedded into teacher education programs.
  • Certified teacher development courses for independent artists to gain skills and knowledge about the education sector, enabling them to make creative contributions at every stage of their careers.
  • Improved access to quality artistic experiences for students in primary and secondary schools and tertiary institutions, and youth dance projects that engage young audiences in the arts.

See how we are achieving this goal

Resourcing teachers to deliver dance in the Australian Curriculum View this project

We are working to ensure that the new dance curriculum (now part of the Australian curriculum) is high quality, provides every Australian child with a sequential and developmental dance experience, and that teachers are well resourced to teach it. We will help dance educators and students by highlighting successful teaching models and best practice, and give teachers the support they need to run a successful dance program.

2011 Dance Education in Australian Schools Roundtable View this project

The 2011 Dance Education in Australian Schools (DEAS) roundtable focused on providing feedback to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) on the Draft Shape Paper: The Arts. The roundtable also heard from several speakers and organisations about their role in advocating for dance in the curriculum. The roundtable was facilitated by dance educator and author David Spurgeon.

Getting dance into the Australian Curriculum View this project

We want dance part of every young person's education. The current popularity of dance with young people, evidenced by rocketing attendance at dance classes in studios across Australia, offers huge potential for developing creativity and innovation across the curriculum. The opportunity is huge for dance to be a valued part of every person’s education, offering creative, healthy and stimulating experiences for all Australians throughout their lives.