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  • Dance recognised as a valuable part of Australian lives

Dance recognised as a valuable part of Australian lives

As children we dance instinctively, and our aim is to make sure we are all still dancing when we're 90! Dance benefits health, social inclusion, disability and aged care.

Fitness, improved health, social inclusion, self-expression and creative challenges.

Dance is valued by all cultures as a way of expressing feelings, thoughts and story telling through movement.

… 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. (Dance Plan 2012)

Australians are interested in dance. We watch dance on TV—So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars; go to live musical theatre, and films—Billy Elliot, Strictly Ballroom and Mad Hot Ballroom and attend social dance classes for enjoyment and exercise. These experiences provide the foundation for lifelong participation in healthy physical activity.

Through dance we can find new ways of communicating our own ideas, learn about working creatively in teams and understand and interpret more complex works of art. We can learn about spatial awareness, develop flexibility and strength, and discover a great feeling of well-being.

Audiences for contemporary dance are growing as we learn in, through and about dance in our daily lives.

We promote the value and purpose of dance by encouraging:

  • Participation in dance across all age groups and abilities for health and wellbeing.
  • Audiences for dance as a high-profile artistic activity.
  • Advocacy for dance through political and media channels.

See how we are achieving this goal

Stop the ABC from axing key arts programs View this project

Did you know that ABC management is planning to axe or combine several of its key arts programs on both radio and television in 2012? These programs are where dance is profiled through previews, interviews, panel discussions and opinion pieces.

Dance in the National Cultural Policy View this project

The Australian Government has committed to producing a National Cultural Policy, and a discussion paper was released for comment in August. We organised for 30 national arts service organisations to meet with Arts Minister Simon Crean at Parliament House in Canberra on 17 August. The Minister heard our collective views and provided a briefing on the dicussion paper and the role of the National Broadband Network. Most arts organisations, including Ausdance, ArtsPeak and the National Advocates for Arts Education, have made submissions.