As one of the 84% of applicants who were unsuccessful in their bids for four year funding, announced recently by the Australia Council, Ausdance National will be left without operational funding after December 2016.
This news threatens to bring to an end over forty years of support for the dance industry by Ausdance, which includes the Tertiary Dance Council of Australia. Although some local dance industry support is provided at state level, the national peak body provides sector-wide representation and development through projects such as the National Dance Forum, Australian Dance Awards, Safe Dance, teaching guidelines and ongoing research in the field.
Ausdance National President, Brian Lucas, said “It would be virtually impossible to find a dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, dance student, dance academic or dance audience member who has not been positively and substantially impacted by the activities of the organisation”.
AusDance executives are currently seeking ways to continue to deliver support after its current funding runs out at the end of the year.
Source: Media Release: Ausdance National faces challenge. May 2016 *Thanks to Gene Moyle, QUT for source information