I’ve often wondered how things can exist outside of an ecosystem… doesn’t everything need connections, relationships and diversity to thrive? Having worked in dance for over 20 years, I have become part of an ecosystem, one in which I’ve had many roles, built many relationships and developed many partnerships. Now leading a dance organisation, I know that it’s nearly impossible to remove one thing and it NOT have impact on everything else. This is true of, but not limited to, projects, people, spaces, funding, roles and programmes of work.
The current strain on the ecosystem is a direct result of diminishing resources, where the loss of say, an undergraduate dance course, has a direct impact on the local dance ecology in relation to workforce development, which then has a direct impact on project delivery and artistic development which then has a direct impact on producing roles, programmers and audiences. Put simply, if you remove one thing from the ecosystem, there is potential collapse.
So what does a robust ecosystem look like and what does this look like for dance? Within the Producing Ecologies network, it’s clear that the dance ecosystem seems vast. From a simple mapping task of relationships, a complex web of people, places, events, projects and collaboration emerged. Amongst this lots of co-dependencies were described – ‘when I ran the space that you were in residency in’, ‘when you fundraised for the project I led’, ‘when we collaborated on research’, ‘when you employed me’, ‘when we developed that festival together’, ‘when we taught together’. It became clear that those in the network had also held multiple roles within the dance sector; dancer, choreographer, producer, researcher, fundraiser, teacher, facilitator, organiser, leader. It also became clear that many of these roles had intersected, and continue to intersect at various times, in numerous spaces and with overlapping relationships. These relationships aren’t limited to dance sector professionals but also extend to filmmakers, photographers, dramaturgs, costume and set designers and other technical roles, further extending the dance producing ecology to encompass a wider range of arts professionals.
Beyond the complexity of human relationships underpinning the work of the sector, also lies the ecology of resources required for the dance sector to continue to be ambitious and progressive. This includes research, development and rehearsal spaces, access to professional development and training, digital development and resources, statutory and non-statutory funding. When we’re discussing dance producing, nearly all of these resources begin to intersect, in the pathway from creative idea, to realisation.
Another aspect touched on, was that participatory engagement in dance with communities is increasingly critical to audience development and engagement, alongside its importance in artistic development. The shift in the way we consider and think about audiences for dance is ever changing, with an emphasis on creative people and creative communities aligned to Arts Council England’s ‘Let’s Create’ strategy, and with the increased opportunity to present work in non-conventional/non-traditional dance spaces. The community of people engaging with dance, through classes, workshops, participatory projects and often as part of research, development and co-creation practices, are therefore intrinsic to the dance producing ecology, as opposed to sitting outside it or in parallel to it.
Whilst the ecosystem can feel vast, I also think it’s useful to recognise that we are a relatively small sector. The mere fact that we hold so many intersecting relationships is perhaps evidence of this. The result can be that a negative impact in one area of the ecosystem can be felt across the whole. There are also additional challenges in a smaller ecosystem which relate to diversity and the subsequent evolution of artistic practices. As a small(er) ecology we need to keep considering new ways to expand and open up the possibilities for new thinking, new creativity and a greater diversity of artistic practice.
Hannah Robertshaw, Creative Director, Yorkshire Dance