Best practice from around the world

Last week, representatives from 11 countries around the world came together in Warsaw, Poland to discuss support for dancers in career transition.

Hosted by the Polish Career Transition Program for Dancers, this was as part of the annual conference of the International Organisation for the Transition of Professional Dancers (IOTPD) – the international network of organisations dedicated to offering professional dancers the resources and support they need when facing the end of their performance career and preparing to pursue a new career.

DCD is a founding member of the IOTPD and we were delighted to share our expertise on a panel discussing best practice in supporting dancers through career transition from around the world.

There was much discussion during the conference around the unique nature of dancer transition and the parallels that can be found with other fields, including for example, sport and the military. The Dancer Transition Resource Centre in Canada, for example, are looking to pilot their transition model with other artistic mediums such as musicians and actors.

We took inspiration from the range of support being offered to dancers in other countries, such as in house workshops in ballet companies in Germany; transferable skills grants in areas such as web design and virtual reality in Canada; innovative membership structures and grant giving policies in the Netherlands; online resources and webinars in the USA; skills assessments with a psychologist in Switzerland; and career counselling in France.

DCD are pioneers in the sector, being the first transition centre in the world. Due to our unique funding and structure, DCD is able to offer a bespoke range of support programmes, responding specifically to dancers’ needs in the UK.

We’re excited to see more transition centres being set up around the world and to continue to share our expertise.

To find out more go to: https://thedcd.org.uk/support/grants-for-international-dancers/