Category: Insight and Inspiration

Dancers’ Career Development 50th Anniversary Announcement

Posted on by Lucy Glover

We are delighted to announce the commencement of our 50th anniversary celebrations, marking this milestone with a year-long programme of events, workshops and creative projects across the UK.

DCD was founded in 1973 – originally as ‘The Dancers Resettlement Fund’ – with the aim of providing career retraining support to the dancers from the then nine Arts Council funded dance companies. Today we proudly provide career development programmes for all UK professional dancers – from every dance genre, background and at every career stage. In 1993, DCD became the founding member of the International Organisation for the Transition of Professional Dancers (IOTPD). This network is dedicated to the interests of dancers as they transition into post-performance careers.

Today we announce “EVOLVE on Tour” – a series of live career coaching sessions and creative inspiration evenings for dancers delivered in collaboration with place-based partners across the UK. Each event will have a specific genre focus but will be open to all professional dancers and graduating students. This series begins with EVOLVE Birmingham in partnership with SAMPAD – a South Asian Dance focused event on Monday 2 October.  In 2024, there will be EVOLVE events in Swindon (Hip Hop), Leeds (Contemporary) and London (Musical Theatre).

Vanessa Lefrancois, DCD Executive Director, said:

“We are looking forward to celebrating our big 50th birthday together with our whole dance community – our partner companies, schools and conservatoires, dance agencies, funders, individual supporters, alumni and dancers from every dance genre.

This is an opportunity to celebrate everyone who has been part of DCD’s story for the last half century, and the extraordinary contribution to society that dancers and DCD alumni are making both within and beyond the creative industries. We’re proud to be co-creating the anniversary programme with such talented and creative dancers and alumni, as we look forwards to the future and reaching more dancers than ever before.”

 

Media Contact: 

Vanessa Lefrancois, Executive Director, Dancers’ Career Development. vanessa@thedcd.org.uk

Heather Lehan on her Beyond Dance Mentoring experience

Posted on by Nat Cowx

I had the pleasure in taking part in the Moving Ahead / Beyond Dance mentorship program through DCD this past year, and I am so grateful I had this experience.

Common doubts

Like many, I was unsure whether it was the right time for me to apply for the program as I held the preconceived notion that I needed to be at turning point in my career. I also had the common doubts of whether I was experienced enough, if my plans for the future were formed enough, or if my season was just going to be too busy to begin a mentorship. Despite these hesitations, I decided there was no harm in applying, because the truth is there is no perfect time, but the sooner the better! 

The application process

The application process was simple – a short questionnaire from DCD about what you hope to gain from the program. Then, once connected with Moving Ahead, we were asked to fill in a mentee profile outlining our experience in various fields, our personality traits, and any skills we had or were interested in gaining.  Moving Ahead used this to match us to our mentor from one of over 300 participating companies. It felt exciting to be a part of such an extensive network. 

Industry connections

What I found most enriching about this program was the unique opportunity to make a connection with someone from a different industry. You have the chance to be matched with someone who is living the career you aspire to. They can guide and inspire by walking you step-by-step through their own process whilst sharing how they overcame their hurdles.  

A fresh perspective

My personal experience was excellent as my match was impressively suited. As a senior business and finance lawyer, she had perspective that I could not possibly have gained yet. She had even vocationally studied ballet in her youth and so she understood a lot of my lived experiences. Through discussion, we arrived at avenues I hadn’t considered before. Even though my plans for a post-ballet career weren’t solid, just having an idea of the field I am interested in was enough. We went through the steps together of research, writing letters to schools and applying to workshops. Talking about how to make my transition something I was excited to begin greatly helped the apprehension I had about the end of my ballet career.  

Taking the next steps

As well as speaking about my future, we spent equal time discussing my current career. We explored topics such as confidence, self-worth, difficult conversations, and personal progression. The value she placed on my transferrable skills as a dancer was hugely confidence building and I left each meeting feeling energized and excited by possibility.

Broadening horizons

Above all else, the accountability that the program provided for me was the most valuable. It forced me to carve out consistent time to think about my future and gave me someone to report back to on my progress and thoughts. This program is a gift to your future self, and I couldn’t recommend it enough!

 

Applications now open 22/23!

Are you a dancer who is currently performing or have you already retired from your career on the stage?

Are you looking for a supportive and confidential environment in which to discuss and think through issues regarding your career, and gain a fresh, new perspective of managing your career progression, work-life balance and growth?

Did you know this programme is open to both Independent and Company dancers?

Are you, or have you been a dancer with at least four years’ professional performing experience, with at least two of these years spent in the UK?

Then this programme is for you!

In partnership with Moving Ahead Mission Include, DCD’s Beyond Dance Mentoring for Dancers is a global cross‑sector mentoring programme with a proven track record in supporting future leaders to grow and develop alongside creating change and supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Click here to find out more or click here for the application form.

Deadline to apply: 14th September 2022.

Heather Lehan is a dancer with Northern Ballet and is also a DCD REACH Ambassador. A huge thank you to Heather for her invaluable insight in to her personal experience on the Beyond Dance Mentoring for Dancers programme and her support as a REACH Ambassador.

Become a DCD REACH Ambassador

If you are interested in becoming a DCD REACH Ambassador or you would like to find out more about our REACH programme click here.

DCD Executive Director Jennifer Curry appointed new President of IOTPD

Posted on by Nat Cowx

The Board and Associates of the International Organization for the Transition of Professional Dancers (IOTPD) have voted unanimously to appoint Jennifer Curry, Executive Director of Dancers’ Career Development, as President. 

Jennifer succeeds Paul Bronkhorst, who also serves as the Executive Director of the Omscholing Dansers. Paul has served as President of the IOTPD for over a decade, succeeding Founding President Philippe Braunschweig. During his tenure, the IOTPD has grown from six organizations supporting dancers through career transition to a community of 10 countries, spanning Europe, North America and East Asia. Since 2015 the IOTPD has awarded six Philippe Braunschweig grants each worth 3000 euro directly to professional dancers around the world. The IOTPD has also produced a toolkit for new transition programs and hosted numerous successful global conferences.  

Paul has worked tirelessly as an advocate for career transition for dancers and has pioneered the development and growth of the IOTPD. Paul will remain on the IOTPD Board as Executive Director Omscholing Dansers, based in the Netherlands, a founding IOTPD member country.  

Paul says: “Leading an organization like the IOTPD has always felt a huge privilege. And, although slowly, it is encouraging to see the growing number of countries that understand the concept and benefits of support to dancers facing the inevitable end of their performing careers. International collaboration expands the possibilities to empower dancers worldwide” 

Jennifer Curry is a senior leader in the dance sector with experience working with and for professional dancers spanning over a decade. She has been Executive Director of Dancers’ Career Development in the UK, the first transition programme for dancers worldwide, for over seven years. Jennifer will take up the role on 1st June 2022.  

Jennifer says: “I am honoured and humbled to have been voted to serve the IOTPD as President. I look forward to working with colleagues around the world to continue to advocate for and directly support professional dancers throughout career transition. Through many years of dedicated service, Paul Bronkhorst has positively impacted the lives of thousands of dancers worldwide and on behalf of all Board and Associates at IOTPD we thank him wholeheartedly for his commitment and many achievements”  

About the International Organization for the Transition of Professional Dancers 

 The IOTPD was formed in 1993 with a mission to alleviate the challenges that professional dancers face worldwide when transitioning to a post-dance career. It strives to raise awareness of dancer transition and develop viable methods of meeting the needs of dancers across the globe. The IOTPD acts as an international umbrella organization coordinating with existing dancer transition centres worldwide to support research and advocacy initiatives, with the goal that every professional dancer will be equipped to make successful transitions.

Media Contact: 

Paul Bronkhorst IOTPD President
T: +31 6 11 30 22 30
E: PhBGrant@iotpd.org
www.iotpd.org 

Gratitude

Posted on by Nat Cowx

Recently, I have tried to practice gratitude in tangible ways – usually through daily journaling about what I am grateful for or conversations around the dinner table with family. As the year comes to an end, I wanted to share some reflections on what I am grateful for at DCD in 2021.

•Dancers: I am continually grateful to work with and for dancers. To be part of the team that steward DCD is a privilege. The resilience, creativity and courage of dancers, particularly through this unprecedented time, has been inspirational. I am grateful to the dancers who engage in our work and grateful to those who are curious to learn more. I’m grateful to those who give honest and open feedback, which we welcome wholeheartedly.

•DCD Team: I continue to be inspired and grateful for all those involved with DCD, including our dedicated Board of Trustees and Grants Committee, staff team and freelancers. This small and passionate team have worked tirelessly to support over 3,000 dancers from across the sector since March 2020. I am delighted to have welcomed new members to the Board and Grants Committee, as well as new staff members, who will each bring new perspectives, lived experiences and energy to DCD.

•Funders and Partners: Since 1st April 2020, DCD has awarded over £450,000 to dancers including just under £150,000 to freelance and independent artists. This, along with our other free programmes of support, would not have been possible without the gracious and generous support of our funders and partners. I am grateful for the conversations and collaboration.

•Inspiring stories: This year I have observed a number of EVOLVE Digital and Skills for Living Workshops, which have been attended by over 250 dancers. The environment our exceptional facilitators create where dancers feel safe to share thoughts and feelings is a truly special one. Hearing the stories of our guest speakers from around the world and their messages to dancers has been a joy. I am grateful to all those who deliver, contribute and participate in our programmes for sharing their precious ideas and experiences with the DCD community.

As we move towards DCD’s 50th Anniversary in 2023, there is much more to do and we have big ideas for the future. As DCD navigates this journey, I will continue to be grateful for every conversation and connection that gives us the opportunity to do better for all dancers. Thank you for being here for us and for each other as part of the DCD community.

Jennifer Curry, Executive Director, Dancers’ Career Development.

 

 

What to expect at a DCD EVOLVE digital workshop

Posted on by Nat Cowx

At the outbreak of the pandemic last year, we acted quickly to make sure that dancers could continue to access our EVOLVE workshops, especially at a time when DCD’s work supporting dancers through professional and personal change has never been more essential.

Our EVOLVE workshops were reformatted for the digital space, becoming EVOLVE Digital – a series of free, online career development workshops for all dancers in the UK, facilitated by DCD Director of Coaching, Isabel Mortimer.

Here’s what you can expect:

Attending DCD’s EVOLVE workshop can be a really powerful experience, wherever you are in your dance career. You will meet dancers from different backgrounds and at different stages of their career.

You will hear from inspirational speakers about their own personal experience of career transition and we share some tools and models that help you to understand a bit more about the emotions, reactions and mindsets that can occur during transition.

The session is a mixture of group discussion, sharing, listening, personal reflection, visioning exercises and break out rooms.

They are 3.5 hour workshops held over zoom and include a 20 minute break.

The sessions are totally confidential and Isabel creates a non-judgemental and supportive space for all.

We encourage interaction, while also respecting individuals’ right to observe and limit their engagement as they need to. There is no expectation for you to say, contribute or do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing. You may choose to turn your camera on or off – you are encouraged to look after your wellbeing and to let the facilitator or DCD staff member know if you have any needs we can support you with both before, during or after the session e.g. if you’d rather not be put into breakout rooms.

As part of our commitment to making our workshops accessible to all, the workshops have summary notes that are shared with participants afterwards. This should allow you the space to be present in the session, safe in the knowledge that comprehensive notes are being made for you.  We are happy to also accommodate any other accessibility needs any dancer might have.

Participants have said they found the workshops “very inspiring, insightful – I felt connected and heard again. Super important to lift our spirits up collectively, given all the uncertainty around us” and “an incredibly fulfilling and energising afternoon. I gained a clarity I didn’t even think was possible.”

Look out for the next EVOLVE Digital workshop on Friday 9th July: ‘Anything is possible, dreaming big’, which explores how, as dancers, we can embrace our resourcefulness and continue to dream big.

Book your place by clicking here or click here to find out more.

 

This programme is kindly supported by the Royal Opera House Benevolent Fund and DCD Partner Companies.

Guest blog – Sara Dos Santos

Posted on by Nat Cowx

Post- Studies Reflections
Original Blog – https://www.saradossantos.com/post/graduation-2021

Career Transition isn’t easy, but the interpersonal and financial support from Dancers’ Career Development offered me a chance to take a risk and step out into the unknown.

I’m Sara Dos Santos, a Cultural Producer, Strategist, and Artist with a Dance, Theatre, and Movement direction background. Having recently completed my Masters in Cultural Policy, Relations and Diplomacy at Goldsmiths University, I look forward to getting stuck in and shifting invisible boundaries and raise the profile of unrepresented voices in the UK and beyond.

The last two years of part-time study, while freelancing and navigating global chaos, was made a little more accessible through the support of Dancer’s Career Development.

I stumbled upon Dancers’ Career Development (DCD) several years ago, during a One Dance UK conference held at Trinity Laban. I attended because a role model of mine, Ingrid MacKinnon – an artist and co-founder of Movespace, participated in one of their panel discussions. Long story short, I got in touch with DCD, attended their EVOLVE workshop(s), had one-to-one sessions with Isabel Mortimer and went to a few other events, which eventually led me to apply for a retraining grant.

The financial support received by DCD offered me a moment to breathe and confidence in my new research area. Not only because someone else believed in me, but also because they were willing to invest in my future – this was paramount for me and propelled me forward with a spring in my step.

As I stand now looking back on what once felt like an impossible dream, I step once again into the unknown with great expectation that the best years are ahead.

Here’s to a future that demands us not to give up and offers us a chance to adapt, unlearn to relearn, step out of our comfort zone and build each other up!

Feature By:
Sara Dos Santos

www.saradossantos.com

“Dance gave me an endurance that is unique”

Posted on by Nat Cowx

We are delighted to welcome Simone Muller Lotz to the role of Interim Dancer Support and Programmes Officer at DCD, a role dedicated to supporting independent dancers in beginning and navigating career transition.

As a former professional dancer, Simone brings a huge wealth of experience, knowledge and empathy to her work at DCD.

Simone shares how DCD brings so many elements of her personal and professional life together.

Tell us about your early years as a dancer

I was born in South Africa and left home at 14 to train in the UK. I began at Elmhurst Ballet School, and went to the Royal Ballet Upper School at 16. I then joined Ballet Central and on graduating joined Northern Ballet.
I had a serious ankle injury and returned to South Africa to have an operation, which fortunately allowed me to continue.
I joined Cape Town City Ballet and was with the company for 5 years and performed in a wide repertoire. I then moved into contemporary dance and worked with the Cape Dance Company, before returning to the UK in 2012. In London I worked with Shobana Jeyasingh and Hubert Essakow.
Simone performing in 2013 with Mbulelo Ndabeni
Could you share a few insights from your own career transition?
 
In my dance training I had 2 very serious injuries and both had meant being off dancing for a year. As it happened I didn’t get injured much in the rest of my career, but those early experiences of the very real possibility of not being able to continue always stayed with me.
When I was off after my ankle operation, I decided to do a Psychology degree and also trained as a Pilates instructor. When my ankle healed I got a contract with Cape Town City Ballet but continued my degree via distance learning. It took about 8 years as I couldn’t do the full amount of courses each semester with working full time, but I eventually got a postgraduate Honours degree. I also taught Pilates in the evenings after rehearsals so managed to keep a foot in the Pilates world.
I think I am at my most happiest when I am doing many different things. I thrived when I was growing not only in the studio, but also outside it, and that has definitely helped in the numerous transitions I have taken. I think that in leaving home so young to train, I learned how to push through discomfort, and keep working until I could do what I needed to. In many ways I find this true in all the other things I’ve done outside the studio too. 
When I had my first child I was very ready to make a new life. I had found the instability of being an independent dancer tough, and craved some stability and consistency in my professional life. I was entirely immersed in motherhood and quite quickly made the transition into focusing on pre and post natal Pilates. I took further training before I had my daughter and since then have specialised in postnatal rehabilitation, which has been incredibly rewarding. I knew I didn’t want to dance any more after having children, but in still working with my body, it allowed me to stay grounded in something I have known for most of my life.
When I first thought about transition, I had an idea that I would need to forget about doing anything physical, and that felt incredibly daunting. Although I had studied and taught, my real place of familiarity was in a studio and on a stage. Entirely removing myself from everything I had known filled me with fear.
Saying that, as time has gone by I now quite enjoy doing things where I can draw on my mind rather than my physicality. I can see that in following what my heart was telling me about where I was in terms of pushing that boundary of comfort and challenge was really important. Things that felt too far a stretch when I started my transition now feel quite comfortable, which has clearly shown me what a process it is. In uncovering my path, I’ve needed to be patient with myself. Dance gave me an endurance that is very unique, and in time I’ve been able to push for more and more new possibilities.
 
You are managing a portfolio career of teaching, combined with your role at DCD and parenthood, how do you find this?
 
Throw in a pandemic with kids at home, add a yoga teacher training and then you can truly experience a juggling act!
There are times when it has been really tricky to divide myself into so many roles, but it has also been incredible to feel challenged. Being a mum has changed my professional life dramatically, but I would say for the better.
I think dance gives you a very useful skill of keeping at it, and getting the job done. 
 
What do you enjoy about your role at DCD?
 
I love how resilient dancers are, and I love seeing eyes light up in conversations about new possibilities. I am also really enjoying how many aspects of my life; my dance career both as a company and independent dancer, my psychology degree and teaching experience have somehow come together in this role in quite a seamless way.
I am now able to help dancers in a formal capacity and it feels incredibly special to be able to do that. 

The role of Dancer Support and Programmes Officer for the independent sector is kindly supported by The Linbury Trust.