23rd July 2015
ADAD (Association of Dance of the African Diaspora), Dance UK, NDTA (National Dance Teachers Association) and YDE (Youth Dance England) today announce the appointment of Sue Wyatt as Chair Designate of a major new dance organisation that will succeed the current four partners in April 2016.
This ground-breaking consortium brings the four leading dance organisations together to create a unified “go-to” industry body. This partnership (supported by Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation) responds proactively to industry demand for radical transformation of its workforce and talent support. Together, the combined impact of these organisations will be much greater than they can achieve as stand-alone bodies.
The name and brand identity of the new organisation will be announced at a later date.
Trustee and Vice-Chair of the Council for Dance Education and Training, former Chief Executive of Rambert Dance Company, and past Manager of The Cholmondeleys & Featherstonehaughs, Sue Wyatt has over thirty years’ experience in the Arts. She was Head of Combined Arts and Strategy at East Midlands Arts Board, a Council Member for Arts Council London, Chair of artsdepot Barnet, and a Trustee for both Phoenix Dance Theatre and Hampstead Theatre. Sue is now an independent consultant, facilitator and mentor.
The news comes amidst the excitement of Youth Dance England’s U.Dance 2015 opening in Plymouth - the festival’s first time ever in South West England. U.Dance 2015 runs from 22-25 July, with more than 30 dance groups performing at Theatre Royal Plymouth, an additional 300 young dancers involved locally with an overall reach of more than 600 young people. U.Dance aims to give every child and young person in England the opportunity each year to take part in a dance performance.
The consortium is also announcing that the 2016 U.Dance Festival will be at The Lowry in Salford, presented by the new industry body. The festival will be expanded to include new specialist professional development support in teaching, dancers’ health, and dance of the African diaspora, maximising the knowledge brought to the new organisation by all the merger partners.
Sue Wyatt says:
I very much look forward to working with the Boards of the consortium partners, staff and supporters, to create a new organisation to work for a healthier future for Dance, across all disciplines, and throughout the UK. A symbol of this optimism is the announcement today that the new organisation will hold U.Dance 2016, one of its first major projects, at Salford’s The Lowry, a landmark location that will allow us to reach thousands more young people.
Judith Palmer, Chair of ADAD, Julian Flitter, Chair of Dance UK, Judy Evans and Sue Trotman, Co-Chairs of NDTA, and Richard Alston, Chair of Youth Dance England, say:
It is a huge pleasure to welcome Sue Wyatt to this key role, as the consortium moves to its merger in April 2016. The interim period will give Sue the opportunity to get to know the four constituent organisations, and to bring out the strength that will come from the merger. Sue is passionate and knowledgeable about dance and the arts. She brings to the position of Chair, an extensive network of contacts across the UK dance sector, as well as high-level organisational leadership, governance and managerial skills. We look forward to working with her.
