Dancer Apprentice Scheme

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In 2009 Candoco Dance Company will be opening its studio doors to selected artists so that they can gain practical, first hand knowledge, of working in a professional dance company of disabled and non-disabled performers.

Candoco will be offering two individuals per year the opportunity to further their dance training as an Apprentice and help them become better qualified to enter a professional career in the contemporary dance sector whether as part of our company or outside Candoco.

Apprentices will be paid for their 10-week engagement. Candoco will also offer financial assistance towards travel and accommodation to ensure that applicants are not excluded on economic grounds, geography or personal travel needs (for example, the inaccessibility of London Underground for wheelchair users).

Please note that the launch and realisation of the Dancer Apprentice is subject to funding received.

Dancer Apprentice Scheme - Who can apply?

The scheme is inclusive and open to anyone who may wish to expand their knowledge of working within a professional dance company committed to the inclusion of disabled artists.

Priority will however be given to UK based disabled dancers, as Candoco recognises the lack of integrated training possibilities within the dance sector. We are looking for artists who have trained formally or informally, and who have been involved in some kind of performance in the past, but who have not worked professionally for an established company.

Disabled individuals with no previous dance experience, but with an outstanding physicality and who display interest in the arts, will be considered.

The scheme will cost approximately £10 000 which includes Apprentice fees, accommodation/transport costs, external mentor costs, project co-ordination and other project-specific costs such as publicising the scheme and evaluation.

Further background information to the Dancer Apprentice Scheme

Since its inception in 1991 Candoco has actively campaigned to expand the possibilities of disabled artists interested in dance, and to enrich the dance experience by including disabled artists.

From 2004 to 2007, the company ran a Foundation Course for disabled students, the first of its kind. However, changes to Learning and Skills Council funding meant that the grant for this activity was redistributed to learning institutions.

At present the company is a partner in the ADAPT project with the Urdang Academy, aimed at introducing young disabled people to contemporary dance and musical theatre.

Parallel to this Candoco runs three youth companies: at The Place School in central London; at the Siobhan Davies Studios in south London; and at our own studio in Stanmore, north London. Candoco is an active participant in seminars on integrated practice and training, and delivers teacher-training programmes to support dance practitioners to work with disabled people.

Candoco often receives requests for work experience and has allowed many individuals to shadow the company in an informal basis, so we know there is demand for this learning model. Disability Discrimination Act clauses - which prevent exclusion from vocational training on the grounds of disability – have been in place for several years, but the training sector is still slow to respond to disabled artists’ needs. The same can be said of professional choreographers and companies with very few taking the risk, or displaying interest in, employing disabled dancers.

This could be due to the current lack of trained and experienced disabled dancers. But without working opportunities, how will artists develop?

 

The Apprentice Scheme aims to start breaking this cycle and, in summary will: •    Provide a structured opportunity for learning, ensuring the maximum is achieved from placement activity •    Ensure outcomes can be more closely monitored and learning shared
•    Enable Candoco’s expertise to be instrumental in enabling the arts sector to embrace diversity
•    Help dancers to be in a stronger position to create and look for opportunities in the competitive dance market.

How to Apply:
If you would like to apply please send your CV  and expression of interests, previous training and ambitions via email to info@candoco.co.uk, quoting Dancers Apprentice Scheme in the headline, 
or in writing to 

Candoco Dance Company/Apprentice Scheme
2T Leroy House
436 Essex Rd
London N1 3QP


To support your application you can also send some footage of you dancing or improvising, ideally of about 3 minutes in length. If sending longer work please clearly mark the passage you would like us to see.