News

‘We make so many sacrifices so our girls can dance’

Dance education is in decline, with financial barriers deterring prospective students and families, finds new report.

19 Jul 2024 9:00

Celina Lei

Pursuing a career as a dancer comes with financial burdens and an uncertain future. Two dancers wearing light brown workwear onesies in a white space. One is sitting with one foot propped up on the chair, their hand on their head, and another is standing behind in an elegant stance, extending their arms and one leg.

Performing Arts

Pursuing a career as a dancer comes with financial burdens and an uncertain future. Photo: cottonbro studio, Pexels.

A new report released by The Australian Ballet (TAB) and The Australian Ballet School (ABS) highlights the challenges faced by dancers and dance schools in the post-pandemic era.

In 2023, Patternmakers was commissioned by TAB and ABS to conduct research into participation pathways for Australian dancers, engaging over 500 stakeholders, including dance teachers, studio owners, students and parents of students.

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Celina Lei

Celina Lei is the Diversity and Inclusion Editor at ArtsHub. She acquired her M.A in Art, Law and Business in New York with a B.A. in Art History and Philosophy from the University of Melbourne. She has previously worked across global art hubs in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York in both the commercial art sector and art criticism. She took part in drafting NAVA’s revised Code of Practice - Art Fairs and was the project manager of ArtsHub’s diverse writers initiative, Amplify Collective. Most recently, Celina was one of three Australian participants in DFAT’s the Future of Leadership program. Celina is based in Naarm/Melbourne. Instagram @lleizy_