ADAS: Associate Dance Artist Scheme - funding for the arts

ADAS, the Associate Dance Artist Scheme run as an arts funding initiative by Hampshire County Council is well underway for this year. The scheme provides an appointed Associate Dance Artist with an award of £1,000 in order to undertake an individual professional development programme. Through this each Artist will be able to deliver a project or event as part of Hampshire Dance’s programme, and in turn considerably developing their career. Running from October to July each year, the scheme works alongside dance artists who are committed to building upon their existing career, working in any dance style. The scheme is particularly suited towards those artists who can demonstrate their commitment to developing their particular field of dance practice, such as a performer, choreographer, teacher or manager. ADAS is managed by Dance Up's Programme Manager, another scheme delivered by Hampshire County Council. Selection is made by both Hampshire County Council and Dance Up, assessing how clearly the potential Artists demonstrate the benefit of the scheme to their own professional development and to dance development in Hampshire. As a result the scheme shows benefit to both the individual seeking development and also the wider dance community, acting as a reciprocal development programme. Associate artists of the 2012/13 selection have gone on to create and design the curriculum for “Lincolnshire Dance Academy” the local authority’s initiative to support the development of talented dancers across the county, and have set up Arts Ambitions, which provides producing and project management services to arts organisations, companies and individuals as a bespoke service bringing creative ideas to life. Other ventures have included working as a company manager of a south east dance company, with aims to work within the area of dance management and producing by attending courses and seminars on fundraising and book-keeping as well as dance specific events and conferences.