A new dance industry body has launched with the aim of creating a “single more powerful voice for dance” in the UK.

The body, called One Dance UK, is the result of a merger between Dance UK, the Association of Dance of the African Diaspora, the National Dance Teachers Association and Youth Dance England and will officially start in April 2016.

One Dance UK has revealed several key programmes for its first three years, including significant investment in development schemes for teachers and dancers, and a national conference for choreographers in 2016.

The new organisation has been created to provide a “one stop shop” for support services for the dance sector and is aimed at professional dancers, choreographers, companies and producers as well as young people, teachers and training institutions.

The body has secured £145,000 to invest in leadership development for both dancers and teachers, and will also run new performance platforms for artists working in dance of the African diaspora.

A national conference for choreographers in 2016 is another of the programmes that One Dance UK will run in its first three years, which will also see the creation of a new flagship exhibition and a digital platform celebrating the last 70 years of British dance. This will be launched in 2018.

The four organisations that make up the new body are currently based in London but will relocate to a new central office in another part of the UK.

Sue Wyatt, chair designate of One Dance UK, said revealing details of the new body was a “crucial step forward” towards the full merger next April.

“With more than 130 years of experience between them, we have steady foundations for creating in One Dance UK a new force for dance for the whole of the UK. As chair designate of One Dance UK, I couldn’t be prouder of our aspirations or more assured that we are headed in the right direction,” she added.

Source: One Dance UK