A dance training scheme for children and young people has been saved after the Department for Education (DfE) confirmed that funding for another 12 months.

In December 2024, the government unexpectedly cut support grants issued through its Music and Dance scheme for National Centres for Advanced Training in Dance (National Dance CATs), raising concerns that the centres would be defunded entirely.

The programme provides part-time, non-residential pre-vocational training for dancers aged between 10 and 18 and is run by 10 dance organisations across England, including Dance City in Newcastle and Sunderland, the Academy of Northern Ballet in Leeds, and Trinity Laban in London.

The DfE has now announced that it will provide standstill funding for student bursaries in the 2025/26 academic year, allocating 721 grants across the programme, with a set number assigned to each host centre.

On average, around 850 to 900 students take part in the CAT programme each year, including grant holders, fee payers, and those who don’t receive a grant.

The total financial contribution from DfE will depend on means testing, as some students receive 100% grants, while others receive partial support, with the remainder paid by their parents. Final figures will be known once new students are recruited and assessed in October.

‘The envy of international dance companies’
The announcement came after months of campaigning and lobbying from the dance sector, including high-profile choreographers such as Arlene Phillips and Sir Matthew Bourne.

Bourne described the national network of dance centres, which was established in 2004, as “world-leading and the envy of international dance companies around the globe”.

Commenting on the latest funding announcement, Clare Connor, CEO of The Place and London Contemporary Dance School, said: “We are pleased to see government have listened… we will build on this good news and work to secure the long-term future of the programme.”

Connor said that the bursary announcement was “an encouraging step in the government’s commitment to safeguarding the pathways to careers in dance”, adding that it gave “a positive signal of the recognition of dance’s contribution to our thriving and growing dance sector”.

Outreach work
While the funding for bursaries has been welcomed, government has not fully reinstated the annual grant for the National Dance CATs, £300,000 of which was spent on outreach work.

Financing for the programme’s outreach is generated from underspend within the core bursary allocation, such as when students don’t use 100% of their grant.

In 2023/24, the programme engaged with more than 16,500 children and young people across England.

Brendan Keaney, the artistic director and chief executive of DanceEast in Ipswich, described the funding for outreach as “our search vehicle. It was the route into the programme – a first step into the pathway towards a career in dance”.

‘A rare balance of excellence and accessibility’
Sharon Watson, CEO and principal of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) said that by providing young people with access to world-class dance training, tailored support, and performance opportunities, regardless of their prior experience, the CAT scheme is for many a “first step into a professional world they never thought possible”.

“Delivered outside of school hours, CAT allows students to stay rooted in their home communities while receiving specialist training – a rare balance of excellence and accessibility,” said Watson.

“In a world where opportunity can still be dictated by postcode or household income, the CAT scheme actively levels the playing field.

“Almost half of NSCD’s first-year undergraduate cohort in 2024/25 will have come through the CAT programme. This is not a coincidence – it’s a reflection of a pipeline that works and works especially well for those who might otherwise never consider a future in higher education.

“CAT is one of the most effective uses of public funding in the cultural sector – delivering extraordinary returns in talent development, social mobility, and economic contribution. Its impact is undeniable: students’ progress into conservatoires, universities, and professional companies, often as the first in their families to do so.”