We’re thrilled to share this article from The Stage, written by Georgia Luckhurst , celebrating the confirmation of funding for all ten Centres for Advanced Training (CATs) in dance for another year. It’s a fantastic piece that highlights the national importance of the programme and the incredible support it’s received from across the dance world.
Read the full article below.
Dance centres backed by Matthew Bourne have funding confirmed for another year
The National Centres for Advanced Training in Dance, present in cities including Birmingham, Newcastle, and Nottingham, will receive core funding to cover student bursaries for another 12 months.The funding had been championed ahead of the government’s spending review by top choreographers and dance sector leaders.
Figures including Arlene Phillips and Anthony Van Laast had previously called upon the Department for Education to safeguard funding, after a £300,000 grant for outreach work was cut in December 2024.
There were fears the 10 National Dance CATs were at risk following the cut. While the outreach funding has not be reinstated, the core funding means student bursaries can be offered for 2025/26.
The National Dance CATS, as the scheme is also known, celebrated its 20th anniversary last year.
It trains approximately 900 students each year, with 68% of those training in the 2023/24 academic year receiving bursaries.
But despite relief that funding for student bursaries would continue for 2025/26, concerns persist about the future of the dance centres, without a guarantee of its long-term future.
The pre-vocational training is available for dancers aged 10-18 and is offered alongside mainstream education.
Bourne had called the national network of dance centres “the envy of international dance companies around the globe”, and said that without support for its work we faced “a world in which there can be no more Billy – or Betty – Elliots”.
Spalding, artistic director and chief executive of Sadler’s Wells, previously said: “The small investment required to fund this programme annually has a substantial impact in terms of the opportunities it provides to young people and the economic return.
“The future artistic director of Sadler’s Wells is very likely among the current cohort.”
Alumni from the scheme have gone on to perform with high-profile professional dance companies including Akram Khan Dance Company, Northern Ballet, and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures.