Growing up in Dance
Helping dance teachers develop and support young people as they mature
GuiDANCE NETWORK
Growing up in Dance
Helping dance teachers develop and support young people as they mature
What is the GuiDANCE Network?
Growing up In Dance CIC is The GuiDANCE Network – a collaborative of dance sector organisations, researchers, dance teachers and dance students working to better equip the sector to support young people in dance.
Why does the GuiDANCE Network exist?
Historically, teachers have not been provided with adequate information or support on the topic of developing bodies and minds in their initial teacher training. Knowledge and understanding of these (biological, psychological, physical and social) processes in a dancer has increased rapidly in the last decade and we understand and want to share that learning so that dance teachers can benefit from it and apply their experience and in-practice knowledge; adding the theory to what they see in practice.
Understanding how to ensure practices promote healthy physical and mental development and are in line with or sensitive to trajectories of development is central to the wellbeing of children and young people participating in the performing arts. The work of the GuiDANCE Network aims to address the challenges associated with developmental transitions in dance for young people and to better equip the sector to support healthy child and adolescent development.
Our mission is to:
- Raise awareness across the dance sector about what healthy development looks like and how to promote good practice.
- Provide education and resources to support and equip dance teachers and organisations in implementing best practice.
- Enable organisations, parents and young dancers to access best practice education and GuiDANCE for their physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing needs.
- Advance ways to gather evidence to inform and evolve our approaches.
- Support children and young people in dance as they grow and develop, with a particular focus on promoting a positive and healthful developmental transitions (e.g., early childhood, adolescence).
- Encourage dancers to have a voice and knowledge of the GuiDANCE network as a ‘go to’ organisation for advice and support.
- Provide dance teachers, parents and dance students with the knowledge and skills to guide the dancer as they grow with a deeper understanding of how their developing bodies and minds.
We will do this through:
Training and Education –equipping and empowering dance teachers to nurture developing bodies and minds. We aim to bridge the theory and practice gap in all our engagements.
Research & Practice – working together to understand what is currently happening in teacher training and teaching practice and exploring how we can develop and improve this.
Advocacy – leading the conversation on developing bodies and minds across the dance sector and supporting teachers to build comfort and confidence with developmental vocabulary and its application to dance practice.
Resources & Repository – creating toolkits and resources to better equip dance teachers, parents and students.
Sustaining the GuiDANCE Network – actively engaging a network of people passionate about supporting young people in dance and supporting each other to do this well.
Where to find us:
hello@growingupin.dance
