The Australia Council's latest funding announcements represent another hit to a sector that is already shattered by the impact of the global pandemic, writes Nina Levy.
At an already challenging time for Australian dance companies, the sector has been dealt another blow with four dance/physical theatre companies losing their four-year funding from the Australia Council.
The successful applicants to the Australia Council's four-year funding program were announced on Friday, with Australian Dance Theatre, BlakDance, Chunky Move, Dancenorth, Dancehouse, Force Majeure, Lucy Guerin Inc. and Marrugeku on the list.
Across the disciplines, 49 organisations have lost their Australia Council funding. With 28 organisations funded for the first time, the number of organisations receiving four-year funding has dropped from 128 (2017-2020) to 95 (2021-2024).
Australasian Dance Collective, Branch Nebula, Restless Dance Theatre, Shaun Parker & Company, Tasdance and Tracks were amongst the 49 organisations who have lost their four-year funding. These companies will receive an additional 12 months funding at a reduced level (approximately 70%) aimed at helping them “recalibrate… and make plans for the future.”
Additionally there are dance organisations that are not previous recipients, that applied for funding but were unsuccessful. While this list is not publicly available, Strut Dance and Stephanie Lake Dance Company have advised that they were amongst the companies that made it through the stringent first round of the two stage application process, but not the second. 412 organisations initially submitted expressions of interest, from which just 162 were invited to submit a full application.
It is alarming that such high calibre dance companies are not being supported by federal multi-year funding. While it is understood that all government departments are under enormous financial strain due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the huge demand on the government’s financial resources, the fact remains that this is not a new story. In 2016, 65 organisations lost their multi-year funding, including Ausdance National, KAGE, Force Majeure and Balletlab.
The companies that are suffering as a result – in the main small-to-medium companies - form a vital part of the arts ecology, as detailed in the article “A health dance ecology?”, written back in 2015 in response to the then Minister for the Arts George Brandis’s cuts to the Australia Council’s funding.
The question is, where will it end?
Parliament is sitting Wednesday 8 April to debate the next round of stimulus legislation. If you are concerned about the future of Australian arts, now is the time to contact your MP and let them know!
Pictured top are Jianna Georgiou and Alex Luke in Restless Dance Theatre's 'Intimate Space'. Restless Dance Theatre is one of 49 arts organisations whose multi-year funding from the Australia Council has been cut. Photo: Shane Reid