Until at least mid-October 2017, BDN and DanceXchange Professional Class will not run on Tuesdays, reducing the weekly class to Thursday mornings only.
The decision to temporarily cut Tuesday classes has been a difficult one. As you may be aware, Birmingham Dance Network is funded on a project by project basis. The organisation is artist led, and in between funded projects, the directors manage BDN activity unpaid, on top of their freelance careers. Being a part of the BDN core team is a total joy and we love what we do, but unfortunately Pro Class is currently running at a loss. If BDN loses money on the classes we deliver as part of the programme, in reality, this means the core members covering any costs. While we have a huge amount of passion for our organisation and have dedicated many hours of our time to making sure it is a success, we are unable to sustain this personal financial risk.
We have received a huge amount of support from DanceXchange including free studio space, staff time and administrative support. However under the current circumstance it is no longer sustainable for us or DX to run the class twice a week.
BDN and DanceXchange are now in a period of evaluation. We have sent out a feedback form, and have been in conversation with other organisations in the city to explore funding options. Our ambition to see Professional Class running every weekday remains our goal, and we are doing everything in our power to bring this to our network.
Please complete the form at
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/7PXHZV2
to let us know what you need from our classes. If you have ideas of how we can do this better, speak to us.
This is a call to action. If you keep coming to the classes we can keep them running and increase their number. But without you it is not possible and the programme is not sustainable in a long term. We can’t apply to ACE for funding for this as they do not fund ongoing activities. Tell us what would make it possible for you to attend class more regularly. The thing with class is, we have to use it, or lose it….
As we look for new funding options for Pro Class, we ask that you continue to support BDN activity. As well as filling in the survey and coming to class, keep shouting about what we do on social media and in the real world. This set back will not stop us.
Together we are stronger.
Love
BDN
