Dance and Disabilities Research Project

The identification of exceptional Gifted & Talented students with disabilities and special educational needs.

Trinity Laban, with funds from the Department for Education, were commisioned by Dance4 to undertake a research project examining dance provision and progression routes for young dancers with disabilities.

The research consists of two main strands. The first was a scoping exercise to assess current provision for young dancers with disabilities across the regions of England. This included creating a directory and map of provision, documenting case studies of individuals and organisations, and identifying barriers to training and potential ways in which these barriers might be overcome. The second strand focused specifically on talent identification and development. In order to better understand these processes for dancers with disabilities, interviews were conducted with expert practitioners to uncover the ways in which they identify talented dancers, the ways in which they train dancers, and exploring important considerations for talent development.

The findings of this ground-breaking research were launched in Nottingham on the 14th March 2013. More information regarding this event can be found on the Dance4 website.

The full publications are now available to download via the links below. It is hoped that these findings can contribute toward a better understanding of best practice in the identification and development of young dancers with disabilities.