Closure of BA Dance at Middlesex University

Statement from Middlesex University:

It is with great sadness that I confirm, on behalf of all the dance team still standing at Middlesex University, London the closure of the dance programme.

We were informed of this a year ago, and the swift removal of the programme from public view was deeply felt by staff, students and alumni, and did not go unchallenged. Many months of discussion, advocacy and evidenced argument later, we were unable to change the reality of our future exit.

Now in the last year of the teach-out we celebrate our current and past students for their creativity and resilience in dealing with all the uncertainty this news created. Like many programmes we suffer from the now familiar list of ailments (Brexit, cost of living, London rents, lack of support for the Arts as a career narrative, shedding of dance at secondary and tertiary level etc.) but equally we are at the mercy of financial decisions in the University sector for which there is no easy solution. Calculations rarely account for the wider social, cultural and educational value of the arts, nor the importance of an arts education, or any other matters of principal for a grounded and vibrant society.

Middlesex University was a proud pioneer of the arts and dance training in HE, for decades opening doors to many young people driven by a passion for dance and for the many careers that followed. In 1996 the then Vice-Chancellor praised our previous campus Trent Park as ‘the premier campus for one of the largest universities in the country – and major centre for dance and drama education’ (Driscoll 1996). Numerous Alumni forged the development of the artform in this country, as performers, producers, scholars, and educators. The legacy is real and deep rooted. We thank those pioneers who succeeded in making the argument for the discipline to have its rightful place in the Academy - the strength of that argument remains, though foundations shift precariously in the face of financial survival.

Legacy lives with those that took their passion and their education and changed lives beyond themselves and there are plenty of those that did just that, across generations and over the programme's lifetime.

We celebrate all our colleagues who have made a difference to our diverse student communities, and to all our Middlesex Arts colleagues who took a leap of faith and collaborated on many fantastic projects with us. We will miss this gathering of artists who give so much in ideas and opportunities, with interdisciplinarity at the core of our creative endeavours, both in-house and externally. Thank- you to all the wonderful visiting artists and researchers that contributed so generously during and before our current faculty’s time here. The palette was rich, and the times were good. Farewell to a star turn that was BA Dance at Middlesex University.

Our closure is not alone – also going are BA’s Theatre Arts, Photography, Fashion, Creative Writing and Journalism, alongside a suite of MA courses.

Our final graduation takes place in June next year. We hope to have a celebration event towards the end of this our last academic year and would love for any and all artists who have danced and shared creative times with us over the years to join us for our final farewell.

Angela, Leroy, Sian and Mikkel.

Statement from One Dance UK:

We are deeply saddened by the closure of the BA Dance programme at Middlesex University. For decades, dance at Middlesex has nurtured generations of artists, educators and researchers who have helped shape our sector. Its legacy will continue through their work and through the many people they teach, collaborate with and inspire.

This loss forms part of a deeply troubling pattern of course closures and shrinking opportunities documented in One Dance UK’s Taking it Higher report. We recognise the serious financial pressures facing universities but allowing dance provision to disappear without accounting for its wider cultural, social and educational contribution is profoundly short-sighted. When courses close, we lose experienced teaching teams, specialist knowledge and opportunities for future students. Rebuilding that provision takes years, even if funding and policy become more supportive.

The government’s renewed recognition of the importance of arts education offers some hope for the longer term, though we recognise that this may feel far removed from the immediate pressures facing dance in higher education. We hope it signals the beginnings of a change in direction but repairing the damage will take sustained investment, commitment and time. Strengthening dance in schools must go hand in hand with protecting opportunities for further study and the educators who make them possible.

Our heartfelt thanks go to Angela, Leroy, Sian and Mikkel and to all those who have contributed to dance at Middlesex over the years. We recognise the care, determination and generosity involved in supporting students through such a difficult period. The programme’s closure is a significant loss but its influence will continue to be felt wherever its graduates teach, create, perform and inspire.