ADi is the new 2020 “go to” education organisation for dance students and teachers in Australia. We were Australia’s first fully recognised private Registered Training Organisation (NVR RTO 91600), specialising in dance for young trainees. We provide nationally accredited courses and resources for student dance training and teacher professional development, now embodied in national standards. From the outset, in 1998, ADi has focussed on young dancers with the intent of enhancing performing arts education/career opportunities. This is offered via VET-in-Schools and VET-in-Studios training.This provides extended job awareness and career “safety nets” – [introduced well before government introduced of national dance standards in 2011].
As Australia’s first and pre-eminent RTO specialising in dance education for young people, ADi understands dance training and career directions. We have worked exclusively with the dance industry, educators and government to develop standards of excellence for dance teachers and students. Our courses are recognised in all states and territories in Australia. They have been developed by dance teachers and managed by dance teachers to meet new legislative and regulatory controls as well as government requirements for qualifications in dance training and education.
ADi and other societies play a pivotal role educating private dance teachers, schools and associations in current National Dance Standards. ADi currently provides input as a reference group working with government to convey the needs of the small to medium dance industry providers. ADi has a particular mission to encourage and support dance training and education as professionally operated small businesses, particularly in remote and regional areas.
ADi Courses are based on continuous improvement. ADI’s “Open Education” policy has gained a reputation for excellence amongst stakeholders in the dance industry particularly for its robust framework, easy to understand dance terminology and seamless integrated approach between vocational and tertiary education systems. The ADi system includes endorsement/mapping of syllabuses, professional development for students and teachers alike, and routine professional development of teachers, schools and assessors through professional workshops & seminars.
ADi is committed to developing the creative potential of teachers and students, to creating employment for teachers, dancers and assessors and to ensure that all funds remain in Australia to further develop excellence in dance education.
We are committed to leveraging the young student’s passion for dance into careers beyond technique via a “safety-net” of potential pathways into arts administration, dance performance assessment, teaching, venue management, choreography etc. The safety-net is appreciated by parents of young students.
The People Behind ADi
Directors
Penny Lancaster, Centenary Medal (Services to Dance)
ADi Founding Chairman & Director
ADi Director of Curriculum
Chairman – CEO
John Lancaster BSc BE FAICD
Executive Directors
John Lancaster
Penny Lancaster
Accountant
Stewart Brown & Co
Office Staff
Curriculum Development & Project Development – Penny Lancaster
Marketing Manager – John Lancaster
IT Software & database development – John Lancaster
Bookkeeper- – Vivian Tang
Course Relationship Managers – Yvette Barton [National Co-ordinator]
Compliance and Validation Co-ordinator
+ many other regional ADi teachers, trainers, assessors and qualified curriculum developers.
Evolution of the ADi Open Education Concept
The AUSTRALIAN DANCE iNSTITUTE evolved from Australian Dance Vision, which was founded by Sydney dance teacher Penny Lancaster. Penny was one of the first Australians to receive the RAD Dance Teaching Diploma in the early 1980s. She began her classical ballet training at age three and continued her professional training at the Scully Borovansky School in Sydney. . She combined dance teaching with a career After a career in theatre, film, television and advertising, Penny opened her own dance academy.
After running her dance school for more than 25 years, Penny recognised the need for a more objective dance assessment program that was Australian owned and developed. This allowed students to progress at their own pace within a holistic dance education program encompassing knowledge in addition to technical dance skills. In the 1990s, Penny worked with the Board of Studies in NSW in writing and assessing the HSC Classical Ballet syllabus. During that time she observed that students would benefit and enjoy learning about dance history, body science, choreography and career education from a young age. This would create an awareness of the realities of a dance career, serve as a preventative measure against eating disorders and give positive outcomes and life skills. These are significant elements that were not always present in the drive for elite talent to the exclusion of other education.
Penny established Ballet d’Action and subsequently Australian Dance Vision to address these observations and concerns through performance, improved examination criteria and body/nutrition/personal awareness.
Up to 2019, ADi enjoyed an arm’s length affiliation wth ADV and Commdance. To distance itself even further, as of 2020, ADi has removed any perceived ties and operates independently of any dance society. Nevertheless, ADi continues to support all societies who are active in Australia in recognising these societies contribution to Australia’s current high world standing in nurturing young dance professionals, and complementing their career options with ADi vocational training.
1. Performance experience. The Ballet d’Action (formed 1989) youth dance company was established to provide theatre experience for young dancers, choreographers, composers and theatre designers. Now in recess, Ballet d’Action performed 22 new original dance works over ten years. During this time Ballet d’Action employed Australian keynote choreographers (Natalie Weir, Chrissie Koltia, Garth Welch and Norman Hall) musicians (Deborah de Graaff, Anthony Partos) and designers (John Rayment), and gave young Australians from nine to 25 years of age experience as “professional” dancers.
2. Better objective examination criteria. Australian Dance Vision (formed 1989) introduced a groundbreaking approach to dance examinations. In consultation with a panel of experienced teachers and examiners in each dance style, ADV established explicit learning outcomes and assessment criteria, (now called competencies in “eduspeak”), along with published assessment criteria which could be accessed by teachers, examiners, students and parents.
3. New approach to “built-in” body science & life skills. Mindful of the need to help young people avoid the pitfalls of eating disorders, particularly in dance, Penny designed and coordinated all of the ADV syllabuses from kinder through to advanced levels to include dance history, body science, nutrition, performance skills, career information and creativity. This approach enabled students to build on their knowledge year-by-year culminating in vocation qualifications at the higher levels. This evolutionary concept is now refected in national standards which has changed the way dance education is delivered in Australia.
The Pioneers – first private RTO for young students of dance
In the mid 1990s, ADV directors recognised the potential for Government to introduce dance teaching standards and possibly the registration of dance teachers. By 1998 ADV’s reworked syllabuses with objective assessment criteria were a good match with emerging vocational training methodology and were accredited by VETAB (NSW) for delivery around Australia as Certificates I-IV in Dance Performance Studies. That is, they had been mapped against the Australian Qualification Training Framework (AQTF) devised by government for other (non-dance) vocational qualifications. At that time, it was the first and sole government accredited dance program designed for young studio based students.
In 1999, ADV’s new teacher training course Certificate IV in Dance Teaching (now Certificate IV in Dance Teaching & Management CUA 40313} became accredited and again helped to form the basis of the teacher training qualifications in the CUA11/13 Live Performance Training package, now embodied in the CUA13 Creative Arts and Culture Training Package.
In the same year, ADV was accepted by VETAB (NSW) as a fully-fledged accredited Registered Training organisation (RTO). More recently in 2010 VETAB (NSW) supported the streamlining of the RTO operations within ADV to be spun off as a separate company, the AUSTRALIAN DANCE iNSTITUTE Pty Ltd.
The formation of ADi provides recognition of other dance societies technical examination work mapped to ADi Units of competency. This permits dance societies ito participate in the VET system while keeping their own unique technical content. This elevates dance teaching in Australia to world’s best practice in vocational education, which is a now generation ahead of offshore sources.
ADi is recognised as the leading industry RTO for dance training. We offer young students the opportunity to obtain vocational certificates in classical, jazz, tap and contemporary styles.
Australian Dance Standards – Origins and Beyond
In 2010 ADV and CSTD were invited by government to join the IBSA National Project Review Group to advise on the formulation of the CUA11 package. IBSA was the Industry Skills Council [now PriceWaterhouse Cooper] charged with dance industry vocation qualifications.. Sharing a strong common interest in supporting their members and students, ADV and CSTD societies found significant common ground and complementary skills in contributing to the project with Penny Lancaster and Diane Gepp being the only two representatives of Australian dance teaching societies directly represented on this unique panel.
In 2012 CSTD and ADi formed a partnership to run ADi as an RTO for all dancers in an open educational system targeting the needs of the next generation of young dancers and teachers. This partnership resulted in CSTD’s adoption of the “ADi Vocational System” and their major contribution in joining with ADV and ADi in investing in, and promoting, the Australian Dance institute. 2020 ushers in a new era where ADi moved further from any direct association with any dance society ownership in order to ensure full transparency and separation from specific dance societies.
Unlike TAFE and other educational institutions who touch on the lives of dance students for a short time, dance societies, via their membership provide a continuum of nurturing and contact from pre-school ages through early development, primary and secondary school, tertiary and higher education and beyond into performance and/ or teaching. Many teachers complete their life skills contribution through mentoring and board membership of their societies, thus completing the life-cycle that has been at the core of the provenance of Australian dance societies for the last 85+ years. ADi provides support to dance educators through professional development workshops, industry seminars and our newsletters. In turn, teachers support students by playing an important role in the assessment process. Teachers’ input is embedded in formal assessment, allowing for variations in assessment temperament, sickness or disability (non discrimination and equal assess). Teachers also have input into ADi via their dance societies for continuous improvement embodied in ADi’s industry consultation/workshops, professional development. ADi directors and staff are active members of professional industry bodies such as IADMS, ACPET/ITECA and attend professional development conferences conducted by ASQA, VETR etc.
ADi continues to work at all levels of government to ensure that the outcomes of standards in dance benefits the next generation of students of dance, whether in private or public schools or private dance studios, engaged in full or part time study at all ages. After all, they are the ultimate stakeholders as various bodies purport to represent their interests but are often purely self-serving!
Future
ADi Student Qualifications and Assessments
The ADi open education policy allows Individual societies to retain the regular outlet for their own “technical” syllabus and assessments. All schools wishing to enter the vocational system may become ADi Referral Schools, [formerly “Mapped” School] where each school’s student enrols directly with ADi and all course work is administered by ADI and assessed by ADI qualified assessors, supported by their teacher as a mentor. As a mentor the teacher must meet ADi pre-requisite qualifications – contact ADi
Open Dance Education Policy
Members and students of most societies can avail themselves of ADi courses and professional development resources thus offsetting the ever-increasing cost of gaining RTO accreditation and developing compliant courses to maintain government accreditation and RTO status. Further, ADi can provide resources to retain the focus on contextualising new standards from the usual generic framework to specifically address the private dance education industry.
Students, teachers and schools can apply directly to ADi.
Distance and Online Studies
ADi provides electronic delivery for academic style (content) competencies making the initial stages of their learning experience simple and easy. Where required, face-to-face validation of skills will be conducted at centres around Australia.