Matthew Bourne among UK Dance Leaders Launching National Campaign to Save Youth Training Schemes

Artistic Director, Matthew Bourne has joined ten national dance organisations to launch an urgent campaign calling on the Government to protect funding for the National Centres for Advanced Training in Dance (National Dance CATs). These schemes deliver pre-vocational dance training to 10-18 year olds in ten regional centres across England, and provides means-tested bursaries funded through the Department for Education to ensure every young person with potential has access to world-leading training.  

Over the past two decades, the National Dance CATs have become the principal pathway into the UK’s professional dance sector. Former students now perform with New Adventures, as well as over 80 leading companies and organisations, including Hofesh Shechter Company, Jasmin Vardimon Company, Company Wayne McGregor, Akram Khan Dance Company, BalletBoyz, ZooNation, Punchdrunk, and Northern Ballet.

Following an unexpected funding cut in December 2024, the campaign is calling for immediate action to ensure the scheme is protected. Any further CAT funding cuts would pose an existential threat to dance in the UK, risking the collapse of access, talent pipelines and regional infrastructure.