We would very much appreciate your feedback on a new leadership qualification for folk dancers that EFDSS has been invited to pilot.
The Level 4 Diploma, ‘Approaches to Leading Dance in Community Contexts’ is one of a new suite of qualifications developed by Participatory Arts Qualifications (PAQ) for dance leaders working within the non-formal participatory arts.
In working with PAQ over the past couple of years to develop this new qualification, EFDSS is responding to many calls from the folk dance community for appropriate training for folk dance practitioners. We hope this qualification and accompanying course will support the strengthening of practice and provide a nationally recognised qualification for those who wish to achieve one (Ofqual accreditation is pending).
We believe it would potentially enable people to get more work as a dance practitioner in other sectors beyond the folk dance scene, such as community settings and schools.
We are delighted to have been chosen by Participatory Arts Qualifications as a pilot Course Delivery Centre. This means that for the initial cohort of learners, the assessment will be free, saving around £600. We are also working hard to make the cost of the accompanying course as reasonable as possible to provide the greatest access for folk dancers who would like to take part
It’s also important to note that EFDSS has no plans to make this qualification compulsory for anyone working in folk dance!
Back in July we held a consultation meeting about this upcoming qualification. The meeting was extremely helpful and will help to direct us in our next planning stages. Please view the slides from our presentation (PDF) to find out more detail about the qualification.
We then ran an open consultation, which closed on 31 January 2023.
If you have any questions, please contact Laura Connolly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Photo by Brian Slater: U.Dance National Festival 2022 presented by One Dance UK, Birmingham.
