Dansarena Studios

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Dansarena Studios's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Dansarena Studios is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.dansarena.com

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

28 | DANSARENA STUDIOS

Karen Mitchell Gage, Former

Owner and Principal, Dansarena

Limited

Dansarena Studios, Ayr, Scotland

formerly Cathcart Church

Before Dansarena arrived on the scene in 1984, the venue

in which it’s now situated was a church. Recognising

the possibilities of the building, Founder Karen Mitchell-

Gage decided to bring it back to the community of Ayr,

Scotland, by turning it into a dance centre for all ages and

abilities. Karen felt well-suited to carry out this role, as she is

a fully-qualified dance teacher and an examiner for the Royal

Academy of Dance. The venture has since come to fruition,

which is a topic that Karen expands upon.

The dream

It was a delight to hear that the town council looked favourably on my proposition

to save the old handsome church from falling into the hands of developers. The

initial proposal was to demolish it and then build flats in its stead. We eventually

gained the upper hand, and, upon Dansarena’s opening 32 years ago, my dream

was finally realised.

To help me on this journey, my father, stepmother and two close friends became

directors and shareholders. These four, together with my husband Dennis and

I, formed a limited company. With the newly awarded planning permission, we

created three beautiful dance studios, a coffee shop and office space within the

200-year-old former Cathcart Church of Scotland.

FACTS ABOUT

DANSARENA STUDIOS

»Founder and Former Principal:

Karen Mitchell-Gage

»School Managers and Current

Owners: Kerry and Steven

Bolland

»Founded in 1984

»Based in Ayr, Scotland

»Services: Dance tuition

»No. of employees: 8 to 10

»The venue is a converted

church

»www.dansarena.com

Dansarena Studios

29DANSARENA STUDIOS |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

In 2014, we were fortunate enough

to be chosen for a grant of 80 per

cent of the £100,000 cost from

the Renaissance Fund to carry out

extensive repairs to the roof. This

work was essential to maintain the

integrity of such a unique building

for many years to come, and we

were most grateful to receive this

timelyassistance.

Turning an old church into a viable

business enterprise required a great

deal of hard work and a certain

amount of ingenuity. Although the

venue carried high overheads, we

finally managed to establish a large

enough pupil base to enable us to

cover the running costs and pay off

our bank overdraft. I have always

known that quality and scale are

important, and, to this end, we set

about building a team of teachers

who would nurture and inspire each

and every pupil as anindividual.

How we operate now

Children take dance lessons for a

variety of reasons. Some respond

to music spontaneously at home,

and parents recognise the need to

formalise this ability with a proper

dance technique and class discipline.

Others, however, are seriously

interested in making a career from

dance. To utilise fully and expand our

business, we ensured we were able to

meet both of these needs.

In the way of expansion, we also

created satellite schools in the

neighbouring towns of Troon,

Prestwick and Kilmarnock. These

continue to prove effective as “feeder

schools” where pupils are able to

progress to Dansarena when they

outgrow the smaller connections.

One of the main elements of

Dansarena’s activities is the

preparation of pupils for dance

examinations. The school has an

outstanding record of results in both

the Royal Academy of Dance ballet

and the Imperial Society of Teachers

of Dancing tap and modern theatre

examinations. Both RAD and ISTD

certificates are recognised by the

SQA accreditation on the Scottish

Credit and Qualifications Framework.

Successful candidates gain credits

for each examination, and these can

be used for entry into future study

courses, irrespective of whether or not

the subject is dance related.

It is very important that young

dancers are given the opportunity to Nicole Bryden, former

Dansarena pupil,

Winner of RAD Junior

Award, Classical Ballet,

Edinburgh 2009

Turning an old

church into a

viable business

enterprise

required a great

deal of hard

work and a

certain amount

of ingenuity

“

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

30 | DANSARENA STUDIOS

perform on stage, and, to this end,

Dansarena and the satellite schools

hold shows at the Gaiety Theatre Ayr

and in the Palace Theatre Kilmarnock,

as well as in Dansarena’s own lovely

little in-house theatre.

The themes of these productions are

carefully chosen to incorporate all

age groups within the school. Pupils

aged three to 18 years old never fail

to enthral proud parents and relatives

as they appear in their sparkling ballet

tutus and dazzling jazz outfits. Senior

students are invited to showcase their

talents by taking principal parts in

the presentations. The proceeds from

these events are donated annually

tocharity.

Dansarena also enters pupils for the

Scottish Junior and Senior Awards Day

held annually at the Dance Base in

Edinburgh. Over the years, our students

have won many of the trophies in the

classical ballet competition category.

I am also a mentor for the Certificate

of Ballet Teaching Studies programme

and have coached many young

student-teachers towards achieving

the full qualification.

Moving forward

Looking to the future, and

appreciating the importance of

securing the succession of the

business, I recently sold Dansarena

to my former school manager, Kerry

Bolland, and her husband, Steven. It

is this energetic and creative couple’s

ambition to develop Dansarena

into a full-time vocational school.

The venue lends itself perfectly

to accommodating the training

required to gain HNC and HND dance

certificates. I will remain a consultant

to the company for the next three

years, and I will also retain ownership

of two of the satelliteschools.

Teaching dance is perhaps not the

most lucrative of professions, but it is

certainly one of the most rewarding

in other ways. Observing pupils

gaining self-confidence and artistic

awareness through dance tuition

is immensely satisfying. I consider

myself very fortunate to have had

the support and encouragement to

enable me to realise my dream.

In breathing life back into this

historical building, we have not only

secured its future but also given it a

meaningful purpose for the whole

community. This, I would humbly

suggest, is a good example of best

practice and raising standards.

Dansarena and

the satellite

schools hold

shows at the

Gaiety Theatre

Ayr and in the

Palace Theatre

Kilmarnock

“

Lucy McPhail, former

Dansarena pupil,

Graduated 2018 Royal

Conservatoire, Glasgow

www.dansarena.com

This article was sponsored by Dansarena Studios. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from The Rt Hon Theresa May MP.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

This foreword from the then Prime Minister appeared in the 2018/19 Parliamentary Review.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister