Report from the Chair on behalf of Trustees of Dalcroze UK
This report is for the year 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020.
General Introduction
This has been an extraordinary year for everyone all around the world and Dalcroze UK has been no exception. Many events and courses have been cancelled, we have not been able to run our Intensive Training Programme at the Royal Russell School in Croydon and we have had very limited in person contact with our colleagues at all. However, on the positive side we have seen flourishing online communities develop with the weekly Dalcroze UK Zoom café and the VDM masterclass series, to name just two. From a personal point of view all the members of the Board are very grateful to all the hard work of our manager, Sandi Smith, Director of Studies, Karin Greenhead, as well as Jacqueline Vann and all the many members who have taught for us this year or contributed in a myriad of ways. The coming together and unity has been wonderful to experience.
Board of Trustees
Changes in the Trustee body: Chris Orton resigned his trusteeship during the year. We welcomed Angie Aitken as a new trustee. She was co-opted in February 2020 and then confirmed by vote at the delayed AGM in May 2020.
The current Board of Trustees consists of Becca Spencer, Richard Strivens, Angie Aitken, Kathryn Templeman and Nicola Gaines-Armitage. Kathryn Templeman was reelected as Chair of the Board at the Board meeting in October 2020.
The current Board is committed to implementing as many of the recommendations in the strategic review from 2014 as possible and to increase both our membership and our funding streams to reflect the widespread appeal and application of the practice of Dalcroze teaching and diverse applications of Dalcroze Eurhythmics. The Board is also working to increase its reach and diversity and to this end a sub-committee was established in December 2020, consisting of three trustees and three members. This committee will be working to recruit trustees and members from all backgrounds and cultures.
Staff and Tutors
Sandi Smith continues in her role as manager working 25 hours a week. She remains the only employee of the charity at the moment.
Karin Greenhead continues in her role as Director of Studies for Dalcroze UK and her freelance contract was renewed in September 2020.
Jacqueline Vann has been employed on a freelance hourly basis by the Society to develop the professional development programme (including Zoom café), grade exams for children and other outreach programmes. This role will continue to grow and develop as we emerge from the Covid 19 pandemic.
The teachers on the intensive training this year have been Karin Greenhead, Jacqueline Vann and Kaye Barker, assisted by Monia Wilkinson and Mary O Connor.
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Intensive Training 2019-20
From October 2019 to February 2020 both the intermediate and foundation levels of intensive training went ahead at Croydon as usual with training weekends once a month. Once the lockdown was enforced in March, the Royal Russell School decided to close for any further external bookings and that is still the position at the time of writing. All the training has been online since March 2020 with aural training, improvisation and some rhythmics. The exams for the Foundation and Intermediate level students were cancelled and the students were given a ‘bye’ to proceed to the next level of training for the year 2020-21.
Due to a number of students unable to continue on to the Intermediate level this year, the only intensive training level to run in 2020-21 has been the Certificate level training which has been happening online. We hope that in person classes can resume in the Spring in some form and that the Professional Certificate exams can happen for these students who have completed the full three years of training. In place of the hoped-for Foundation course this year, Dalcroze UK is offering a series of online introductory Dalcroze classes for those who wish to discover more about the method – Winter Warmers. These online sessions will run through January 2021.
Easter Course 2020
Unfortunately, due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the nationwide lockdown and the fact that our venue, the Royal Northern College of Music was completely closed over the period, the planned Easter course for 2020 had to be cancelled.
Summer School 2020
After the disappointment of the cancelled Easter course and with no venues available to host our usual summer school and after seeing the success of the Virtual Dalcroze Masterclass in the US, the decision was taken to host the first ever online, virtual Dalcroze Summer School. The event attracted 51 participants from 16 countries with groups ranging from beginners to those who are currently completing their Licence training. Tutors were recruited from the entire Dalcroze UK international community and included Dr Karin Greenhead, Jacqueline Vann , Dr Eugenia Arus , Françoise Lombard, Ava Loiacono, and Kaye Barker. Seminars and workshops were also built in around the core sessions and these included Anita Memmott, Kathryn Kay, Kaye Barker, Drusilla Harris, Dr. ’ Selma Odom, Mary Price O Connor , Monica Wilkinson and Ava Loiacono.
The summer school was well attended and the feedback was very positive. The course made a surplus financially and it was an excellent opportunity to come together virtually as a community, even though of course we missed seeing each other physically.
NB The Easter Course and Summer School 2021 will both go ahead as online events, modelled on the successful format of the online Sumer School 2020.
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Zoom Café
The Dalcroze UK Zoom café started during the first lockdown in the UK in March, based on an idea of membership trustee, Becca Spencer. At first it was a vehicle to bring members together from all areas of the UK and indeed the world to discuss challenges of teaching Dalcroze online but it has now developed and changed into a support network and platform for continuing professional development. Many thanks are due to Jacqueline Vann and all the presenters and Zoom café regulars, as well as Sandi Smith for hosting every week.
FIER
After several years away, the UK has now returned to full membership of FIER (La Fédération Internationale des Enseignants de Rythmique). All Dalcroze UK members will now receive the updated digital newsletter that the federation publishes every quarter. Last year Monica Wilkinson, who has been the UK delegate for FIER for two years, decided to step down. We thank Monica Wilkinson very much for her service in this unpaid but important role. Dalcroze UK is currently looking for a new delegate to represent us with FIER and an advertisement will be sent out with the members update and on social media shortly.
Membership rose slightly in the period under review. We have created a new Members area of the website and would welcome more feedback from Members in terms of what they would like to see in the members area (such as forums, resources, links and contacts etc.). Members are encouraged to continue to apply for grants for training and course. In addition to the Zoom café sessions mentioned above, the Society will be organising further and expanded professional development days later in 2021 and in 2022 once we are permitted to meet in person again. These events will be free of charge for members and will take place around the country going forward.
Mediation
The mediation process, facilitated by Charlie Irvine, was concluded with two sessions held over Zoom in the spring – summer of 2020. We thank all members and participants who have helped us as a Board to rebuild trust and cooperation within the Society in the last two years, as we look towards the future.
Company procedures, finances and investments
The accounts for the year 2019-20 have been finalised, approved by the Board and are available to the membership for questions. This has been a difficult year financially for the Society as the value of our investments dropped significantly due to Covid 19 and our usual courses and income streams have again been reduced dramatically. The final position for the year was a deficit of £123k, £101k of which was the investment loss meaning the operating loss was £22k This is a slight worsening from 2018/19 due to loss of income as a result of the pandemic.
Following the losses sustained to the investments, the Board has been discussing how to manage our finances into the future. After taking independent advice from a range of sources, the decision has been made to release some of the capital. This will enable to Society to grow further, reach more people, increase diversity and train more teachers as the original donors intended, while at the same time moving the investments to a lower risk but higher level of management and accountability to secure our reserves and growth for the future.
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In half 20/21 the value of the investments has grown by over £69k so the Board is optimistic that the financial position will improve this year.
Professional development and research
Research
Research in Dalcroze Eurhythmics and by Dalcrozians is growing fast. During 2019 both Diane Daly and Karin Greenhead completed their doctorates, Jacqueline Vann began a Masters and Croydon student Rosalind Ridout embarked on a PhD. (See KG report)
In February 2019 Diane Daly (RNCM alumna who was one of the first RNCM students of Dalcroze in the early 1990s) achieved a doctorate in practice research. Her research focussed on her practice as a violinist and her development as a performing musician through Dalcroze and using movement. Diane teaches at the University of Limerick and directs a Masters programme there. She also plays with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and directs a programme for young musicians from all over the world who have classes in Dalcroze with Diane and use movement in their interpretations of orchestral music. Diane is a Licence candidate on the International Licence Course and has given presentations on her research in Québec (2017) and Geneva (2019).
In November 2019 our Director of Studies, Karin Greenhead, completed her doctoral thesis: “Dynamic rehearsal and Dalcroze Eurhythmics: a phenomenological investigation into participants’’ experiences and their implications for the practice, teaching and learning of music and musical performance”. Following this she was invited to submit a chapter about her methodology for a book to be published by Routledge in December 2019: Phenomenological inquiry in education: Theories, practices, provocations and directions.
Jacqueline Vann began a Masters at Bristol University in September 2019
At the Royal Northern College of Music, a number of students who have taken Dalcroze classes there have applied for or started doctoral research. One of these is Croydon student Rosalind Ridout who has begun an autoethnographic study of her development as a flautist using movement.
Professional development
A number of Certificate holders have expressed the wish to study further. Some of these are keen to start Licence training while others have asked for professional development without necessarily going all the way to a Licence. In response to these requests a Post-Certificate, Pre-Licence programme has been set up. It runs monthly from February to May. Session 3 takes place during the Easter course and is part of it'A great deal of interest was expressed by people living in the UK and overseas forming new links and connections that will be further explored by the board in the near future.
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