In partnership with Ausdance NSW and the Sydney Opera House, Ausdance National is holding the 2011 Roundtable for Dance Education in Australian Schools at the Sydney Opera House on 14-15 April 2011.

The DEAS Roundtable is being convened to include teachers and key state and territory delegates who are working with dance education syllabus, curriculum policy and practice. It will include curriculum leaders, officers, writers, inspectors, teachers and researchers working within the K-12 continuum.

The Roundtable aims to provide opportunities for:

• Delegates to become informed about the Australian Curriculum processes, possible resources and support materials for dance in schools;

• The planning of advocacy and lobbying strategies for governments to support dance in Australian schools.

The last DEAS Roundtable was held in 2005. Since then, there have been significant changes in the national education agenda, with the Arts included in Phase 2 of the new Australian Curriculum. With the arts curricula about to enter the writing stage, revisiting the Roundtable will provide an excellent opportunity to review achievements and work through some of the issues that have been raised in the writing of the Shape Paper and the implications for dance education in the new curriculum.

The Roundtable will be facilitated by David Spurgeon. Teachers are invited to attend the first day which, as well as roundtable discussions, will feature a number of presentations, with the Keynote Address by Robert Randall, General Manager, Curriculum. Other speakers include Jeff Meiners, dance writer for the Arts Shape Paper and Early Childhood Lecturer at the University of SA, Dr Katrina Rank, Education and Training Manager, Ausdance Victoria and Helen Cameron, Education Consultant, The Australian Ballet. Day two includes the meeting roundup, group discussion and identification of recommendations and actions for each state and territory, including federal and local actions.

The registration cost for the conference is $150, with registration for teachers attending Day One only at $70.   Places are strictly limited.  Click here for full details and to register.