Greenwich Dance announces closure and staff redundancies
Greenwich Dance has entered redundancy proceedings with staff ahead of expected closure before the end of the year.
Two principle reasons are given: “the shock decision in January this year to completely remove its longstanding Voluntary and Community Sector funding” and “an unsuccessful National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) application to Arts Council England in 2022.”
Further problems then ensured according to the organisation:
“Both significant developments have led to a major destabilisation of an already fragile funding situation, resulting in the loss of further Royal Borough of Greenwich project funds.
“Furthermore, a succession of nine Arts Council England National Lottery Project Fund applications have been rejected, the most recent of which likely due to the Government’s levelling up agenda.”
30 year history
The organisation has been in operation for 30 years and based at the Nest in Thamesmead.
Thousands of people have taken part in dance related classes and activities including the “Dance for Wellbeing class programme, free Summer in the Park festivals, its ArtsUnboxed platform to share dance works across the UK in a sustainable way and the popular Talking Moves podcast which ran for five series.”
Melanie Precious, CEO and Creative Director said: “It is with deep regret that we announce the closure of Greenwich Dance. Ever since the loss of our NPO funding in 2017 we have been consistently navigating financial challenges, but the lack of time we had to adjust to RBG’s withdrawal of funds earlier this year put the organisation into an immediate critical state. Add to that the context of the current political and socio-economic climate and it has simply become impossible to uphold our fundamental mission.
By continually chasing project funding we risk limiting the organisation to whatever it is funded for. We believe in the transformational power of our work and if we are unable to fulfil this ambition then we cannot continue.
“I am proud of everything we have achieved over the last five years. The opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives with our work is what has knitted us all together as a team.
Whilst we are all going through a process of grieving, we’re hoping to find a moment where we can come together to celebrate our considerable achievements and honour everyone who has worked so tirelessly to make Greenwich Dance the incredible organisation it is.”
Martha Oakes, Chair of Greenwich Dance’s Board of Trustees said: “On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Melanie Precious and the incredible team of staff at Greenwich Dance who have made the impossible possible, its dancing communities who have always been at the heart of the organisation, and the support from Trusts and Foundations who have offered a lifeline in recent years.”
The organisations full statement can be seen here.
