What good is the sparkle of Strictly if young people in Britain aren’t getting the chance to dance? | Shirley Ballas

Dance is thriving in the private sector, with consistently high numbers of young people participating, but it has all but disappeared in statutory and higher education sectors.

Only 16% of schools currently enter pupils for GCSE dance and entries have declined by 59% since 2008 , to just 6,723 entries in 2024 .

Dance is a statutory part of the PE curriculum in key stage 1 and 2 ( 5-11 years ) but it is frequently not taught.

Shirley Ballas is head judge on BBC ’s Strictly Come Dancing and president of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing .

We want to see every child provided with the opportunity to experience a high-quality dance performance before they reach the end of key stage 3 .

Schools should be supported to connect with dance education experts and institutions.