Director's Welcome

Welcome to CDMT, the authoritative source of information about the professional schools, conservatoires and awarding organisations with whom we share a mission for advancing outstanding artistic performance across dance, drama, and musical theatre.

We are proud to showcase the achievements of our members, and to highlight the ways in which CDMT has worked to support them in our shared endeavour of providing the highest standards at every level of training, education and assessment in the performing arts – a vibrant and energised pipeline leading ultimately, for some, to industry-standard vocational courses and a fulfilling career.

With Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) at the forefront of our thinking, we also support our members as they strive to enable everyone, regardless of background or economic circumstance, to access progression routes in dance, drama and musical theatre that are at once reliable and inspirational, and to experience the wider benefits, indeed the joy, that engagement in the arts brings to individuals and communities.

In the challenging economic context we are all currently experiencing, CDMT, enhanced by its work with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) will pursue its advocacy activities ever vigorously, seeking to secure ongoing government support at all stages of teaching and learning in the performing arts. We will also work to sustain and enhance the profile of the exceptional institutions and organisations it is our privilege to serve, connecting a new generation of students with the incredible opportunities available to them, whilst securing the underpinning standards that turn those opportunities into a solid foundation from which to build a rewarding and financially sustainable career.

For CDMT it has been another year of change. We moved our office from Covent Garden to Salters’ Hall, just a short walk away from the thriving artistic hub of the Barbican Centre. We have been proud and delighted to welcome our new chair, Baroness Wilcox of Newport, who brings a wealth of experience in the performing arts and education, as well her role as Shadow Spokesperson for Education. We also take the opportunity to thank our outgoing chair Roger Bramble DL sincerely for his enormous contribution to the organisation, and to the sector more widely.

Now more than ever, and learning as we all continue to do from the opportunities and challenges thrown up by rapidly changing working practices and new ways of communicating, CDMT stands ready to deliver according to the needs and aspirations of the sector, its institutions, and the young people populating them. Together, we all make an enormous contribution to the sustainability and international profile of the UK creative industries – a vital contribution CDMT will continue to advocate and support with vigour and imagination in the year to come.

Glyndwr Jones
Director
The Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre