Director's Welcome

“The only business of the head in the world is to bow a ceaseless obeisance to the heart” (W B Yeats, writing to Frederick J Gregg from Sligo, 1886)

Welcome to CDMT, the authoritative and up-to-date source of information on the many professional schools, conservatoires and awarding organisations who make up our membership. Together, we share a mission to both advance outstanding artistic performance across dance, drama, and musical theatre, and also secure the highest standards at every level of training, education and assessment in the performing arts. CDMT is proud to celebrate their achievements and those of the students they serve, and the contributions they make to the vibrant and energised sector of which we are all part.

We all know at first hand the powerful impact that experience of the performing arts can unlock for individuals, and their communities, throughout society. Some will, through that exposure, come to see the world differently, undergoing potentially life-changing and mind-expanding transformations. Others will, through dedication and hard work, go on to pursue their passion at the highest level.

In recent years, CDMT’s work has been focussed strongly on advocacy, as we seek to stimulate debate and influence policymaking in the sector. Our hard-hitting report Securing Access to Performing Arts Education for All: Building a Stronger Future makes the case that the power and joy of the performing arts should be open to all, regardless of background, to experience for themselves. Our powerful Manifesto for Performing Arts Education, prepared for Spring 2024 in tandem with the All-Party Parliamentary Group which CDMT convenes, develops the argument further, for an even wider audience.

This is not to ask for charity. As well as improving life outcomes, and giving space to artistic expression of all types, the performing arts industry contributes hugely to the UK economy, and in this context the maintenance of a viable pipeline of talent through to the highest professional levels makes financial, as well as cultural, philosophical and humanitarian sense.

When Yeats called for the “ceaseless obeisance” of the head to the heart in his letter of 1886, he wrote as a young poet, idealistic and headstrong, but he points to a fundamental truth.

It is increasingly part of CDMT’s mission to find the points of resonance between these two distinct sides of artistic activity: the inspirational, aspirational and transformative on the one hand, and the professional, standards-driven and business-oriented on the other. Where head and heart meet, and chime, is where they fuse, uniting to ensure the performing arts are a part of all our lives long into the future, for the good of society as a whole.

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