Many aspiring Irish dance and choreography students have to leave the country to find the kind of professional training they need. Christine Madden assesses the state of dance education and finds a glimmer of hope

When Anthony Quinn experiences a fever of hope and exuberance in the middle of the film named after his character, Alexis Zorbas, he flummoxes his boss Basil by dashing to the beach in the middle of the night and dancing madly until he collapses on the sand. In absolute contrast to his temperate, educated English friend and employer, he revels in the surging of life from moment to moment and, in way of explanation for his impetuous behaviour, asks Basil, "What can a man do when he is full - burst?"

Dance - impassioned physical movement - is the first, most elemental human expression of how we experience being alive. We grow to learn the other arts - how to read, interpret and manipulate them - but dance is there from the beginning, as infants begin to explore the joy and power of moving. Yet, barring the popular success of shows like Riverdance, this art form has received scant attention in our society, a wallflower among other genres such as theatre, literature, music and the visual arts.

In recent years, however, this art form has grown in status and popularity, enabling Ireland to host its first International Dance Festival in May. For the first time, the Arts Act 2002-2006 has numbered dance among other the other arts, and choreographers can become members of Aosdána.

Basking in the first light of its hard-won recognition, the dance sector now faces a greater hurdle if it is to develop beyond this point. As with any other performing art, the early inclination to dance must be supported by a dedicated system of education to fulfil its initial promise. And Ireland is sadly lacking in such educational systems and support, particularly given the unique requirements of dance training.

Dance education is "the single biggest issue" facing the arts in Ireland at the moment says Gaye Tanham, dance officer at the Arts Council. "Dance is the least well served of the arts through our education system."

Becoming a dancer places unique emphasis on an early start, more so than any other art. Writers, visual artists, even musicians can take up their instruments and learn them with advanced age. But because a dancer's artistic medium is their body, as in sport, it is imperative that prospective dancers begin in their early teens. Good dancing requires regular training and proper body development throughout childhood, particularly during adolescence and the teenage years, and can never be replicated thereafter. "From the age of 12, things kick in for dance," Tanham explains. "The years from age 12 to 18 are crucial."

In the revised primary school curriculum, dance is taught as part of the physical education syllabus. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment is currently developing a new syllabus for physical education, and "dance would figure significantly in the non-exam cycle in the junior syllabus, with a similar status in the senior cycle", says John Hammond, assistant chief executive of the NCCA. It is currently looking at the possibility of including physical education as a Leaving Cert subject: this would present the first occasion in which dance was included as part of an exam subject with a performance test.

But this, while positive, isn't enough to provide the focused training young dancers need to become professionals. "Students need to be introduced to dance through the education structures at primary and secondary levels," asserts Emma Richardson, managing director of the Association of Professional Dancers in Ireland.

"Kids need to explore dance to see if they want to pursue it as a career." And it should be explored on its own terms, as an art form concentrating on polish and performance, not competition. "You don't come out of Swan Lake asking who won," says Tanham.

Most dance education necessarily takes place as private tuition outside school - for those fortunate enough to have the financial backing to afford it. And this lack continues through third level.

AT present, there are no colleges of professional dance on this island. Students can enrol in independent schools providing two-year foundation level dance courses here, but these can only prepare them for entry into a professional performing arts college. And while the University of Limerick offers an internationally respected masters programme in dance, professional courses currently exist only in private institutions outside Ireland.

Since 1977, the Arts Council has awarded financial assistance to a number of dance students studying abroad, but these will be phased out over the next two years. "They're just not a good way to fund dance education," explains Tanham. "They're competitive and unreliable - a student might get a bursary one year but not the next," which would disrupt their training. For committed, goal-orientated study, students are better served by scholarships and education grants, which the Arts Council cannot provide.

"The Arts Council is not an education authority," says Tanham. "If there had been education grants in place, our role would have been different."

Currently, there are no State sources of funding and support to pick up the slack. "We want the Department of Education to put funding in place for dancers to study abroad," says Richardson. "People have the idea that dance is elitist or posh. In fact, dancers generally live on the poverty line. A career as a dancer is not a luxury, it's a struggle."

Apart from the fact that most hopeful dance students find it prohibitively difficult - if not impossible - to finance three years of education abroad, this also takes young Irish talent out of the country and there is little to coax them back. Because there are only a handful of professional companies in the Republic, Irish dancers often stay away where opportunities await them, adding to the talent drain.

Despite the example of the success of Riverdance in promoting Irish dance and culture abroad, little has been undertaken to alleviate this situation as yet. "Dancers support the State, but the State doesn't support its dancers," complains Rionach Ní Néill, who performs in Ireland but has recently accepted a position abroad with the Bremen Tanztheater.

Even when the controversial Irish Academy of Performing Arts is established, explains Richardson, mainstream education in Ireland doesn't prepare students wishing to apply for dance study there.

Providing proper and thorough training is the first and most important step to creating the atmosphere and foundation for dance to flourish. When the idea of the New York City Ballet was proposed to George Balanchine, he responded: "First we must have a school."

Many established dance companies throughout the world foster schools which feed into their troupes.

Paris Conservatory Dance School, which toured Ireland in the spring, demonstrated the success of such an arrangement.

"The Paris Conservatory school is a model for what we should have here," says Richardson. "In an ideal world, dance should be supported by the State at all levels. And students should be able to study here or have the option to go abroad."

To draw attention to the gap between what dance education is needed and what is provided in Ireland, the APDI staged a "Dance on the Dáil" on May 14th. Dancers and choreographers from all over Ireland performed and held class in the rain to focus public awareness on this issue, and to present a petition with more than 2,300 signatures to the departments of education and arts. The APDI hopes that, with the resumption of normal Dáil business in the autumn, its pleas will be answered.

Taking the boat - one dance student's story

The dance bug bit student Kate Doherty when she was three, and she never looked back.

"I decided at age three that I wanted to dance. I've been dancing for 15 years now."

She started at a small ballet school in Greystones and moved on to Cynthia O'Dúnlaing's ballet school in Bray. Her talent and commitment eventually opened the door for her to join the Irish National Youth Ballet when she was in sixth class.

Luckily, she made contact with someone from Florida State University in the US, and was able to spend transition year dancing with its company from 1999-2000.

"It's not an opportunity I could have had here - there isn't any third level dance education."

She returned to Ireland to do her Leaving Cert. But with no possibility of studying in this country, she will be leaving again to pursue her training at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds.

"I got a place in the London Studio Centre, but it would have cost £10,000 a year, and I didn't get any grants or scholarships, so I couldn't go. The Northern School has awarded me a scholarship, so I only have to pay the college fees, which come to £1,000." Her acceptance letter indicates that her scholarship has been funded by the UK government.

Although the Northern School can give Doherty comparable training to the London Studio Centre, the latter, as a performing arts school, also offers drama, jazz and singing.

"I would like to branch out into performing arts. I can audition again next year for a scholarship. But it's a pity that I have to leave the country - my friends are all going to Dublin to study, and I have to go to Leeds."

In the future, Doherty would like to set up a company of her own - or, failing that, teach.

"There are quite a few contemporary dance companies out there, and I don't know if there would be any more money available in the future.

"These are my dreams, but I don't know how I'm going to go about realising them. I've received an awful lot of support - just no money. But I love dancing. I will do anything I can to be the best."