The Council for Dance Education and Training is the national standards body of the professional dance and musical theatre industry

Our quality assurance programme:

• accredits professional training programmes in vocational dance and musical theatre schools
• validates the qualifications of Dance Awarding Organisations
• awards a mark of recognition (Recognised Schools) to dance and musical theatre schools working with students under the age of sixteen that can provide evidence to demonstrate they meet nine basic standards of professional practice

We also:

• offer a comprehensive and free information service (Answers for Dancers) to students, parents, teachers, dance artists and employers on all aspects of dance education and training.
• hold the Register of Dance Awarding Bodies — the directory of teaching societies whose syllabuses have been inspected and approved by the Council

Founded in 1979, The Council is a membership organisation governed by the Dance and Education Training Board (DETB). The Board delegates specialist responsibility to one of six designated sub-committees

• the Accreditation Board
• the Schools Committee
• the Conference of Professional Dance Schools
• the Awarding Bodies Committee
• the Corporate Members Committee
• the Student Consultative Committee

Each committee meets four times a year to address issues relevant to its constituency and in turn reports back to the DETB. The wide ranging programme of Council continuing professional development initiatives is developed in consultation with its membership and is designed to meet its identified needs.

Membership of the Council is available to qualifying organisations and individuals in the dance world. Contact us for details.