"Belfast MET to close Performing Arts Courses

DEL have conspired with Belfast MET to sacrifice Performing Arts Courses because they want rid of the Tower Street... site in East Belfast – they have nowhere to put the 120 students and 20 staff (Full and part-time) so they are choosing to close the hugely successful courses that have taken many years to establish.

These courses allow young people particularly those from less wealthy backgrounds who haven’t the support or finance to get to drama or dance schools beyond these shores access to the arts.

Although the aged building has evolved from Rupert Stanley College – to Belfast Institute – to Belfast Met – performing arts made a home for itself and despite difficult conditions and only modest support a dedicated staff created a specialised unit adapting and creating substantial facilities and a theatre .

East Belfast is earmarked for regeneration – the young people on these courses had a big part to play - where is the strategic thinking?

The traditional occupations like beauty therapy – childcare – hairdressing – woodworking etc were moved out of the building many years ago and have been given new homes in Titanic Quarter. The message is very clear – we in the working classes don’t qualify for access to the Arts – you have to be Benedict Cumberbatch and a product of Harrow or Eddie Redmayne of Eton and get to posh Drama Schools to work in the arts – we need to know our place and train for the jobs we’ve always trained for – is that where the aspirations of our young people must lie?

Bangor is good but it is not an alternative – they were already oversubscribed and North Down grew from specialist Music not acting/dance – the Theatres – the theatre companies - the dance companies are in Belfast - the major transport links are to Belfast – this is the arts being taken away from those who most need access to it.

• 9 classes on 5 courses presently
• 120 current students
• Tiered courses so this years applicants from National Diploma can’t
now proceed to Higher National diploma 2 year course and then top up a degree at queens in one year
• Students are now too late for UCAS and will have to try clearing but performing arts courses are already oversubscribed by this time

5 courses :
• Level 2 (equivalent to GCSE)
• Extended Diploma in Performing Arts acting specialism (equivalent to 3 x A’Levels)
• Extended Dip in Performing Arts (Dance)
• Higher National Diploma in Performing Arts (Acting) equivalent to 1st year of degree
• Higher National Diploma in Performing Arts (Dance)

They have the capacity for 150 students. They have been told DEL will no longer fund Performing Arts at Belfast Met and that SERC's Bangor campus will be the 'centre of excellence' - they currently have capacity for 50 students which they fill. The potential 120-150 students that enrol will have nowhere to go.

Staff: 20 in total: 10 permanent and 10 part time.

Many of the young people progress into the business and those who don’t go on to be be better at whatever career path they choose to take. This was the nearest thing we had to a drama school and now its being crushed along with the hopes and dreams of the young people who could have accessed it.

Dan Gordon

Alumni

Sean Kearns – Billy Elliot/Commitments/39 Steps
Gary Mitchell – Playwright
Julie Renoylds – Actress
Chris Corrigan – Actor The Fall/Doctors
Zara Turner – Sliding Doors
Helen Sloan – Photographer - Game of Thrones
Colin Morgan – Merlin/Testement of Youth
Des Kennedy – Director on ONCE the musical West-end
Finn Kennedy – Writer

Those who have stayed and worked locally

Paul Bosco McEneaney – Cahoots NI – Award winning children’s Theatre Company founder – winner of countless awards

Michael Lennox – Film Director (Oscar Nominated short film this year)
Finn Kennedy – Writer
Christina Nelson – actress
Kerri Quinn – actress
Patrick O’Reilly – Actor – Stewart Parker Award winner - graduate of Paris Ecole Jacques Lecoq
Mary Tumelty
David Quinn – actor - graduate of Paris Ecole Jacques Lecoq
Gemma Ni Halligan - actress
Ross McDade – Musician – singer - actor -
Hugh Brown Musician – Actor
Catherine McNally – Actress – singer
Louise Bryans – Stage Manager
Eleesha Drennan – Dancer (Diversions)
Shane McKeever (world Dance winner)
Georgie Kee (choreographer /producer of Tattoo)"