Swan Dance under threat

Managing director Mike Ockwell says the Arts Council's decision to withdraw financial help has been "disastrous". The grant, which amounts to £25,000 per year, was used specifically for Swan Dance.

Ockwell says: "The grant provided 0.64 per cent of our annual turnover, which may not seem like much, but it really made such a huge difference to our budget.

"We are fine for this year, but 2009 will be a real problem.

"We will clearly have to do a review of the programme planned for next year."

Wycombe Swan was initially informed of the Arts Council's intention to withdraw funding in December, but immediately appealed.

Ockwell adds: "We believed the first decision was flawed, but the Arts Council upheld it, which is really disappointing.

"The irony is that in the last few years the Arts Council has supported and helped us to develop the education strand into our programme.

"We put down a new dance floor in the Oak Room with the money given to us by the Arts Council and six months ago we brought in our new community dance officer, Maria Ryan, who is a superb practitioner in dance.

"So to lose the funding now is baffling. I think the process was flawed and for the Arts Council to turn around and say our organisation has not fully engaged with its aims is ridiculous."

In recent years, the Arts Council has described Wycombe Swan as a "powerhouse for dance in the south east".

For now the venue will rely on interim funding from the Arts Council England (ACE) South East, the Wycombe District Council and private backers.

Ockwell also adds that Wycombe Swan will look into ways of getting the funds reinstated: "Rest assured, we won't let it lie."

In another blow for Wycombe Swan, £168,000 has been withdrawn from the City of London Sinfonia (CLS), which regularly visits the High Wycombe venue.

The CLS, founded in 1971 by Bucks resident Richard Hickox, also carries out a number of educational projects throughout the county.

These include working with young people in mainstream and special needs education, hospital patients and residents in care homes and hospices.

Chief executive Barry Kempton says he is concerned for the future of the CLS concerts at Wycombe Swan.

"It will have major repercussions on our concert series, although what it means for the next year is still a huge question for us," says Kempton.

"The funding we did receive covered half the costs of bringing the orchestra to venues outside London.

"So far, many people have expressed their disbelief and frustration to us about this situation. It would seem to appear that regional concerts and companies have been worst hit by the funding cuts.

"But there are plenty of people who really appreciate professional, full-scale performances near their homes, rather than having to go into London."

Kempton adds he is frustrated by the Arts Council's apparent lack of explanation as to why the funding was slashed.

He says: "We have been told directly that it's not about the kind of things we are doing, it's not our educational work, it's not about the quality of our work and it's not a penalty against us. So then the question really remains why?"

Stating that the concerts series is "one of the most important pieces of work the CLS does", Kempton says the company will now meet with Wycombe Swan, Wycombe District Council and Orchestras Live to discuss the programme's future.

Across the region, the Anjali Dance Company, which has performed at Wycombe Swan in recent years and whose performers all have learning disabilities, says it is "severely disappointed" its annual £21,000 grant has not been renewed.

Mike Westwood, chair of the company's board of directors, says: "Anjali's work with people with learning disabilities nationally and locally in Oxfordshire is vital and ground-breaking. If ACE wish to support excellence and promote diversity then they couldn't find a better vehicle than Anjali Dance Company."

For now, the company will not face immediate closure, but admits the lost funding is "a significant sum that will be hard to replace".

Meanwhile, the London Mozart Players (LMP), which regularly performs at the Windsor Festival and The Swan, is left facing a £162,000 hole in its budget for the next three years.

Antony Lewis-Crosby, managing director of the LMP, says the company is "absolutely devastated".

He explains: "The Arts Council, over several years, has been building up our grant so that we can perform outside the London area. Then to suddenly have our legs cut away from beneath us has been really worrying.

"We will have to restructure the organisation, but we want to carry on as much as we can. It's work that we all believe in."

Lewis-Crosby adds: "We wasted eight weeks of my life and the orchestra's life dealing with it. Now we just want to get on with what is best for the orchestra."

The local casualties were among the 212 organisations affected nationwide by the Arts Council decision.

Responding to the groups that have not received funding, Chloe Barker from ACE South East says: "The decisions we made were the right ones."

She adds: "To be honest, if an organisation has not received funding, it would be for very particular reasons.

"It's not to do with the size of the company, but rather its impact on the community and how it is performing.

"It's always a difficult decision to make. We have a limited amount of money to give to the arts companies.

"The Arts Council wants to give new organisations the chance to develop and not just support the same ones year after year."

Barker continues: "We also didn't want to give small amounts to lots of organisations.

"We wanted to give to a few that we believe are providing great art and make them really robust."

In contrast to the groups now facing funding cuts, the Arts Council announced a massive cash injection to groups around the region. Overall, £1.4million will be invested in arts companies based in Bucks and £7.7million in Oxfordshire.

Winners from the reallocation include the Oxfordshire Touring Theatre Company, which will receive almost £600,000 and Modern Art Oxford, which over three years, will gain close to £3million.

LOCAL WINNERS

Oxfordshire Touring Theatre Company receives £600,000 over three years

Modern Art Oxford receives close to £3 million over three years

AND THE LOSERS (Losses per year)

Wycombe Swan Dance: £25,000

The City of London Sinfonia: £168,000

The Anjali Dance Company: £21,000

The London Mozart Players: £162,000