Destino is a circular story of the transformative power of the performing arts, in this specific case, contemporary dance.  It plots the course of two school-age boys earning a living on the streets of Addis Ababa, who, with no preconceptions, join a community dance project, where the magic of dance transforms them and fills them with the determination to become professional dancers.

Today, in their new roles,  Junaid Jemal Sendi and Addisu Demissie perform three works.  First is a sensitive, masculine duet, ‘A holding space’, demonstrating the interdependence of the two men as they struggle to achieve independence and freedom from their imposed or self-imposed prison.  Second is a sextet showing the fragility of manhood in a frenetic, rocking, street context, ‘The Empire’s Fall’.  For the third piece, the dancers bring a community dance project to the schools, senior dance classes, conservatoires and young offender institutions near Sadler’s Wells.  In ‘Full Circle’, performers range from nine to ninety, are there by choice, by being chosen or by compulsion; some with, others without dance experience. 140 performers running hell-for-leather in two giant spirals waving red scarves is both exciting and energising for the audience and also demonstrates the practiced precision and trust that developed between the inter-generational performers.  To complete the cycle, Junaid Jemal Sendi and Addisu Demissie developed another community project to work with 50 young people in Addis Ababa, 11 of them disabled, some in wheelchairs, in a dance called ‘Wekt - The Seasons’.  The physical, intellectual and emotional commitment of the dancers was tangible in their every cell during the performance and the huge smiles and whoops of joy afterwards were uplifting.

The cities of London and Addis Ababa were shown to be so similar yet contrasting.  Interviews revealed similar levels of background traffic, low-rent rehearsal spaces and prestigious performance venues.  Yet, children face death everyday on the streets of Addis.  Although commonplace, ‘disability is misunderstood in Ethiopia’.  This was the first time disabled performers had taken to the Ethiopian National Theatre’s stage in Addis.

In the panel discussion after the film, Dr Tiffany Jenkins steered the discussion skilfully to find points between the false dichotomy of art for art’s sake vs publicly funded art for community improvement.  Nobody present failed to observe the self-actualising and transforming power of participation in such projects, however, the dichotomy raised its ugly head several times with the admission that publically funded projects need to be justified by having their beans counted because those are the rules the politicians have made.  Alan Davey expressed a desire for arts organisations to be cleverer at self-justification.  Perhaps, as Chief Executive of Arts Council England, he could write a short briefing paper how arts projects can avoid the enforced diversity monitoring.  After all, it is the arts Council itself that is required to represent the diversity of the nation.  Projects in monochrome towns are valid too, surely?

Two evenings later, on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, some useful statistics came to light in support of maintaining funding for the arts.  The total UK arts budget costs only 17p per person per week.  A pound of government grant withdrawn from the arts will result in £2 of lost income to London.  The regions would suffer £6 of lost income for the loss of the same £1. The prestigious RSC has maximised its ability to gain philanthropic funds and is unlikely to squeeze any more from an age of austerity.  How will less prestigious community projects make up their lost government funding?  Reducing spending on the arts is a false saving.  Arts bring jobs, kudos, tourism and money to a region.  The RSC draws in £58m to the Midlands from just £15m in subsidy. Dance United (partners in the Destino project) worked with 33 young offenders for 6 hours a day, over 12 weeks, as part of their community sentences and prevented eight of them from reoffending.  According to a recent Guardian article, for every person who doesn’t reoffend, £82,000 of public expenditure is saved.

In the general discussion at the RSA, unanimous support for art projects and arts funding in general, was unsurprisingly offered.  What was unexpected, though, was a teacher from one of the Euston schools involved in the project, who expressed his initial scepticism.  10 girls were chosen to take part because they were persistently disruptive in class, unmotivated, unpleasant, on-track for permanent exclusion.  Watching them rehearse, he saw them develop self-awareness, trust in others and empathy, stillness and a sense of achievement.  For the first time in many years, they completed something they started.  Their bad attitude changed to a positive one.  Their places, roles and standing in society and understanding of society have changed.  They have become part of their community and remained in school where they sat their GCSE exams this summer.

Art for art’s sake?  Money: for God’s sake.  Who will fund the arts in future?

Destino on YouTube.