Bucks Dance has seen funding upped by £6,000. Derek Suffling reports.

DANCERS in South Bucks will benefit from a huge leap in Arts Council funding.

Southern Arts last week announced average rises of 14 per cent for arts organisations in the southern region.

But Bucks Dance, an umbrella organisation with 375 members in the county, received an inflation-busting 77 per cent increase in core funding, taking its grant for 1999-2000 to more than £14,000; an increase of almost £6,000.

The money will supplement Bucks Dance's £150,000 cash injection from the Government's Lottery Fund, announced a year ago.

The money is being used to fund the Dance Web project, which aims to establish youth dance groups in five districts across Bucks, including Wycombe and Chiltern districts.

Bucks Dance's High Wycombe-based administrator, Judith Munday, says: "We're very pleased. Now we can continue all the good work we've begun. The projects we have in hand will now be secure for another year at least."

Judith says it is too early to confirm which new projects will benefit from the boost in funds, but is optimistic the money will ensure a considerable increase in dance activity around the county.

Attempting to explain the huge increase her organisation has received, Judith adds: "We've experienced a four-year freeze in our funding and now we've had a fairly big leap to compensate for that."

Judith says this year is an exciting time to be involved in dance in the county. Bucks Dance has recently published a new directory, funding levels are high, and the current Swan Dance season at Wycombe Swan is helping to raise the profile of the art form in the county.

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