Every dancer deserves the chance to move, create, perform and dream. The story of the Kate Stanforth Academy of Arts is a powerful reminder that inclusion should never be an afterthought.

Dance has the power to bring people together. It can build confidence, encourage creativity, nurture friendships and give people a sense of freedom. Yet, for many disabled people, accessing dance opportunities remains far more difficult than it should be.

A recent BBC News report, published on 24 October 2026, highlighted the challenges facing the Kate Stanforth Academy of Arts, a disabled-led dance school in Northumberland that is fighting to secure its future amid rising costs and a lack of funding.

The academy’s story is about much more than money. It is about opportunity, belonging and the importance of making the arts accessible to everyone.

Turning a personal challenge into an opportunity for others

Kate Stanforth established her inclusive dance academy during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. What began with free online classes grew into a community that has supported more than 500 dancers with a wide range of disabilities and access requirements.

After becoming disabled at the age of 14, Stanforth believed that her own dancing journey might be over. Having started ballet at just two years old, she had professional ambitions, but the barriers she encountered made her question whether there was still a place for her in the dance world.

Eventually, she returned to the studio and discovered that dance did not have to follow the traditional rules she had always been taught.

That experience helped shape her approach to inclusive dance: creating opportunities that recognise dancers’ abilities, individuality and creativity rather than limiting them by conventional expectations.

Today, Stanforth is also a resident dance artist at Great Ormond Street Hospital and has worked with organisations including The Royal Ballet School.

Her work demonstrates what can happen when someone turns personal experience into meaningful change for others.

Accessibility should not be a luxury

One of the most important aspects of the academy is its commitment to keeping classes affordable. Stanforth understands that many disabled people already face additional financial pressures, so she has deliberately kept prices discounted.

However, delivering genuinely inclusive dance comes with costs that are often overlooked.

Accessible venues can be expensive to hire. Travel arrangements and specialist equipment can add further financial pressure. Meanwhile, keeping classes affordable means that the academy cannot simply pass all those costs on to its dancers.

Online classes have helped the academy reach people who might otherwise be excluded, regardless of where they live or what access requirements they have. But Stanforth also wants to expand in-person opportunities, allowing dancers to connect, learn and create together in a shared space.

The challenge is clear: how can an organisation make its services accessible to the people who need them while covering the real cost of delivering those services?

This is a question that extends well beyond dance. Community organisations working to improve accessibility often face the same dilemma. Their work creates enormous social value, but the funding available does not always reflect what it takes to deliver it.

Why inclusive dance matters

It is easy to think of dance simply as a performance art. In reality, its benefits can reach much further.

For some people, dance offers a way to express emotions that are difficult to put into words. For others, it provides an opportunity to develop confidence, explore movement, meet people with shared experiences and feel part of a community.

Inclusive dance also challenges outdated assumptions about who can be a dancer and what a dancer’s body should look like.

A wheelchair does not remove someone’s ability to express themselves through movement. A disability does not erase artistic ambition. And a different way of moving does not make a performance any less meaningful.

When disabled dancers are given the right opportunities, they can develop their skills, explore their creativity and pursue professional ambitions.

Just as importantly, they deserve the chance to participate simply because they love dancing.

Not every dancer needs to aspire to a professional career. Sometimes the greatest achievement is rediscovering a passion, finding joy in movement or realising that there is still a place for you in something you thought you had lost.

That is why inclusive dance should not be viewed as an optional extra. It is part of creating an arts sector in which everyone has the opportunity to participate.

A £20,000 fundraising challenge

According to the BBC report, the Kate Stanforth Academy of Arts is seeking to raise £20,000 to help it continue operating.

For a community interest company, securing sustainable funding can be particularly challenging. Demand for its services does not automatically translate into sufficient income to cover the costs.

The academy’s situation highlights the need for greater recognition of the resources required to make accessibility a reality.

It also raises an important question for funders, businesses and the wider arts sector: if inclusive arts programmes make such a difference to people’s lives, how can we ensure that they are supported for the long term?

Potential solutions include grants for disability-led organisations, partnerships with arts institutions, corporate sponsorship, community fundraising and longer-term funding arrangements that recognise the additional costs of accessibility.

Funders should also consider the value of investing in organisations led by disabled people themselves. Their lived experience can help identify barriers that others might overlook and shape services around the needs of the communities they serve.

Sustainable support would not only help individual organisations survive. It would help create a stronger, more inclusive arts landscape for future generations.

How can we help?

There are practical ways for individuals and organisations to support inclusive dance.

1. Raise awareness. Share stories about inclusive arts initiatives and help more people understand why accessible opportunities matter.

2. Support fundraising. If you are able to contribute, consider donating through the academy’s official website or sharing its fundraising appeal with others.

3. Encourage local partnerships. Arts venues, schools, businesses and community organisations can explore ways to provide accessible spaces, equipment, expertise or financial support.

4. Rethink accessibility. Organisations can review their own activities and ask whether disabled people can participate meaningfully, rather than assuming that existing arrangements are suitable for everyone.

5. Listen to disabled artists. Include disabled people in decisions about programming, funding and access. Inclusion works best when people help shape the opportunities intended for them.

You can learn more about the Kate Stanforth Academy of Arts and explore its work through its official website.

Building a future where every dancer belongs

The story of the Kate Stanforth Academy of Arts reminds us that talent and ambition exist everywhere, but opportunities do not.

When access barriers prevent people from participating in dance, society loses more than individual performances. It loses creativity, perspectives, relationships and the chance to see what people can achieve when they are given the right support.

Stanforth’s journey shows how a difficult personal experience can become the foundation for something that benefits an entire community. But dedication alone cannot cover venue hire, equipment, travel and the other costs involved in making dance genuinely accessible.

That responsibility must be shared.

Arts organisations, funders, businesses, public bodies and local communities all have a role to play in ensuring that inclusive dance is not dependent on constant financial uncertainty.

Every dancer deserves to have their ambitions taken seriously. Every artist deserves the opportunity to develop their craft. And every person should be able to experience the joy of movement without unnecessary barriers standing in their way.

Dance belongs to everyone. Now we need to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to take part.

Source: BBC News, “Plea for funding for popular disabled dance school”, published 24 October 2026. This blog post is an independently written commentary based on the supplied report.