2. The Chicken, the Egg, and Keeping Momentum

I’ve had a much-needed Christmas break. Time to reset, shake off the January blues and, if I’m honest, let go of some of the frustration that built up towards the end of last year while trying to get things moving following the completion of the Liverpool Dances report.

As I shared in my previous update, I began setting up meetings with local and national bodies to talk through the findings and the opportunities they present.

Progress has been slower than I would have liked, but I have had a number of conversations. The ones that have taken place so far have been thoughtful, encouraging and, at times, frustrating in equal measure.

The positive takeaway is that there is broad agreement that the evidence in the Liverpool Dances report clearly demonstrates the gaps, the need and the opportunity for change. There is support, in principle, to do something with it.

Where things become more difficult is in moving from agreement to commitment.

The next logical step is to develop a fuller, more detailed plan. Writing a credible, multi-year business plan takes time, expertise and resource. While it is work I am capable of doing, I never set out for the research to lead automatically to me having to write a full plan alone. In most cases, funding is required to pay someone to do this work properly, whether that person is me or someone else.

Like many in the sector, I am balancing this work alongside earning a living. If a third party were brought in to develop a plan, there would be a cost, and it would not be insignificant. This is where the familiar chicken-and-egg problem emerges: you need a plan to unlock funding, but you need funding to write the plan.

It’s a situation that can easily stall momentum. And that has been the most frustrating part. Initial support and enthusiasm have been expressed, but without resource attached, progress risks slowing at exactly the point where clarity and commitment are most needed.

So rather than allowing this impasse to bring things to a halt, I’ve decided to spend time where I can beginning to build a business plan myself. It is unpaid, and it is not ideal, but this isn’t about me. It’s about what the sector needs. If momentum slows at this stage, there’s a real risk that the opportunity simply disappears.

My aim over the next few months is to develop a working plan. Something robust enough to outline what a lead dance organisation for Liverpool could realistically look like: its purpose, its role, the programmes it would deliver, and the conditions needed to make it sustainable.

It’s about keeping momentum alive, creating something tangible to respond to, and demonstrating intent. Plans can evolve, be challenged and improved. Silence and stasis are much harder to work with.

Momentum matters. And right now, keeping it moving feels more important than waiting for perfect conditions.