The National Association of Dance and Mime Animateurs (NADMA) was founded in 1986 to service the needs of professional dance and mime animateurs. It was based in Berkshire. In 1988 the association reviewed their priorities and decided to found the Community Dance and Mime Foundation (CDMF) to "promote and sustain community dance and mime activities at a national strategic level" (quote from a funding application).
A permanent home for the new foundation was found at Leicester Polytechnic through the agency of Mike Huxley, Head of Dance. From September 1989 the CDMF was based in office accommodation at the Polytechnic's Scraptoft Campus. In 1994 the aims of the organisation were reassessed and it was decided to relinquish mime from their brief. To note this change a new name and corporate image were launched, alongside a move away from the Polytechnic to central Leicester offices.
The Foundation for Community Dance (FCD), as it was now known, aimed to position itself as a national development agency and lead body for community dance. It forms a national network providing advice, information and support to members, issuing a newsletter, promoting training, conferences and resources, issuing a Community Dance Directory, supporting the continuing professional development of community dance practitioners, representing the needs of community dance to policy makers, and acting as a facilitator for partnership working.
Despite moving away from the campus, the FCD maintains a knowledge exchange partnership with De Montfort University. They have organised joint symposia and run a series of videoconferences with Arizona State University to discuss comparative approaches to community dance.
From the guide to the Papers of the Foundation for Community Dance and predecessors, 1984-2011, (De Montfort University Archives and Special Collections)
