The establishment of a south-east dance centre, a city youth orchestra and a brass quintet are among the key policy objectives of a draft arts development plan for Waterford.
The four-year strategy, drawn up by Waterford Corporation's arts office, also sets out potential objectives for the new forum of artistic directors in the city, which is to hold its first meeting in the new year.
Agreement on setting up the fo rum, which will enable arts bodies in the city to pool resources and ideas, was reached at a public meeting of artistic managers and directors last month.
The draft development plan, which has been circulated to arts bodies in the city for further consultation before it is formally adopted next year, suggests the forum could lead to major improvements in the way the arts are structured and marketed in Waterford.
Key developments could include the setting up of a single electronic box office for the city, a new Waterford cultural/arts marketing company, a monthly or quarterly south-east arts magazine and a properly maintained Internet site for Waterford arts.
The forum, the plan says, is a brave step which will require careful negotiation and "well thought-out criteria". "It will also eradicate the traditional position where vertical thinking has dominated to date. An integrated approach which mutually supports the arts in the city will offer the best long-term benefit."
Apart from the forum, the draft plan sets out a number of policy objectives which are described as a natural follow-on from the 1996-1999 arts development plan.
A "logical and serious" long-term goal should be the setting up of a brass quintet, it says. An ensemble "of world -class renown" based in Waterford would help raise the city's national and international profile as a centre of culture.
The establishment of a south-east dance centre is a "major cultural long-term initiative" based on local needs. The centre would concentrate on contemporary dance while continuing the work of existing ballet classes.
"At present, Waterford-based outstanding dancers are all forced to work abroad and a south-east dance centre would redress this situation."
It is surprising, the plan suggests, that with a thriving musical life in Waterford at all age levels, a youth orchestra has not been established.
Almost every major town in Ireland has a youth orchestra, it points out, and in Waterford the situation is to be addressed through a partnership of the Association of Irish Youth Orchestras, the music school at Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford Corporation and the recently established Waterford Summer Orchestra.
Annual theatre-training workshops for drama groups and musical societies, a rehearsal and workshop space to be shared by arts organisations and the development of a cultural marketing strategy for Waterford are also proposed in the plan, which will be discussed by arts groups at a public consultation meeting on January 20th.
