The dance programme undertakes collaborations with the other departments of the Conservatoire for interdisciplinary projects and with art campus deSingel for workshops, lectures, performances and meetings with artists who perform in deSingel.
Next to the regular classes given by the staff team, the programme invites choreographers and guest teachers from the actual working field on a regular basis. Recent collaborations were set up with Jan Martens, Anton Lachky, Tijen Lawton, Tony Vezich, Maria (Masha) Kolegova, Inaki Azpillaga, Navala (Niku) Chaudari, Filip Van Huffel, Helder Seabra, Daniel Linehan, Renan Martins de Oliveira, Agostina D’Allesandro, Tuur Marinus, Claire Croizé, Jos Baker, Marta Coronado, Liza Penkova, David Hernandez, Ricardo Ambrozio, Lisi Esteras, Adam Benjamin, Said Gharbi, Leif Firnhaber, Vera Tussing a.o.
For repertoire and workshops, the programme collaborates with the companies Eastman-Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Peeping Tom- Gabriela Carrizo, Franck Chartier, Ultima Vez-Wim Vandekeybus, Rosas- Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker a.o.
The programme encourages and supports students to develop their own creative voice and artistic identity as a dance artist. Improvisation, composition and choreography are important pillars within the curriculum.
Productions are created together with artists from the professional field and in dialogue with the students. Each year group works intensively with a choreographer and the pieces are shown in the theatres of the Conservatoire, deSingel and beyond. There are several times of presentation during the year.
Own work gets attention in choreography lessons. In the second bachelor year, students create a site-specific solo for themselves in which they are inspired by the many spaces in and around the art campus.
In the third bachelor year, students create a group work for fellow students from the first and second bachelor. In addition, they create a final solo for themselves, wherein the collaboration with a composer and musician is a central element for both the creation process and the execution. During these work processes the students are guided individually.
During one week during the academic year, all students of the conservatoire get the opportunity to work together on their own, process-oriented and interdisciplinary projects. The week is separate from the curriculum or any form of assessment and focuses mainly on the exchange between the dance, theatre and music students and the interdisciplinary dialogue and cooperation.
Since 2014 inclusive dance practice has become an official part of the curriculum. Students of the dance programme and guest dancers with a physical or mental disability have classes together, do research, exchange, make performances and learn from each other. The project includes a labo-research group, a summer school at art campus deSingel and a yearly symposium with workshops, performances, debates, collaborations with international teachers and artists who are engaged in the social artistic working field and the integrated dance practice.
In 2018, the journalism students at the AP Hogeschool made a documentary for the Inclusive Dance Festival. Click here to watch the video.