Innovation in dance education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Innovation in dance education

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Creativity and culture; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

Project goals
This project aims to bring together pupils, teachers and staff from five European dance schools over a two year period. In a structured series of exchanges, we study, discuss and experience the most important aspects of each other’s dance education. We do this in an international context, building upon a successful earlier School Exchange Project (2018-2020).

The main objective for our project is to improve the dance education for our pupils by bridging the divide between classical and contemporary dance. We will specifically focus on three aspects of dance education: 1. Curriculum, 2. Health, 3. Talent Scouting

Adjusting to a changing world of dance.
Dance is an expression of what cannot be put into words and uses a language with body movement as its vocabulary. In the past, classical ballet and modern dance gave their own interpretations of that language. A fundamental shift has been going on in the dance world over the past years: classical ballet and contemporary dance used to be strictly separated, but the dividing lines have become less sharp. Repertoire from contemporary dance is programmed by most classical ballet companies and contemporary dance uses classical ballet techniques as a training method.
As a consequence, dance education also needs to bridge the divide between classical and contemporary dance. We believe in bringing together the best of both worlds in order to give our talented pupils the best preparation for their higher vocational dance education and for their dance careers. They require a changing set of key competences as students, dancers and citizens. This requires innovation of our dance curriculum, new knowledge on how to guide pupils in a healthy way, and scouting for talents that best suit the demands.

Pupils between the age of 15-18 years will participate in the project. During the exchanges there is a combination of learning, social and cultural activities in which all pupils participate. The learning activities consist out of various dance classes as ballet, contemporary, improvisation and repertoire studies. In all classes the visiting and hosting pupils will participate together. Visiting professional performances and companies in the host country and exposure to the local culture will be organised by the hosting partner.

Accompanying teachers will provide lessons and actively coach and guide the pupils during the exchange weeks. Their findings and gained knowledge from observing the challenges of the hosting and visiting pupils in classes will be evaluated during joint staff meetings. These evaluations are of great importance in achieving the main objectives.
Joint staff meetings and a symposium will stimulate full participation, ensure documentation and accelerate incorporation of the learnings into the curricula of the schools. Furthermore, the secretary will manage and document the project progress and outcomes.
The team of lector J. Stubbe (performing arts medicine) will participate in the project to support the dissemination of knowledge, implementation of the research programme and sharing tools and practices.
External workfield partners as Scapino Ballet Rotterdam and choreographers working with the BA Dance and partner school programmes, will be involved during the exchanges. They will work through repertoire studies with the exchange pupils and during engagements provide insights in the relevant professional dance landscape.
Community Arts professionals will be involved in the talent scouting element of the project. Their insights in accessing and engaging with talent in different and sometimes complex socio-economic environments is elementary for the improvement of talent scouting for all partners.

Project outcomes
We expect to gain valuable insights by studying and discussing these three topics during our exchanges. These lessons learned can then be used to improve the technique and artistry in our dance programs, expand our knowledge on health related subjects and adds strategies for talent scouting. In addition, the participating pupils experience and learn from international differences in dance education and experiencing the international competition. The participating teachers get the opportunity to reflect on teaching methods and can discuss the various aspects of dance education with their peers. Focus will be on the dissemination of the project results, within the schools by involving all pupils and teachers, joint staff meetings, a midterm summit and a closing symposium. Dissemination of the results in curricula will focus on outreach towards other professional dance programs. Results on health will be shared with the world of sports. Talent scouting will be developed and disseminated in close connection with the field of community dance. And finally, the project will contribute to a European network of dance schools.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 130824 Eur

Project Coordinator

Stichting voor Interconfessioneel en Algemeen Bijzonder voortgezet onderwijs te Rotterdam e.o. & Country: NL

Project Partners

• Lycée International de Valbonne
• Escola Artística de Dança do Conservatório Nacional
• Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza Mariemma
• Sukromne konzervatorium, Zadielska 12, Kosice