Berlin Dance Institute
3-year contemporary dance education programme
Rooted in a culture that supports and inspires the ever-evolving artistic voice, Berlin DANCE Institute offers a comprehensive, demanding and exceptionally creative 3-year dance education programme. We have a faculty of outstanding teachers, many of whom are also performing artists, plus an extensive range of international gues
t choreographers and teachers, who thoroughly prepare our students for a career in dance. Our 3-year contemporary dance education programme is focused on developing an all-around adaptable dance artist, with exemplary technical, choreographic and performance skills, which will ensure a career in the dance world. Through highly intensive, studio based learning, our core curriculum includes the relevant techniques to build a dance artist, such as Cunningham and Graham based modern and a variety of contemporary styles, which are supported by Classical Ballet, Floor Barre/Body Conditioning, Pilates, Yoga and Partnering as well as Coaching. The curriculum is supplemented with guest lecturers who provide additional compatible classes in Flying Low and Gaga for example. Our versatile range of classes set the foundation for our students to understand individual physicality and its capacity for movement. An essential aspect of dance technique is to build coordinative, sensory and physical skills as well as developing a solid sense of precision, placement and alignment. Our approach at BDI is grounded in the assumption that creative investigation and contextual understanding are paramount to the training of dance artists. Your creative and individual development is a critical component to your advancement and our faculty will nurture your artistic development. Throughout the 3-year educational programme this is continuously sustained with intensive movement research through improvisation, contact improvisation, composition and choreography. At BDI you are recognised as an individual, your creative skills will enable you to delve quickly into a dance community where students are constantly inspiring and learning from one another. This creative process gives you the opportunity to enhance your artistic and creative potential. It is imperative that our students understand the connection between technical training, creative investigation and performance. Our programme is strengthened through the extensive opportunities to gather stage experience and further your performance skills. We offer a variety of semester works, performance seasons and outreach projects which boosts our student’s ability to develop their dance voice, and bring choreographic ideas to fruition. In addition, Repertoire classes encourage our students to focus analysis and embody a wide range of choreographic movement. You are also encouraged to collaborate with fellow students to create your own dance studies. Essential to this approach is a constant flow of guest choreographers who are able to present a multitude of choreographic methods and styles. Completed performance projects are presented in house as well as in other performance spaces in and around Berlin. Independent research, company apprentices and undertaking teaching or leadership roles are encouraged. An independent project is an essential component in your final year. This involves both theoretical and practical research, which leads to a written dissertation and the performance of a choreographed work. Our theoretical courses include anatomy/Injury prevention, nutrition, dance history, music theory, audition preparation and cultural and financial management. Throughout the 3-year education programme your focus will be to immerse yourself in the technical, choreographic and performance process as you start to amass the individual and professional skills imperative to achieve your goal of becoming a successful and resilient dance artist. Berlin DANCE Institute is based in heart of the bustling city where you will find yourself immersed in a hub for independent contemporary dance, perfectly located to explore all the cultural highlights on offer at Berlins 44 theatres, as well as galleries, museums, cinemas and markets. BDI can show you the endless possibilities that dance encompasses. We welcome inventive, creative and enquiring individuals from all nationalities and backgrounds who are inspired and curious about finding their artistic voice.
