The genesis of ArtEZ School of Dance can be traced back to Winja Marova, who set up a private dance school in Arnhem before World War Two. Audrey Hepburn was one of the pupils. The Arnhem Dance School subsequently acquired an official status in 1968. By the 1980s, it had become a part of the Arnhem Institute of the Arts.

 

At first, it was housed in Arnhem city centre before moving in 2004 to a splendid, underground building, which was designed by the architect Hubert Jan Henket. The School initially had a classical bias. When Hlíf Svavarsdóttir took over in 1991, slowly but surely it was transformed into a dance institute that specialised in the contemporary field. In 2000,the School merged with the EDDC: the European Dance Development Center. This caused a great deal of controversy because it entailed uniting differing philosophies within a single organisation. But finally that produced something extraordinary. These diverse points of view enriched our courses and ensured their continued development.

 

With the advent of Gaby Allard in 2006, the emphasis on today’s demanding contemporary field has become still more robust with, for instance, the introduction of a new, innovative and consistent curriculum in 2009.