This preparatory course consists of two phases: an orientation phase and the preparatory course itself. It is best to start the first phase when you are around ten years old. Below you can read what you will be doing in each phase.
*For pupils in years 7 and 8 of primary school.
In the orientation class, you can find out whether the professional dance world is really right for you. You attend your own primary school and have dance lessons three times a week after school. For this, you go to the dance studios of Kaliber Kunstenschool.
You will work with contemporary dance, creative dance, classical ballet and folklore. You will perform in front of an audience several times a year, allowing you to gain stage experience.
You will be taught by dance teachers from Het Stedelijk Kottenpark. They will carefully tailor the lessons to your age and abilities. This will allow you to build a natural and healthy foundation that you can enjoy throughout your life.
Would you like to attend the ArtEZ Preparatory Dance Programme after the orientation class? Then you will need to audition at the end of Year 8.
I started dancing at the age of nine at the Dance Preparatory Programme in Enschede. Now I am a full-time dancer with the Skånes Dansteater dance company in Sweden, where I work with fifteen other dancers and a variety of choreographers every year. For me, this is a dream come true. It would never have been possible without the wonderful and educational time I had at the preparatory programme in Enschede.
*For secondary school pupils.
If you enrol in the ArtEZ Preparatory Course in Dance, you will follow two courses simultaneously: regular education and a professional dance course. ArtEZ in Enschede collaborates with Het Stedelijk Kottenpark for this purpose. Together, we ensure that you develop your dance talent and obtain your VMBO (collaboration with Innova), HAVO or VWO diploma. You follow a timetable that combines regular education and dance training. This allows you to attend school and complete your preparatory course without becoming overburdened.
Kottenpark is a school for HAVO, Atheneum and Gymnasium with almost 1,100 pupils in Enschede Noord. It is a cultural profile school with four art streams: music, theatre, visual arts and the DaMu-accredited Preparatory Dance Course. The lyceum has a high-profile Gymnasium where science is central. You can follow an enhanced English programme through Cambridge English Advanced (CAE) and German through the Goethe-Institut. Dance lessons take place in the two dance studios of Kaliber Kunstenschool. The school's own Distelzaal and the large stage of the Wilminktheater are available for performances. Take a look at the Stedelijk website for more information.