"You’re here to grow as a dancer and as a person."

Anne Bos, coordinator of the Preparatory Programme

A Valuable Education

“You're here to grow as a dancer **and** as a person,” says Anne Bos, coordinator of the Preparatory Programme. “It’s the whole picture. The focus isn’t solely on technique—this idea that a preparatory course is all strict and technical just isn’t true. Even if you don’t go on to become a dancer, this programme is incredibly valuable. Students who’ve completed the programme look back on a meaningful experience. They’ve learned about perseverance, discipline, and about themselves. It goes far beyond just preparing someone for the dance world. It’s truly more than that.”

Dimphy wholeheartedly agrees. “My sister also says she’s learned so much here. I started the Preparatory Dance Programme in Arnhem last year. I transferred from the Dutch National Ballet Academy, where I learned what it’s like to study at a classical preparatory school. Now, in my third year of the Preparatory Dance Programme in Arnhem, I’m studying in a more modern setting.” And Dimphy is enjoying the change. “I really like creating things myself and developing as a person. It’s not about presenting a perfect, polished image. I get to create my **own** image.”

Combining School and Dance

To make it possible to follow both mainstream education and a professional dance programme at the same time, ArtEZ in Arnhem collaborates with Beekdal Lyceum. “My previous dance studio was on the other side of the city. What’s great about the Preparatory Dance Programme is that you attend a ‘normal’ secondary school and everything happens in one place. After classes, we can calmly warm up, eat, and get ready. It’s really nice to be at a regular school. I’m in a class with nine students. They’re all lovely people and gave me such a warm welcome when I joined. That makes a huge difference.”

Footballers and Dancers: Moving Together

Football students from Vitesse also attend Beekdal Lyceum. Together with them, Dimphy and her classmates worked on a project for the Holocaust Remembrance in Arnhem—a video that was shown during the commemoration ceremony in the Eusebius Church. Anne: “The video focused on a boy who had been a member of Vitesse and was murdered in a war camp. The dance and football students collaborated and created something truly powerful.”

“Everyone was nervous, but from day one the collaboration went smoothly. Both dancers and footballers are movers. The football movement was used as a starting point—dribbling, sliding tackles, it’s all part of the choreography.”

Dimphy also looks back on the experience fondly. “It was great to do something together with other athletes. And it was funny to see how they work. We shared the studio, and everyone had their own way of moving. It was really cool to merge those movements into a dance piece.”

After the Preparatory Programme

What does Dimphy hope to do after the preparatory course? “Join a dance company. I want to go in a modern direction and apply to a bachelor’s programme in dance. I’m still figuring out where exactly, but I do know I want to become a dancer. It’s important to me that I feel good in the place I choose. At an open day, for instance, I want to feel at home straight away. And I also want to feel confident in the dance style I choose.”