Academy of Dance
The Academy of Dance was founded in 1979 as the National College of Ballet and Dance (Statens ballettskole). Since 1996 it has been part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts (Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo), which brings students of different disciplines together to form a broad, international community of arts and artistic skills. The unique facilities at the National Academy of the Arts, including well-equipped stages and studios, mean that students at the Academy of Dance have excellent opportunities to develop in a state-of-the-art working environment.
The Academy of Dance offers Bachelor’s degree programmes in contemporary dance, jazz dance and classical ballet, Master’s programmes in dance and choreography, and a one-year practice-oriented teacher training course for dance teachers. Research fellows are affiliated with the Academy of Dance through its participation in the Norwegian Artistic Research Programme. The various study programmes enable students to develop their potential as performing and creative artists, refining their skills, knowledge and critical abilities in the field of dance and choreography.
The teaching staff at the Academy of Dance represent extensive and varied artistic and educational experience. The department also engages nationally and internationally renowned guest teachers and artists.
The Academy of Dance has the ambition to be a leading institution in the field of professional dance training. Its study programmes lay the foundations for solid artistry and an expertise in dance and choreography that can be applied in a range of aesthetic and social contexts – both in Norway and internationally.
Excellent follow-up with regard to physical health and the prevention and treatment of injuries is ensured by the skills of the department’s own staff members and a cooperation with the Norwegian Institute of Sports Medicine (NIMI).
Bachelor’s in classical ballet
The programme is offered to students who seek to specialise in classical ballet. Students have the opportunity to develop their full potential in a motivating and healthy environment.
The curriculum builds the skills required to dance with international classical ballet companies. The central element of the curriculum is ballet classes, with a focus on older and more recent classical repertoire, pointe work, pas de deux and supplementary training. Courses are also given in choreographic studies, modern dance, physical health, career preparation and theoretical topics. The emphasis is on students acquiring a good understanding of both historical and contemporary ballet.
The ballet programme places major emphasis on the learning of parts and on performance work. The high quality studios and stages at the Academy of Dance allows students to work to professional standards. Participation in relevant ballet competitions is also possible.
Teaching is based on small groups, with an emphasis on close individual supervision. A highly qualified staff, international guest teachers, and close cooperation with the Norwegian National Ballet and the Norwegian National Ballet 2 are all instrumental in achieving the department’s goal of training classical ballet dancers to high international standards.
This is a three-year full-time programme. It is open to young dancers who have completed lower secondary school and are at least fifteen years old.
Non-Norwegian speaking students must be fluent in English, both written and oral.
The Academy of Dance at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts is partner school with the Prix de Lausanne, the world’s leading classical ballet competition and network.
Apply for admission
Søknadsweb (the application portal) and information about the admission process will be available two months before the application deadline.
Apply for admission to the programme
Bachelor’s in contemporary dance
The programme enables the student to develop the knowledge and skills required to work professionally as a dancer across the full breadth of the contemporary dance field.
Contemporary dance requires dancers who can enter into artistic processes with independence, creativity and a willingness to explore a range of idioms and issues.
The emphasis is on providing students with an articulated dance technique that is familiar with various practices and styles from the fields of contemporary dance, classical ballet and jazz dance. Choreographic studies, paired dance and theory are important for the development of knowledge about, and the capacity to reflect on, processual approaches, the development of ideas and aesthetic understanding.
The programme emphasises the acquisition of stage skills and extensive experience by means of regular performances in a variety of situations and spaces, and using a range of choreographic styles. Varied strategies for exploring the body and movement, and cooperation with experienced choreographers, familiarise students with the diversity of methods and approaches characteristic of contemporary dance.
The programme prepares the student to pursue a professional career as a freelance dance artist, as well as for engagements with relevant dance companies.
Teaching is based on small groups, with an emphasis on close individual supervision.
This is a three-year full-time programme, and successful completion also qualifies the student for postgraduate studies in dance and choreography.
Apply for admission
Søknadsweb (the application portal) and information about the admission process will be available two months before the application deadline.
Bachelor's in jazz dance
The programme enables the student to develop the knowledge and skills required to work professionally as a dancer across the full breadth of the jazz-dance field.
Jazz dance is characterised by its specific physical style and close relationship to rhythmic music. It requires students to acquire a high level of dance technique.
The emphasis is on providing students with an articulated dance technique through familiarisation with different styles of jazz dance and related forms, in addition to classical ballet and contemporary dance. Urban dance forms also have an important place alongside stage styles.
Choreographic studies, paired dance and theory are important for the development of knowledge about, and the capacity to reflect on, processual approaches, the history of dance and the understanding of styles.
The programme emphasises the acquisition of stage skills and extensive experience by means of regular performances using a variety of styles and forms – such as contemporary jazz, traditional jazz dance and musicals – and different types of stages. Students contribute to creative processes with a range of choreographers, learning to articulate the interaction between music, rhythm, dynamics and movement, and thereby developing important choreographic tools.
The programme prepares the student to pursue a professional career as a freelance dance artist, as well as for engagements in relevant dance companies and theatres.
Teaching is based on small groups, with an emphasis on close individual supervision.
The facilities at the Academy of Dance provide excellent working conditions and professional standard stage experience.
This is a three-year full-time programme, and successful completion also qualifies the student for postgraduate studies in dance and choreography.
Apply for admission
Søknadsweb (the application portal) and information about the admission process will be available two months before the application deadline.
Master’s in choreography
| Duration | ECTS credits | Language | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two years full-time | 120 | English | 1 December 2022 |
The master’s programme in choreography is a two-year full-time programme. It builds on a broad understanding of choreography and is for students who wish to develop and deepen their artistic understanding through creative practices and critical reflections. The programme’s key subjects are: choreographic tools and methods, project work and performances, performance theory and philosophical aesthetics, and the master’s project. The subjects include also the module Nordic Choreographic Project (NCP) which is shared and run in collaboration with the master’s programmes in choreography in Stockholm (SKH), Helsinki (TEAK) and Copenhagen (DASPA). Each semester the Nordic choreography students will meet around shared themes on various locations in the Nordic countries.
The master’s programme emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, artistic development in the tension field between tradition and innovation, and gives insight into planning, realizing, and assessing tasks and projects in collaboration with others. Choreographic issues are explored artistically as well as in a historical and social, national and international context.
Subjects are addressed in various formats such as workshops and study tours, lectures and seminars, projects and performances. Teaching takes place in groups, individual tutorials, and through self-study – in continuous dialogue with teaching staff, other students, research fellows and guest teachers. Parts of the programme are in collaboration with the master's programme in dance and other study programmes across disciplines, both at KHiO and at other institutions, such as Nordic Choreographic Project.
The unique facilities at the Academy of Dance provide excellent working conditions and professional standard stage experience. Students also have access to a large library in the fields of performing arts and visual arts.
The programme offers methodical and professional skills in choreography, a national and international network, and experience in project management. Additionally, the programme prepares students for research and for applying to the PhD programme in Artistic Research and other relevant doctoral programmes.
Specializations and interests
The core group of teachers has the following interests and area of specializations:
- Movement development, choreographic composition and staging
- Docudancing (choreography drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and documentary material)
- Trauma and memory studies
- Performance Studies
- Prefigurative practices, including notations and scores
- Dance Dramaturgy and Performance Theory
Current Artistic Research projects
The core group of teachers and research fellows affiliated with the programme are engaged in the following artistic research projects:
- Craftsmanship (in collaboration with the Design department and NMH)
- Library of gestures - movement choir research
- Choreographic investigations of the Noa Eshkol Archive
- Choreography as meaning-generating aggregate
- Choreography as modes of displacement and dissemination
- Love on the Dance Floor / Social choreographies of love
- MEMORYWORK (in collaboration with the Art and Craft department)
- Singularities and the shared Commons (explorations of authorship in dance and choreography)
- Social Dramaturgy
- Somatic Costumography (hosted by the Design department)
Pool of teachers
The pool of teachers in the programme includes Saša Asentić, Olive Bieringa, Jonas Kure Buer, Jonathan Burrows, Dragana Bulut, Bojana Cvejić, Mette Edvardsen, Anne Grete Eriksen, Ingri Fiksdal, Niklas Gansterer, Rosalind Goldberg, Deborah Hay, Solveig Styve Holte, Marius Holth, Lisa Baudouin Lie, Janne-Camilla Lyster, Chrysa Parkinson, Anders Paulin, Manuel Pelmuş, Per Roar, Torunn Robstad, Eszter Salamon, Eivind Seljeseth, Hooman Sharifi, and Elle Sofe.
Apply for admission
Søknadsweb (the application portal) and information about the admission process will be available two months before the application deadline.
Master’s in dance
| Duration | ECTS credits | Language | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two years full-time | 120 | English | 1 December 2022 |
The master in Dance is a two-year full–time programme that looks closely at the process of transition from the dancer as a craftsperson to the dancer as an artist and performer.
The programme opens for an exploratory approach to being a performer in today's performing arts field and it invites dancers who are passionate about embodiment and seek to develop their agency as a dancemaker and performer.
The study provides theoretical perspectives that illuminate the art of dance as a cultural expression in aesthetic, dance historical, political, ethical and social contexts. In the study, we look at how thinking about art can interact with practical art production and vice versa.
The workshops and courses involve areas such as Movement Practice, Performing and Creative Method, Project and Performance Practice, Performance Theory and Philosophical Aesthetics. During their studies, the students are provided with facilities and time to develop an MA graduation project, which ranges from performance to other possible formats of presentation.
Subjects are addressed in various ways such as workshops and study trips, lectures and seminars, projects, and performances. Teaching takes place in groups and through self-study – in continuous dialogue with teaching staff, other students, research fellows and guest teachers.
With an intake of just 5 students, major emphasis is placed on individual tutoring and on adapting the programme’s content to individual needs. We value versatility in techniques, diverse backgrounds of physical training and diverse performance cultures; Cross-disciplinary exchanges at different levels of artistic development (BA, MA, Ph.D); providing conditions for experimentation in safe space that does not tolerate sexism, racism, ableism, and other kind of discrimination.
Parts of the programme are in collaboration with the master's programme in choreography and other study programmes across disciplines, both at KHiO and at other institutions.
The unique facilities at the Academy of Dance provide excellent working conditions and professional standard stage experience. Students also have access to a large library in the fields of performing arts and visual arts.
The programme offers methodical and professional skills in dance, dramaturgy, aesthetic, critical and performance theory and a national and international network. Additionally, the programme prepares students for research and for applying to the PhD programme in Artistic Research and other relevant doctoral programmes.
The pool of teachers includes Olive Bieringa, Jonas Kure Buer, Jonathan Burrows, Bojana Cvejić, Mette Edvardsen, Anne-Grete Eriksen, Ingri Fiksdal, Nikolaus Gansterer, Elisabeth Gmeiner, Rosalind Goldberg, Deborah Hay, Solveig Styve Holte, Siri Jøntvedt, Yuko Kaseki, Tor Lindstrand, Janne-Camilla Lyster, Chrysa Parkinson, Anders Paulin, Manuel Pelmus, Marta Popivoda, Per Roar, Torunn Robstad and Eszter Salamon.
Apply for admission
Søknadsweb (the application portal) and information about the admission process will be available two months before the application deadline.
Postgraduate Certificate in Education
Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PPU) in Dance is a one-year course for dancers and choreographers who wish to work as dance teachers and instructors. The programme qualifies the student to teach in primary and secondary schools, adult education, folk high schools, cultural schools and private ballet schools. The PPU in dance provides in-depth knowledge of the teaching of classical ballet, contemporary dance and jazz dance. Applicants with backgrounds in other forms of dance can also apply. The study includes 12-14 weeks of integrated supervised practical training.
Educational theory deals with the science of teaching, education and development, providing knowledge and increased capacity for reflection on the role of the teacher in preparation for practice.
The curriculum covers:
- Psychology: developmental psychology, relationships, communication, learning and motivation.
- Philosophy: various justifications for and focal concerns of upbringing and education, ethics and value consciousness.
- Sociology: society, culture, group processes and interaction.
- Theory of education/teaching: the what, why and how of teaching – curricula and assessment work.
Subject-related teaching theory deals with different approaches to and perspectives on the teaching of various target groups in a range of learning contexts. Primary goals include gaining experience and feedback and collecting suitable material relevant to the planning, implementation and evaluation of lessons. Students will work with a wide variety of teachers.
Themes of the course include:
- Play, creativity and imaginative work with children.
- Interaction, improvisation and composition.
- Basic dance techniques (classical ballet, jazz dance, modern/contemporary dance).
- Dance teaching in depth: classical ballet, jazz dance, modern/contemporary dance.
In practice training students gain experience of different aspects of the teaching profession. Working together with practice supervisors, students receive instruction in how to plan, organise, implement and assess lessons in accordance with pedagogical and educational principles. The practice training is conducted with trial classes of different ages and is primarily/normally geared toward cultural schools/private ballet schools and secondary schools.
Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PPU) in both theatre and dance is led professionally and administratively by the department of dance.
Apply for admission
Søknadsweb (the application portal) and information about the admission process will be available two months before the application deadline.
Student exchange
If you are interested in becoming an exchange student at Oslo National Academy of the Arts, read more at the Student Exchange page.
