Artistic director: Gabriel Smeets

The School for New Dance Development ( in Dutch: School voor Nieuwe Dansontwikkeling) offers a professional training for dance students enabling them to contribute to the development of dance as independent dance artist/choreographer. The SNDO offers a 4 year degree Bachelor of Dance (BDa) profile: choreography.  

The education focuses on ways in which the body is perceived, how the body communicates in art and society, and how these perspectives change over time. Central to the approach of the school are the investigation, research, invention and exploration of movement material.

The SNDO views itself as a revitalising force in dance, occupying an appropriate place beside the traditional forms of dance. Founded in 1975, the school has developed an international reputation and welcomes students of different nationalities and cultures. The SNDO's staff is international and teaching is done in the English language.

The SNDO aims to provide an environment for the development of new understandings of art, dance, performances, dance education, movement vocabulary, social and cultural forms and politics whitin the field of dance.

The approach to making performance work as taught at the SNDO, questions, researches and re-examines the use of dance as material in a dance artist's work. The challenge then is for every dance artist to discover and define a personal vieuw of the art form. How they engage in the processes of performance work contributes to their uniqueness as dance artists.

The school is looking for prospective students who are motivated, dedicated and devoted to this art form called Dance. Students who want to widen the range of their movement vocabulary, challenge their existing view points, expand their creative processes, and develop performance work. Students who want to be encouraged to make considered choices in creating a position for themselves in the profession and to be aware of the aesthetic and social implications of their work.

Maximum age on application is 27 for the 4-year course.

The SNDO has its own blog, which keeps you updated on the latest activities of the school: sndo-sndo.blogspot.com.

contact: Ellen van Haeringen / secretary SNDO
Ellen van Haeringen
tel: +31 20 527 7644
fax: +31 20 527 7642

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