AUDITIONS 2018
PROFESSIONAL DANCE PROGRAM
AND JUNIOR COMPANY
Geneva @ Dance Area
8 April and 17 June
ADMISSIONS
Entry into this program is through an audition and an interview. The audition consists of a Ballet class, a Contemporary dance class and the presentation of a two-minute solo.
Candidates who can not be present at the scheduled auditions can send their application accompanied with a video and a cover letter to the school’ secretariat or request an individual meeting to take part in a private audition.
A good technical level is required in Ballet and Contemporary. Depending on the level of the candidate, possibility to enter directly in the second year and in the Junior Company.
Young dancers who present themselves to the audition must have a good understanding of French or English.
The application for the audition can be downloaded above and returned to us completed.
THE PROFESSIONAL DANCE PROGRAM IS SPREAD OVER A THREE-YEAR PERIOD AND FOCUSES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF VERSATILE DANCERS, OF CREATIVE ARTISTS HAVING GREAT TECHNICAL MASTERY.
This course addresses the needs of dancers from ages 16 to 22 who have reached an advanced level of technique through rigorous and disciplined training.
Complementary disciplines such as Singing, Acting, Acrobatics, Jazz or Hip-Hop enrich the curriculum and allow students to further refine their artistic vision.
Students are encouraged to develop their creativity and individuality through improvisation and composition workshops.
Guest teachers and choreographers complement the training program by stimulating the young dancers to develop their artistic expression and ability to adapt to new ideas. These encounters provide them with an opportunity to develop meaningful contacts with international artists.
After the first year, students will confront the challenges of the professional dance world through their work with the Jeune Ballet. They will tackle all the challenges of the stage as well as choreographers’ requirements and expectations. The Area Jeune Ballet provides a stepping-stone that facilitates students’ access to the professional world and opens doors for their future careers.
GENERAL
PROGRAM
FUNDAMENTAL
TECHNIQUES
COURSES
BALLET (POINTES – OPTIONAL)
BOYS CLASES
MODERN TECHNIQUE
JAZZ TECHNIQUE
CONTEMPORAIN
BARRE À TERRE
PILATES
COMPLEMENTARY
COURSES
IMPROVISATION
COMPOSITION
RÉPERTOIRE
PARTENARING
THEATER
SINGING
ACROBATICS
HIP-HOP
THEORETICAL
COURSES
ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY
NUTRITION
HISTORY OF DANCE
OUR
MISSION
Provide an education and training program that enables students to acquire the level of technical and artistic ability that today’s choreographers and companies expect.
Allow future dancers to find and develop their individual artistic identities, while nurturing their creative spirits.
Encourage and develop each student’s unique talent for performance and choreography with regular choreographic workshops and public performances.
Develop dancers’ ability to think independently, critically and analytically.
Facilitate employment through exchanges and internships with dance companies.
ADMISSIONS ARE ON AUDITION
FIRST
YEAR
The first year focuses on updating and perfecting the three fundamental techniques: classical, contemporary and modern’jazz. These disciplines are studied intensively throughout the first year. They provide a solid technical foundation that will allow students to tackle the different demands and styles of guest choreographers and teachers that they will encounter throughout the program.
Dance technique accounts for twenty hours of class time per week. The rest of the program consists of elective/complementary courses that re-enforce physical fitness and artistic development (pointe, men’s technique, Eurhythmics, theatre), and theoretical courses that cover essential information about the dancer’s health and development (anatomy, nutrition).
At the end of the first year, students perform either one of the choreographies in the school’s repertoire, or a new piece that was developed for them during a choreographic workshop.
SECOND
YEAR
The second year’s curriculum builds upon the technical and physical skills developed during the first year so that students can meet the level of technical skill required by today’s dance world.
The second year focuses on regularly scheduled workshops with guest choreographers and teachers in order to stimulate artistic expression and increase student exposure to real life professional scenarios. These workshops enable young dancers to explore new perspectives and adapt to new ideas and approaches. Students will benefit by learning how today’s choreographers work with professionals, and by developing meaningful contacts with international artists and choreographers.
The Jeune Ballet allows second year students to perform in public on a regular basis, thereby allowing their stage presence and artistic identity to evolve. The curriculum can be tailored to the student’s individual aspirations through the choice of electives/complementary courses.
THIRD
YEAR
The third year sees the culmination of the students’ technical, artistic and creative development.
The students build a career path, refine their knowledge, and show their full physical, expressive and creative potential. This year serves as the springboard that launches the young dancers into the world of professional dance.
To achieve this end, students will have the opportunity to participate in internships with professional companies. These placements will allow students to fully experience life in a company, and observe the many facets of their future profession.
Master Classes, choreographic workshops and performance opportunities via the Area Jeune Ballet will take center stage.
GUEST PROFESSORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS
José Agudo
Rehearsal director of the Akram Khan Company and choreographic assistant during the creation of the piece iTMOi. International choreographer.
Guillaume Siard
Chef de projets artistiques, délégué à la direction pédagogique chez Ballet Preljocaj
Julio Arozarena
Assistant directeur Béjart ballet Lausanne. Chorégraphe
Christine Hassid
Professeur et chorégraphe international. Directrice et Chorégraphe de la compagnie C.H.P
Fabio Lopez
Chorégraphe et directeur de la compagnie Illicite
Bruce Taylor
Professeur international. Directeur et chorégraphe de la compagnie Choréonyx
Karine Guizzo
Ex-danseuse au NDT, professeur et chorégraphe freelance résident à Den Haag.
Blenard Azizaj
Danseur Akram Khan Company et Sasha Waltz & Guests. Chorégraphe.
Marc Ribaud
Chorégraphe et maître de ballet international (Netherlands Dans Theater, le Ballet Royal de Suède, les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, le Ballet National de Norvège, le Ballet National de Finlande)
Duncan Rownes
Professeur et chorégraphe freelance (Tanz Akademie Zürich, Royal Ballet School, Prix de Lausanne, Ecole du Ballet de Bâle)
Gilbert Mayer
1er danseur et professeur à l’Opéra de Paris. Maître de ballet et professeur international.
SEASONS
PERFORMING
OPPORTUNITIES
AREA JEUNE BALLET
Professional practice is of great importance in the training of a young artist destined for a career as a dancer. It is essential that students understand the relationship between their technical training in the classroom and their ability to perform on stage. Public performances are an integral part of the curriculum, and will be encouraged throughout the three years of study.
From the second year forward, students will join the Area Jeune Ballet, which teaches them how to cope with the realities of the profession, hones performance skills and helps them learn how to meet choreographers’ expectations.
A series of choreographic workshops and Master Classes given by external professionals will take place throughout the year. Guest teachers and choreographers will introduce different methods of dance and choreographic styles. The pieces that are created and developed during these workshops will belong to the Jeune Ballet and become part of its repertoire.
The repertoire consists of varied choreographies ranging from Neoclassic to Contemporary and aims to lead dancers to a high level in Ballet and Contemporary techniques. Techniques that are not approached as « aesthetic » ends, but as tools at the service of a quality of movement to develop virtuoso dancing bodies.
The Area Jeune Ballet aspires to bridge the gap between an academic, technical training and the craft of the dancer, thus promoting entry into the professional world.
