The SNDO places an emphasis on several different types of counseling for the students: Study counseling (mentor & tutor), performance advice (mentor & advisor) and practical matters (Academy of Theatre and Dance student counselor).

SNDO mentors are the key figures and first point of contact between the student and the school.
Each mentor has their own style and ways of supporting and challenging students. The mentor role has different focus and accents from year to year. In the first study year, students land in this international environment. Everything is new and can at times be overwhelming: from housing issues, insurances, finding work, to intense programme schedules, vast and varied artistic input and first creation impulses and presentations, the student in the first year is receiving multi-directional inputs. Mentor is there to offer emotional support and listening ear when needed and support the students in navigating the environment, the schedules and programme components while simultaneously opening the artistic dialogue.
From 2nd year on, students are usually sufficiently acquainted with the environment. The choreographic and the questions around the notion of artistic practice start to enter the dialogue more prominently. The curriculum in the 2nd year follows a different structure than in the first study year, so the mentor remains an important dialogue partner when it comes to navigating and exploring different contents and their relation to students own emerging practice. In the 3rd and 4th study year, mentors are colleagues from the field who put their expertise, references and professional insights at service of supporting, challenging and feed backing students in the paths of developing own artistic processes, modes of working and making.Dreaming of the future after graduation, exploring possibilities and professional contexts (to be discovered or built) form an important part of the dialogue between mentor and student in the last two study years.

Performance adviser is chosen by student to accompany them during each creation period throughout the study. The programme allocates paid hours for advisers. The hours vary per study year; the production and PR coordinator and mentors give out the information. In the first and second study year we recommend advisers to be from the pool of teachers and artists who work for SNDO. Throughout the programme students have a chance to get acquainted with different practices, discourses and sensibilities, which can be of support during students own creation process. In 3rd and 4th year students are free to choose their advisers. In all the years the choice of advisers is discussed with the mentor. The appointment of adviser can be confirmed upon green light given by mentor.

Please note that SNDO covers only the fee for the advisers’ hours. The travel and accommodation are not covered. Due to nature of advising work (regular availability throughout the process) we strongly advise to work with people based in the Netherlands. When you want to have an adviser from abroad, please take the costs of accommodation and travel in account as these will need to be covered from your advising and/or production budget.

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