Study guide

The NBA has an intensive seven-year preliminary training program. As a result, the students are well prepared for the follow-up course of the AD Classical Ballet and possibly later the BA Teacher Classical Ballet.
After the two-year AD program, students are fully equipped to enter the professional field. Instead of entering the professional field, students can opt for further education in the BA track. In this way they can deepen their education. This 3rd year focuses on practical training as a teacher classical ballet and theoretical deepening.

Based on years of preliminary training and AD - and for the intake students from the professional field their years of dance experience, the students receive exemptions for the dance part* of the BA and therefore the training can be completed in one year.

With the possibility of entering from the professional field, the NBA contributes to the principles of flexible learning and lifelong learning. The students in the BA Teacher Classical Ballet will therefore bring with them solid experience as a performing artist. The student has knowledge of the field and has danced with a company (often for a long time). The “embodied knowledge” that this student brings with him is therefore great and can also be an inspiration for other students.

The aim of the training for all students is to convert this “embodied knowledge” into an understanding of teaching. Questions that will be discussed include: How is the classical ballet technique best built up? How is this passed on? The ballet technique can also be questioned.

By teaching the NBA Syllabus and Methodology, the student gains insight into the structure and connection of the various movements. The syllabus is a living document, which is updated every year. Input and requirements from makers in the field, as well as the input from teachers and students of the study program, can lead to adjustments being made to the Syllabus.
Together with fellow students, the student first acquires knowledge within the Methodology lessons (within ballet the craft ability), but will soon start teaching and observing in practice. In this way, the communicative ability and the pedagogical and didactic skills are trained.
Obviously, understanding music, working with a musical accompanist and being able to make musical choices in connection with technique are important elements in the development of a classical ballet teacher. Music is therefore a separate module within the NBA program.
Furthermore, extensive attention is paid to Pedagogy and Didactics within a module that lasts two teaching blocks.
We explore what it means to be a ballet teacher today; the influence of social changes on the responsibility of classical ballet companies and schools and the way in which they train young people.

The last module examines the mental health of the young students in more detail, new insights gained from the world of sports and measurements within ballet, nationally and internationally.
The student concludes the course with an essay in response to the challenging question: “What kind of a teacher of classical ballet do I want to be?”

*Students entering the BA program directly from the AD and intending to enter the field of performing dance after the BA year may, if the BA timetable allows, take the daily ballet classes of the final year of the Associate Degree.