P.A.R.T.S. offers two independent programs:
the Bachelor Training Cycle (three years) and the continuing Master STUDIOS Cycle (two years)
P.A.R.T.S. IS AN INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION. THE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS MAINLY COME FROM BELGIUM, EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES, BUT ALSO FROM OTHER CONTINENTS.
P.A.R.T.S. has a full-time program, requiring full commitment from its students. The continuous efforts expected of a dancer's body call for a corresponding level of health awareness. The school makes a contribution by offering daily macrobiotic meals to the students. Moreover, several courses in the curriculum are devoted to the improvement of physical health.
BA TRAINING CYCLE
The Bachelor Training Cycle is destined for young dancers and choreographers between 18 and 23 years old who want to start a professional education to be a dancer or choreographer. In the curriculum of the Training Cycle, the students gain an insight into the technical and artistic foundations of contemporary dance and they are confronted with the specific P.A.R.T.S. approach, characterized by an emphasis on body awareness, theatre and musical training, the development of creative and compositional skills, and theoretical reflection. The program does not offer separate tracks for dancers and choreographers, assuming that a dancer nowadays has to be a co-creator, and that a choreographer’s craft is rooted in the physical work in the studio, whatever form it finally takes. All students follow the same program, and from the end of the 2nd year, there are parallel options in certain periods with different interpretations.
A new cycle begins only every three years. The next start of the Training Cycle will be in September 2025. Auditions for this will take place in the spring of 2025.
A school year counts 36 class weeks, starting in the beginning of September and running until the end of June. There are four holiday periods, in November (one week), around Christmas (three weeks), in February (one week) and around Easter (two weeks).
Classes generally start at 8.30 and last until 17.30 or 18.30, from Monday until Friday. There is a lunch break of 75 minutes. In some periods there may also be classes on Saturday afternoons. There is an average of 36 class hours per week.
MA STUDIOS
The Master STUDIOS program is the continuation of the Research Cycle (2000-2014) and the pilot programs Research Studios (2015-2018).
STUDIOS targets choreographers and performance makers who want to deepen and broaden their experience as makers through advanced research and artistic research.
The program consists of masterclasses in choreography and composition, movement research workshops, theory seminars and the participants' own creative processes. The core of the program is collective work, complemented by individual research.
The two-year program is completed with a Master's thesis. Afterwards, the presentation of the participants' own work in Belgium and abroad will be facilitated.
BACHELOR AND MASTER
In 2019, the Training program was recognised by the Flemish Government as a fully-fledged Professional Bachelor of Dance. Each of the three years of study has a program of 60 credits (60 ECTS).
Full information about the accreditation can be found in the Higher Education Register of the Ministry of Education of the Flemish Community over here: BACHELOR and MASTER.
The expert committee about the Training cycle (Bachelor in Dance):
“ Both the design of the programme, that corresponds with the developments in the contemporary dance scene, and its flexibility support students to develop as artists. The committee highly values the quality of the teaching staff and facilities, the intensive tutoring of students and the structural involvement of the professional field in the programme (guest teachers). … The committee sees an impressive continuous development, which has led to a stable and inspiring environment for dance students. “
You can read the entire committee report, convened by the NVAO (the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders) here.
In 2020, the STUDIOS program was recognized by the Flemish Government as a Master of Dance. This program consists of two years of study. The first of these counts 56 ECTS and is a Bridging year between the Professional Bachelor degree and the Academic Master degree. The second year is the Master year and counts 60 ECTS. Candidates who have not followed the Training cycle at P.A.R.T.S. can also enrol in STUDIOS.
The expert committee about STUDIOS (Master in Dance):
“ What makes P.A.R.T.S. quite unique as an inspiring artistic environment according to the panel, is trust and dialogue and directly related to it the self-regulating culture of learning based on an artistic peer agreement. “
You can read the entire assessment report, convened by the NVAO (the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders) here.