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The National Ballet Academy of Amsterdam
Francescahouben:
The National Ballet Academy (NBA) of Amsterdam is the premier school for classical ballet in the Netherlands. Young talented dancers receive a ballet education at the highest level. The NBA brings ballet dancers up to the professional standard that is required by top international ballet companies, such as the Dutch National Ballet.
== History<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> ==
The National Ballet Academy of the Netherlands started as an amateur school in 1968 run by ballet dancer ''Nel Roos''. She offered the first full time ballet curriculum in the Netherlands and "delivered" dancers to the Dutch ballet companies through the establishment of a "selection class" of the best students.
For Nel Roos the ballet technique was paramount. As her students said: "The approach was very strict, very rigid, with many rules."
The academy successfully pleaded for an earlier start of the program, so that children could be admitted at an early age. A partnership was started with public schools in Amsterdam. As the Netherlands did not have it's own classical dance tradition, the Nel Roos Academy adopted the Russian Vaganova technique as its teaching method.
The academy was officially renamed the National Ballet Academy in 1988. The collaboration with the National Ballet was greatly strengthened. The National Ballet was also involved in the academy's recruitment policy and developed a training program for teachers, in which (ex-) dancers of the company are trained in teaching young ballet students.
Since 2014 the National Ballet Academy is led by Frenchman and former ballet dancer Jean-Yves Esquerre. He has started to seek more connections with dancers and dance institutions outside the Netherlands. Esquerre has opened the 'doors' for foreign students and has set up an intensive teaching and scouting program throughout the Netherlands and abroad. The school now works closely with other renowned international dance academies. Esquerre thinks it is important to let pupils experience the added value of international exchange at a young age. His ambition is to raise the level of the National Ballet Academy even further in the coming years and to achieve this he feels it is important to increase the competition between his students. With the right mental guidance they are challenged to give the best of themselves, so that they can, once graduated, measure themselves to the highest international standard.
== Artistic leaders since its founding ==
Erna Droog 1987-1991
Francis Sinceretti 1991-2001
Joanne Zimmerman 2001-2002
Simon de Mowbray 2002-2007
Vicki Summers 2007-2009
Hlif Svavarsdottir 2009-2010
Christopher Powney 2010-2014
Jean-Yves Esquerre 2014-present
== The educational programme<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> ==
=== The pre-NBA course ===
A two-year programme for children age 8 to 10 offering ballet and folk dance once or twice a week.
===== Pre-NBA 1 (third grade primary school) =====
In pre-NBA 1 children receive a classical ballet lesson every Saturday and a world dance lesson in the building of the National Ballet Academy on the Agamemnonstraat in Amsterdam. The course gives children the opportunity to get acquainted with the more professional character of the ballet lessons at the National Ballet Academy.
===== Pre-NBA 2 (fourth grade primary school) =====
In pre-NBA 2, the training is one step more serious and the schedule is expanded to twice a week. On Saturday morning there is a classical ballet class and world dance on the program. On Wednesday afternoon a classical ballet class and body conditioning. The lessons take place in the building of the National Ballet Academy on the Agamemnonstraat in Amsterdam. The course runs from September to February.
Children from pre-NBA 2 are not automatically admitted to National Ballet Academy. They must first follow an audition course to prepare them for the final audition. The children that get through the final audition are admitted to the first year of the National Ballet Academy and they will leave their own school.
=== The Preliminary Course ===
Children are a young as nine years old when they start the Preliminary Course of the National Ballet Academy, and if they are qualified they will stay for seven or eight years. The students follow a schedule in which normal schooling and ballet education are combined. The academy works together with two schools in Amsterdam: the Olympia School (primary education) and the Gerrit van der Veen College (secondary education).
During the NBA education the pupils receive a daily class of traditional dance technique. They also receive lessons in spitz technique (for the girls), jumping technique and strength training (for the boys), repertoire, pas de deux, caractère and modern dance. They also perform in performances of the Dutch National Ballet. The children are taught at the Agamemnonstraat facility during the first three years and then transfer to the College for Theater and Dance at the Jodenbreestraat.
In the final year of the program, the last year of secondary education, most students audition for the Bachelor of Arts Programme of the National Ballet Academy.
=== Bachelor of Arts Programme <ref> Nationale Opera & Ballet|access-date=2018-06-04}}</ref> ===
The students who are selected for the Bachelor of Arts Program focus fully on ballet for three years. They train every day to perfect their dance technique and will also follow classes in dance history, musical theory, anatomy and injury prevention. During the BA programme the dancers will also gain their first professional experience during a practical internship with one of the major dance ensembles in Holland or abroad. During the BA course the students will start to audition with ballet companies.
== The National Ballet Academy of Amsterdam ==
June 07, 2018 at 01:39AM
