Top Year – Dance Training

• Have you completed a relevant dance preparatory course and would you like to explore the possibilities within the dance world and, above all, find out what suits you?
• Do you sometimes wonder whether you want to make dance your profession?
• Do you want to work intensively on your technical and artistic skills and raise your overall level?
• Do you want to prepare thoroughly for auditions?
• Read on to find out what we can offer you during the Top Year!
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• In their final year, dancers are under pressure, while this is also the moment to pursue auditions for further training. For many dancers, this is simply too much to manage at once — especially when they also want to audition abroad.
• Some dancers also find it difficult during this demanding year to figure out exactly what they want and to discover what truly suits them.
• Finally, dancers who have followed an extracurricular preparatory course — such as the Preparatory Course at Danshuis Haarlem — have often been able to take fewer dance lessons per week than peers on an in-school programme, because they attend a regular secondary school alongside their dance training. This can lead to a gap in hours.
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• The Top Year provides a programme that offers time and space to address all of these aspects, so that the transition to a professional dance training — as a performing dancer, choreographer or dance teacher — can proceed more smoothly.
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• Together with the dancer, we explore their interests and learning goals in order to create a tailored programme. This phase takes place in the season preceding the Top Year, during February, March and April.
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• We begin with a joint meeting in which we discuss the options for shaping your unique Top Year. You then work with a personal coach to explore your ideas, plans and ambitions for your future in dance. This forms the basis for a plan for phase 2 of the programme.

• Orientation and further training — for example at a training institute or (international) dance school, following dance intensives, or as an intern with a dance company. The focus is on dancing.
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• From September to December you independently follow your own chosen programme. This may mean spending these four months in one particular place — for example, a city abroad such as Berlin or London. Alternatively, you can choose from a varied programme in the Netherlands. Danshuis Haarlem has a collaboration with, for example, the Codarts Lyceum.
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• You can train in Amsterdam or Rotterdam, attend intensives during holiday periods, and so on. Danshuis Haarlem offers classes for advanced dancers, and you could train or perform with Dansgroep Haarlem for a period. You can also explore the professions of dance teacher and choreographer at the Danshuis. There is no shortage of options!
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• During this period you have regular contact with your coach, who can offer advice and serve as a sounding board. You also discuss together which auditions you plan to apply for.

• Preparing for and completing auditions.
• Starting from January, you will be back in the Netherlands for at least part of this period.
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• These months are dedicated to preparing for and completing auditions at professional dance training programmes in the Netherlands and/or abroad. Auditions take place from February through to April/May and may consist of several rounds. The first round often involves submitting a number of videos, which you will create with support from us and your fellow Top Year students. Good planning is essential, especially if you intend to audition at dance academies abroad.
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• On a number of occasions we will organise a special session for all Top Year students together. This might be a movement-based class focused on stage presence and self-confidence, or a more theoretical session on dance and health. You will of course continue to take intensive classes throughout this period, while already looking ahead to the possibilities of phase 4.

• Optional — and consists of a stage presentation.
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• Phase 4 partly overlaps with phase 3, depending on where and with whom you will be working on a production or performance. You might join a dance company such as Dansgroep Haarlem, or The Next Move of the Danshuis Haarlem Preparatory Course. Another option is to create a dance yourself, possibly together with fellow Top Year students. In any case, our aim is for you to close your Top Year on stage!
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Auditioning is exciting, and in the event of (repeated) rejection it can also be demotivating, discouraging or upsetting. Your coach and fellow Top Year students will help you stay focused and motivated during this period — or, where necessary, help you adjust your course.

The coaching approach is grounded in the idea that you cannot always control what happens, but you can influence how you respond to it and what you take away from the experience.

Ultimately, what matters is that you find a place in your life where you feel fulfilled and challenged, and where your talent can truly flourish. Only then will you stay physically and mentally healthy, develop real mastery of your craft, and be able to build a sustainable career from it.

Dancers wishing to take part in the Top Year should meet the following criteria:

• → you are between 17 and 21 years old
• → you have completed secondary school, or will do so during phase 1
• → you have completed an extracurricular preparatory course (such as the one at Danshuis Haarlem), or will do so during phase 1 — or
• → you have completed an in-school preparatory programme (such as at the Codarts Lyceum), or will do so during phase 1 — or
• → you have trained at a high level for at least 4 years
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• → Through personal coaching, you can discover what truly suits you and what your contribution to the (dance) world might be.
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• → The Top Year gives you all the time and space to prepare yourself physically, creatively and mentally for your path forward in the dance world.
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• → Danshuis employs highly experienced teachers, choreographers and dancers who share their knowledge of the many career paths available in the dance world with you.
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• → Together with the teachers, your coach and your fellow Top Year students, you prepare thoroughly for your auditions.
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• → Even if you are unsure whether you want to make dance your profession, the Top Year offers a rich mix of self-exploration, intensive dancing and a rewarding (international) gap year experience.

• ages 17 to 20 → € 1.400,-
• age 21 → € 1.695,- (incl. VAT)
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• This amount includes:
• → a personal coach for all 4 phases
• → weekly classes at Danshuis (during phases 2, 3 and 4)
• → intensive audition guidance
• → unlimited use of a dance studio at Danshuis for independent practice and preparation
• → guidance and partial organisation of any stage presentation in phase 4
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• This amount excludes:
• → costs for the programme component in phase 2
• → individual workshops and intensives at Danshuis or other dance schools or institutions
• → travel abroad (travel costs, accommodation, dance lesson fees, etc.)
• → insurance (accident, health and travel insurance)

Not every parent can afford dance lessons. Support options are available for families with limited financial means. Submit an application at Sam& for a contribution towards tuition fees. Sam& is a collaboration between Leergeld Nederland, Jeugdfonds Sport & Cultuur, Stichting Jarige Job and Kinderhulp. Sam& ensures that the application reaches the right organisation.

Apply for support →

• Admission requires an audition. The audition consists of a week of training alongside the highest class of the Preparatory Course at Danshuis Haarlem.
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• Exceptions:
• → If you are currently enrolled in or have completed an in-school preparatory programme, we ask for a recommendation from your training institute — no audition is required.
• → Dancers from the Preparatory Course at Danshuis Haarlem do not need to complete a separate audition.
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• During the audition we assess your starting level, both technically and artistically. We also look for a degree of independence and inner conviction.
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• Following the audition, an exploratory conversation takes place. After a positive outcome, you can begin phase 1 straight away.
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• The audition fee is € 75,-
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You can find more practical information about the audition on the general page Audition.

See where our students end up on the progression page.