One of the many initiatives developed in recent years by Ernst Meisner, as artistic director of the Dutch National Ballet Academy, was the foundation, in 2022, of the BA Teacher of Classical Ballet course – which is unique in the Netherlands. Based on the academy’s wish to facilitate lifelong learning, this course gives the opportunity to dance students with an Associate Degree in classical ballet and experienced professional ballet dancers to become classical ballet teachers. The first six students have now successfully completed the Bachelor’s course. This year’s crop include principal dancer with Dutch National Ballet Qian Liu, from China, and freelance choreographer, dancer and teacher from Cuba, Henry Rodríguez, who graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Danza, in Havana, in 2011. In this newsletter, they talk about their experiences.

> Read the interview with Qian Liu here
> Read the interview with Henry Rodríguez here