Higher education training in CCNs
The National Choreographic Centres (CCNs) were established in 1984, awarding 11 companies the CCN label. The Contemporary Dance National Centre (Cndc) in Angers also received this label. At that time, it was managed by Michel Reilhac, who had just succeeded Viola Faber. Faber had inaugurated the first-ever higher education curriculum for dancers, marking the first time the Ministry of Culture entrusted a CCN with the mission of higher education.
The CCN decree from May 5, 2017, defined the terms of reference for CCNs and solidified this mission.
It is currently being undertaken by two CCNs: the Cndc in Angers and the CCN in Montpellier. For the 2023–2024 season, both higher education training programmes include 31 dancer-students.
These curricula differ from the “vocational training programme for professional dancers” offered by all 19 CCNs.
Cndc-Angers
The Cndc is the only higher education institution in France fully dedicated to contemporary dance. It offers aspiring choreographic artists (dancers and/or choreographers) a full-time, three-year curriculum. Admission is based on auditions.
The three-year programme awards the DNSPD (National Higher Professional Diploma in Dance) and a Bachelor’s degree in arts and dance, from Angers University.
ICI - CCN Montpellier
Launched in 2011, in partnership with Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, the Master’s degree of choreographic studies—Research and Performance, supports artists, choreographers, performers and authors in their research projects.
The program also includes two complementary initiatives: “post-study residencies”, designed as a stepping stone from an educational environment to a professional one, and “studies, choreographic publications”, a collection that gives access to alumni’s dissertations, for current students to explore them and put them to the test.
