ART of since 2012
Our Story
Bringing the best of dance to the dancers of tomorrow.
Why ART of
A direct relationship between classical ballet and contemporary dance.
ART of was founded in 2012 by Oleg Klymyuk and Fabien Voranger, with the support of William Forsythe. The first ART of course took place in Berlin in July 2012.
The starting point was a clear artistic question: how can strong classical training connect more directly with the choreographic languages, working methods and professional demands dancers meet in today’s companies?
ART of was created around that connection. Classical ballet remains a foundation, but it is placed in dialogue with repertoire, improvisation, choreographic processes, individual coaching and different ways of understanding movement.
From one course to an international programme
The format grew. The principle stayed the same.
Bring dancers into direct contact with people whose professional experience can change the way they understand training, repertoire and the profession itself.
The beginning.
ART of held its first course in Berlin. From the beginning, the aim was not simply to reproduce a conventional summer-school formula, but to create an environment in which different professional perspectives could meet around the development of the dancer.
A continuing artistic reference.
William Forsythe’s support was part of ART of from its beginnings. Over time, Improvisation Technologies, Forsythe repertoire and the experience of former Ballett Frankfurt and Forsythe Company artists, stagers and coaches became an important strand within ART of’s educational work.
Prix de Lausanne Partner Summer School.
In 2016 ART of became a Partner Summer School of the Prix de Lausanne. The partnership connects ART of with an international platform dedicated to the development of young dancers.
Prix de Lausanne PartnersA permanent base.
In 2017 ART of opened the ART of Ballet School in Zurich, which operated until 2021. Although the school itself is no longer active, Zurich has remained the organisational base of ART of and continues to be one of its central programme cities.
Different cities, one artistic identity.
Since its first course in Berlin, ART of has developed programmes and course editions across seven cities: Berlin, Mainz, Tokyo, Madrid, Zurich, Marseille and Dresden. Each edition has been shaped by its city, faculty, venue and artistic opportunities rather than simply repeating the same timetable in another location.
More than technique alone.
The work now extends from classical ballet and repertoire to choreographic practice, Forsythe Improvisation Technologies, body awareness, dance and sports science, physiotherapy, Voice & Speech, mentoring and individual artistic coaching.
The people behind the work
Knowledge is carried by people.
ART of has never been built around a single teaching method or a fixed faculty. Its identity has developed through encounters with teachers, ballet masters, répétiteurs, stagers, choreographers, company and school directors, dancers, movement specialists and researchers whose professional backgrounds represent different generations and traditions of dance.
Across the ART of archive, contributors bring experience from major ballet companies, professional schools, conservatoires and independent artistic practice. Some came to teach classical ballet or repertoire; others introduced choreographic work, Forsythe practice, body awareness, rehabilitation, biomechanics, sports science, psychology, voice or professional mentoring.
This range matters because a professional dancer does not work in only one language. ART of gives participants the opportunity to experience different approaches while learning to remain technically clear, artistically adaptable and personally responsible for their own development.
Explore ART of PeopleART of in numbers · archive 2026
Fourteen years of encounters, teaching and exchange.
What has remained constant
Individual attention inside an international environment.
From the first course onward, ART of has deliberately worked with limited groups so that dancers can receive correction, feedback and individual artistic attention. At the same time, participants are exposed to different schools, repertories, personalities and professional expectations.
More than 50 nationalities have been represented in ART of programmes. That international mix is not an accessory to the training: it is part of learning how to work, communicate and adapt in the professional dance world.
ART of continues to evolve, but the original idea remains recognisable — to connect classical precision with choreographic intelligence and to bring the experience of the professional dance world directly into the education of the next generation.
The next chapter
ART of is not a finished method.
It is an evolving educational platform shaped by the artists who contribute to it, the dancers who arrive from different countries and backgrounds, and the questions professional dance continues to ask.
The aim remains the same: to give dancers more than classes — to give them encounters, tools, artistic perspective and the confidence to understand how they want to work.
Meet the people behind ART of