Choreomundus – International Master in Dance Knowledge, Practice, and Heritage

The programme investigates dance and other movement systems (ritual practices, martial arts, games and physical theatre) as Intangible Cultural Heritage within the broader contexts of Ethnochoreology, the Anthropology of Dance, Dance Studies, and Heritage Studies.

The programme is offered by a consortium of four universities internationally recognised for their leadership in the development of innovative curricula for the analysis of dance and other movement practices: University of Clermont Auvergne (UCA, coordinator), Clermont-Ferrand, France; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway; University of Szeged (SZTE), Hungary; University of Roehampton, London (URL), United Kingdom.

Choreomundus focuses on fieldwork and formal analysis of movement, and engages with a variety of theoretical and methodological frameworks. The programme provides practical skills to observe, analyse, document, and evaluate dances, thereby developing an appreciation of dance that is comparative, cross-cultural, applied, and embodied. It equips students to make sense of intangible heritage within a culturally diverse world, to promote culturally appropriate modes of knowledge transmission, and to engage with cultural differences and problems of social exclusion in the 21st century.

Choreomundus was an Erasmus EMMC Joint Master programme 2012-2018, was an Erasmus+ Joint Master Degree EMJMD 2017-2021 and is an Erasmus+ Joint Master Degree EMJMD 2020-2025.

Photo: Egil Bakka/NTNU - Celebration Ceremony Cohort 6
Photo: Egil Bakka/NTNU - Celebration Ceremony Cohort 6
Prof. Gediminas Karoblis during a lecture with Cohort 6 at NTNU.
Prof. Gediminas Karoblis during a lecture with Cohort 6 at NTNU.
Cohort 3 students performing their own choreography.
Cohort 3 students performing their own choreography.
Prof. Laszlo Felfoldi in a gathering with students from Cohort 1 in Hungary.
Prof. Laszlo Felfoldi in a gathering with students from Cohort 1 in Hungary.

Applicants should hold an undergraduate first degree or equivalent professional experience (see details under Admission requirements). The primary language of instruction is English, and an introduction to French, Norwegian, and Hungarian is provided. In this two year programme, students study in three universities for at least one semester with an intensive in a fourth (see Mobility path). Students who successfully complete the programme will be awarded a Joint Master Degree.

Employment opportunities exist worldwide within public and private organisations responsible for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and within higher education and research. The production of digitised inventories of ICH for archival purposes or development of computer animation from motion capture data are some areas in which Choreomundus skills are required. Choreomundus alumni from this Erasmus Mundus programme are working in the cultural sector and within the heritage and tourist industries, including interactive museums. They help develop programmes to work with refugees and other post-traumatic stress sufferers, or continue their education into doctoral research. 

For further information regarding Choreomundus, please contact us on e-mail at:

choreomundus.staps@uca.fr

Géraldine RIX-LIÈVRE (Coordinating convenor)

Elise CARRARO (Coordinating administrator)