Choreomundus 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 and Heritage Studies, Dance and Technology.
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), Clermont-Ferrand, France; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway; National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece (NKUA); University of Roehampton, London (UR), United Kingdom.
Choreomundus focuses on fieldwork and engages with a variety of theoretical and methodological frameworks. The programme provides practical skills in formal analysis of movement, motion capture, documentation, and evaluation of 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 sensitive modes of knowledge transmission, and to engage with cultural differences and problems of displacement and migration in the 21st century.
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 open access, archival and aesthetic purposes using motion capture and traditional forms of data collection is an important area in which Choreomundus skills are required. Choreomundus alumni are working within the heritage and cultural tourism industries, including interactive museums. They also develop social integration projects with displaced persons and communities such as refugees and other post-traumatic stress sufferers, or they continue their education into doctoral research.
Applicants should hold an undergraduate first degree or equivalent professional experience (see details under Admission Requirements on the Choreomundus website). The primary language of instruction is English, and an introduction to French, Norwegian and Greek is provided. In this two-year programme, students study in three European universities for at least one semester and possibly a fourth in a non-EU country (see Mobility path on the Choreomundus website). Students who successfully complete the programme will be awarded a joint Master degree with a single diploma parchment from all three universities.
