In a move designed to support the development of Dance as a profession in Romania and to hone the skills and knowledge of talented Romanians with an interest in Dance, the University of Chichester in partnership with the Ratiu Foundation announce the establishment of the Ratiu Foundation / Chichester University Awards.
Vice-Chancellor Dr Robin Baker said: ‘At the University of Chichester, we are rightly proud of our Department of Dance which combines leading-edge academic research with performance of the highest quality. We are pleased through our partnership with the Ratiu Foundation to welcome aspiring dance professionals from Romania, a nation with an exceptional history of dance, to work with leading authorities on dance in Chichester.’
Nicolae Ratiu, Chairman of the Ratiu Foundation, said ‘We are happy to open a new chapter in the activity of the Foundation by assisting the improvement of the field of Dance in Romania, and helping dance professionals to get new knowledge and experience in the UK’.
The Ratiu Foundation / University of Chichester Awards consist of two University of Chichester scholarships of tuition fees plus two Ratiu Foundation Scholarships of £3,000 each for living expenses.
The Ratiu Foundation / University of Chichester Awards are granted to two Romanian students to study in the MA Performance: Dance in the Faculty of Business, Arts and Humanities of the University of Chichester. These awards are designed to enable talented graduate young professionals to further their research and professional practice.
The University of Chichester is ranked the third best university on the List of Modern University (according to 2007 Sunday Times League Table). The Dance Department in the Faculty of Business, Arts & Humanities is broad-based, innovative and creatively challenging. It focuses on choreography in an experimental, post-modern style reflecting and responding to the latest developments in dance and performance in today’s theatre.
For more details about the Dance Department, please go to www.chiuni.ac.uk/dance/index.cfm
The Ratiu Foundation / University of Chichester Award for MA Performance: Dance offers three pathways – for Performers, Makers and Independent researchers.
The Performers’ pathway is for full time students only and includes membership of the university touring dance company mapdance (www.mapdance.org). Work made on the Makers’ pathway will explore choreographic/devised work which could be site-specific, theatre-based, installation work or use new technology. Students on the Makers’ Route can select to be in one piece of repertory as part of the mapdance company. Independent Researchers undertake a large-scale research project which can be practice-led or focused entirely on theory.
Students work with an exciting team of nationally and internationally renowned arts researchers and practitioners including Valerie Briginshaw, Yael Flexer/Detta Howe (Directors of mapdance), Marisa Zanotti, Jill Hayes, Cathy Childs, Ann Nugent and Sarah Rubidge.
The MA is part of the active research culture within the Faculty of Business, Arts & Humanities which includes visiting artists contributing to regular research presentations, performances, installations and exhibitions and a weekly Contemporary Critical Theory Reading Group.
For more details on the MA Performance: Dance, please consult the on-line prospectus at http://chiuni.ac.uk/services/courses/Prospectusdetail.cfm?ID=79
or contact Cathy Childs, Subject Leader, on E-mail: C.Childs@chi.ac.uk.
Application Process:
Candidates should first make an application for their chosen pathway. They should contact the Dance Department in writing to apply for the University of Chichester scholarship.
AUDITIONS:
The Dance Department of the University of Chichester will hold auditions in Bucharest, for the benefit of prospective students, on 14 June (all day) and the morning of 15 June 2008. The auditions will be held at The National Centre of Dance (CNDB), 2 Nicolae Balcescu Blvd, Bucharest. If you are interested in attending these auditions, please send a message at mail@ratiufamilyfoundation.com for further details.
If the candidate is awarded the University of Chichester scholarship, they should then contact the Ratiu Foundation in writing to make arrangements for the Ratiu Foundation Scholarship covering the living expenses (£3,000 each). They will need to include written evidence of their University of Chichester scholarship when writing to the Ratiu Foundation.
Apply in writing to:
Mr Nicolae Ratiu, Chairman, The Ratiu Foundation, 8th floor, 54 – 62 Regent Street, London, W1B 5RE, United Kingdom; Tel: + 44 (0)20 7439 4052; E-mail: mail@ratiufamilyfoundation.com
The Ratiu Foundation was established in London in 1979 by Ion and Elisabeth Ratiu. Through its scholarships, the Foundation enables talented Romanian graduates and young professionals to gain skills in the UK which they can adapt and apply back home in Romania.
For more details, please go to www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com