DAF International Training Program and NEXT Post Graduate Program
DAF VISION
DAF is focused on elevating the quality of a dancer’s life project. It is a program built on a deep, somatic understanding of the practices and strategies that sustain a process that is healthy, rich, and balanced.
Within this framework, DAF has redefined the parameters and underlying algorithms of a dancer’s training, addressing the mental, emotional, and physical dimensions as an integrated system. This shift moves beyond the repetitive structures that have traditionally shaped professional preparation, opening instead to a more adaptive and responsive model.
At its core, this vision is not abstract. It actively searches for, identifies, and applies the resources and actions necessary for the development of a contemporary artist. The focus is not limited to technique or repertoire. It extends to the construction of individual trajectories that reveal and engage the energetic and psychological structure of each student.
At the same time, DAF has established a unique program on the international scene, presenting each year 20 original choreographic creations. This generates a dynamic ecosystem in which a continuous flow of guest artists contributes to an ever-evolving field of stimuli, visions, and cultural perspectives.
This level of productive investment is not incidental. It is a deliberate strategy to move beyond consolidated habits in dancer training, reconfiguring the system itself. The student is immersed in a process that mirrors, and in some cases exceeds, the dynamics of a fully active theatre: the same intensity of work, the same demands, and a comparable number of premieres.
From the very first day, the process is designed to operate at depth, initiating a form of development that is both rigorous and self-aware. In doing so, DAF has progressively positioned itself as a reference model. Originating in Italy, its approach has influenced a wider international landscape, contributing to the emergence of new formats and methodologies in advanced dance training.
On May 30
DAF has created in Italy a unique professional training program for an in-depth education of the dancers recognized by artists, choreographers and directors all over the world as one of the most interesting possibilities to help the young artists to build their future.
An advanced training system grounded in a rigorous and analytical exploration of contemporary dance languages within the international landscape. The program unfolds through a continuous dialogue between classical discipline and the creation of new contemporary works, developed in collaboration with guest artists from across the world. This approach redefines the conditions of training. It is not limited to the acquisition of technique, but builds a process in which each dancer is exposed to the same intensity, responsibility, and creative demand of a fully active professional environment. The result is a system that mirrors, and often exceeds, the rhythm and complexity of a working theatre, immersing the student in a continuous cycle of creation, adaptation, and performance.
Within this framework, the work developed for the Professional 2 students follows a structured model of development based on observation, relational dynamics, and continuous evaluation. The process is designed to accompany the entire trajectory, carefully monitoring differences in response, degrees of adaptability, and the individual capacity to integrate complex inputs. The objective is clear: to support a process of integration that, already by the end of the first season, allows the emergence of concrete and decisive results.
The work created for the students is not left to unfold autonomously within the studio. It is consistently analyzed, studied, and observed. The students’ path is not entrusted exclusively to guest choreographers or resident teachers, but is continuously processed through a broader system of shared observation. Artists involved in parallel creations are given the possibility to witness and reflect on the work developed with other groups, generating a layered perspective on the students’ evolution. What might appear as a complex structure is, in reality, clarified and sustained by the synergic action of a cohesive team. This system connects the various experiences, interprets them, and redistributes their insights across the entire choreographic and pedagogical framework, ensuring coherence, depth, and continuity throughout the program.
International Artists in Residence
A dynamic system of national and international artists who, through original creations, shape the program’s identity at depth, continuously redefining it over time.
International Line-up 2025/26
THE DAF EXPERIENCE
Daf International Artists | Giovanni Insaudo making of “Give me something wonderful”
Giovanni Insaudo new work for students of Daf International project
