DANCE EDUCATION IN GREECE
Dance as an art form, which can be studied, on a higher-level equal to a University is not very popular in Greece. This situation stems from prejudice of the public who cannot understand dance as an art and also from a very old and dysfunctional system of examination and admission of students into professional dance training programs. On top of that the financial crisis of the later years has seen a reduction, or better stop to any funding by state agencies.
In 2012 the “Dance School of Vasiliki Marouli” became a higher-level educational institution, offering students the opportunity to attend a 3-year course in dance studies approved by the Greek Ministry of Culture and earn a Degree as a dancer or dance teacher. The school needs a PR plan to deal with student enrolment since there is fear, on behalf of the public, to trust a new school.
Vasiliki Marouli has offered high quality dance training through its amateur dance programs for over 25 years. This is demonstrated through the number of students succeeding in their examinations every year, which reaches a 99% success rate. The examinations are highly credible since they are held by the Royal Academy of Dance, which is an external partner of the school.
Additionally, many of the school’s students in the past have successfully gone on to continue their dance training on a professional level in other institutions such as the National Opera of Greece.
In 2012 as part of its new program the school opened a training course to prepare students for the entrance examination into professional dance schools held by the ministry of culture. This program did not have a big success since only one out of three students passed. The organisation admitted that the students, although they had made big progress since coming to the school from other schools, were still not ready for the examinations.
The leadership of the school is very satisfied with the quality of services it provided but it is overall dissatisfied with the value given to these services by the greater public. In specific it is dissatisfied with the low number of attendants to the dance program.