Bachelor Circus Arts — Codarts Rotterdam

Overview

At Codarts students are trained to become high level circus arts, both as performers as creators, with an own authentic artistic identity. Independent and broadly employable artists, who are able to shape their own working environment and who are capable of working interdisciplinary, have a reflective and inquisitive attitude and are active in multiple professional contexts.

During your study you will follow circus specialization classes in small groups and group classes in the following subjects:

• Various basic circus techniques (floor acrobatics, partner acrobatics, balancing skills, spatial awareness and object manipulation)
• Artistic creative skills: dance, theatre training, music and improvisation/composition
• Physical preparation: ballet training, core training, flexibility, resistance training and specific preparation for the circus specialization
• Research skills: circus history, art orientation and theoretical graduation project (thesis)
• Health and wellbeing: anatomy, nutrition, injury prevention and physical fitness, performance preparation
• Entrepreneurial skills
• Safety and rigging and workshops in lighting and sound technique and costume

Guided by an artistic coach you create and present every year personal artistic work. During these creating processes you learn how to combine the knowledge from the artistic creative classes with your specialization. In each year you also work in a group creation directed by a choreographer, a theatre- or circus director.

Already during your studies we bring you in contact with the professional network like festivals, presenters, circus artists and professional platforms such as FEDEC.

Study programme (4 years)

Year 1 — Propaedeutic Phase. Group classes with emphasis on technical and performing skills. Wide-ranging circus technique classes; supporting disciplines (dance, music, theatre, improvisation); theoretical subjects covering circus history, health and anatomy; introductory specialization from semester two; supervised group production; personal work with artistic coaching; and two project weeks.

Year 2 — Main Phase. An intensive year with greater scope for personal specialisation. Students continue circus disciplines with choice options, artistic creative classes, and Laban Movement Analysis. They participate in a circus-theatre group production, create personal work with coaching, and complete two project weeks.

Year 3 — Professional Integration. Focus shifts to performer independence. Students pursue intensive specialization, take classes in entrepreneurship covering production and financial management, develop personalized physical training, participate in group production, create personal work, and engage in two project weeks including a portraits assignment.

Year 4 — Graduation. Students continue specialization, receive coaching in composition, music, theatre light and sound, conduct independent research with presentations, and graduate performing an individual act and a group production in a theatre setting.

Specialisations available

Thirteen specializations including: floor/partner acrobatics, aerials (trapeze, hoop, silks, rope, straps), balancing skills, Chinese/dance pole, cyr wheel, object manipulation, teeterboard, and trampoline.

How to apply / cycle

Annual September intake. Admission opens 1 November each year via Studielink, with application closing in early February and auditions held in April (final selection is a five-day round in Rotterdam). The 2026-cycle deadline (1 February 2026) has closed; 2027-cycle dates are typically published in October 2026. The application portal is the Codarts admission page linked from this listing.

Application requirements (via OSIRIS after Studielink registration): motivation letter (English, PDF), medical statement (≤ 3 months old), high-resolution head-and-shoulders photo (PDF), and two video links demonstrating circus skills. Adapted audition procedure available for partner-seeking acts.