The directorate of the Academy of Theatre and Dance (ATD) of the Amsterdam University of the Arts has appointed Gideon Poirier as artistic director of the Expanded Contemporary Dance programme from 15 August 2025. He succeeds Bojana Bauer, who is handing over the baton after seven passionate years as artistic director.
About Gideon Poirier
Gideon received his dance training at The National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto. After graduation, he danced with several national and international dance companies. As a repetitor and choreographic assistant, he worked for the Gothenburg Dance Company, Conny Janssen and SALLY Dansgezelschap Maastricht, among others. He has also taught as a guest teacher in the Netherlands, Europe and the United States. Gideon holds a double master's degree in Dance Science.
Gideon knows the ECD study programme from the inside. He was part of the first think tanks and working groups that shaped the programme from the beginning and played an active role in developing the programme's structure, focus and underlying philosophy.
Mechtild van den Hombergh, director (a.i.) Academy of Theatre and Dance:
'As a member of the core team of the ECD, Gideon has contributed to, and gained experience in, the developments within the ECD in recent years. His leadership qualities, didactic and pedagogical experience and his vision of dance is what ECD needs now. His involvement in, contribution to the current programme and his plans for the future are of great importance for the further development and stability of both the education and the team. After all, the ECD has only been in existence since 2019. This calls for continuation where necessary on the path taken. There will certainly be shifts of emphasis and changes taking place there but from the current base that is firmly grounded.’
About the Expanded Contemporary Dance (ECD) programme
The Expanded Contemporary Danceprogramme allows young dancers to develop at a high professional level. We provide a safe environment where students can explore their individuality and artistic personality and discover the relationship between social, hip hop, club and street style and non-Western dance styles and the European and American tradition of theatre dance. We invite our students to think and act as artists with their own voice in a diverse, inclusive and creative environment. After graduation, our students go on to find professional positions in companies, projects or as freelancers.