Propaedeutic phase (first study year)
In the first study year the school provides a significant amount of diverse input. It is reflected in higher amount of face-to-face study hours. The courses are divided into morning and afternoon schedules. The morning schedule consists of classes in technique, which include yoga, physical fitness, movement research, Alexander technique, West African Classical Dance, Alignment, release, Hip Hop fundamentals, etc.
The afternoon schedule includes courses in choreography, theory and performance making.
The assessed performance programme is taking place in SNDO studios at the end of the 1st study year

Second study year
The second study year continues to offer diverse and punctual input that is now structured in longer Blocks or in weekly labs with different artists. This is the year where focus shifts from orientation to expanding one’s investigative and learning tools, getting acquainted with critical theory and starting to give the more articulate contours to own artistic practice. The assessed studio performance programme takes place in spring.

The Film Workshop

The Film Workshop takes place in the first semester and provides the students with platform to create a three-minute long film. An external guest – filmmaker - and ATD staff member co-teach the course. The guest brings in their artistic frame of reference, teach basic Film Theory and artistically support students in concept development and editing phase of their films. ATD teacher is in charge of technical part of the course (film editing software and technique), light, camera operating and film production and organization. The Film workshop ends with a public presentation of the films on the premises of the ID-Lab at the Academy.

Thinking Through Gender block

One of the seminal blocks within SNDO curriculum is the Thinking through gender: gender and postcolonial critique where in the course of up to six weeks students start to critically examine and explore the questions pertaining to body, performance and choreography considering artistic, ethical, political, social and other implications of working with(in) choreography.

Third study year
This study year provides platform for going from the studio performances and input to placing one’s own (emerging) practice in dialogue with theatrical apparatus and on this occasion with the proscenium stage.
The year starts with creation process for Dance Theatre (assessed performance) programme. This is paralleled with six-week Philosophy course ending in writing an essay.

The second semester of third year introduces structurally the notion of collaboration in the curriculum. Though performance making is always a collaborative process, in this semester different actual collaborations take place. 

During the third year the student is preparing their Graduation plans – conceptualizing and arranging their internship months, conceptualizing and preparing for the writing of the Final Paper (reading, collecting material), as well as starting to think through where they imagine and wish their future work to take shape.

Fourth study year (Graduation phase)
The fourth year starts with the internship, which is taking place between September and December of the respective school year. The internship is a moment for student to make connections between their artistic practice and the professional field.

Between April and end of June, students work on their final Graduation Festival. If in the spring programme students are supposed to create a new work, for the Graduation Festival students can choose to present an older work, a re-work of the spring performance or create a new one.

Upon completion and positive assessment of all four components of the graduation plan the student is receiving the SNDO diploma Bachelor of Art – Choreography at the end of the forth study year.

The fourth year is rounded up with graduation ceremony, which is a moment for the community to celebrate the graduates.