History

Aiming to keep up with the times in its artistic and educational profile at the beginning of the 1990s, the School returns to its own tradition, rooted in modern dance.

In 1991, Paul Melis, the Belgian dancer and choreographer, took over the artistic management of the school. In 1993, Palucca Schule Dresden was declared a stand-alone arts college equal to others. Thus, the foundations were laid for a unique dance training programme, with equal emphasis on modern and classical dance, and in which improvisation was also highly valued. Former Palucca School student Hanne Wandtke became the director of the "Academy for Artistic Dance". Between 1994 and 1997, Peter Jarchow, long-time pianist in Palucca’s lessons, directed the academy. From 1997 to July 2006, Enno Markwart, also a former Palucca School student, ran the college. The school was restructured under his tenure and, in 1997, became the only independent college for dance in Germany. Subsequent to the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Palucca School in 2000 as well as Gret Palucca’s 100th birthday in 2002, planning for the renovation of the old and the construction of new campus buildings and facilities was undertaken. The new campus was completed in April 2007. Canadian-born Jason Beechey has been the rector of the college since August 2006.