+++ This episode starts out in German but switches to English after a short introduction. +++

New year – new season – new degree? This January, FOYERFUNK is all about starting your studies at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK)! Dance students Naia Nieto and Johann Holland are the guests of our first episode this season. Both of them have found a safe space to discover themselves and hone their skills in the HfMDK dance studio. How nervous were they at their own audition and with what attitude should applicants go there? How did they experience their fresh start in Frankfurt? And what have they already learned as young dancers at the university? Naia and Johann share these personal insights with this season's host Maurício Homberg, student representative and music teaching major.

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Why is freedom dependent on responsibility? And how does dance improvisation reflect society? In this episode of FOYERFUNK, Isaac Spencer, professor of ballet technique at the HfMDK, chats with Ioannis Mandafounis, choreographer and artistic director of the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company (DFDC), and BA dance students Marta Maestrelli and Aziliz Routier about a recent project: JOIN, a collaboration between Ioannis, the HfMDK's BAdance study program and the professional dancers of the DFDC. What is it like when performers of different ages, backgrounds and levels of experience come together to form one community? The students describe how it felt to learn Ioannis' method and dance alongside professionals, supporting and challenging each other as well as learning from the experience despite - or because of - their differences.

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