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What does ballet training look like when it's housed inside a 100-year-old university, with the Semperoper Ballet as your next-door neighbor?

We sat down with Rector Prof. Katharina Christl and Vice-Rector Prof. Juliana Sabino Wilhelm of Palucca University of Dance in Dresden, Germany, for a close look at one of Europe's most distinctive training models. Students can enter as young as 10, earn a bachelor's degree by 18, and perform side-by-side with professional dancers at Semperoper Ballet while still enrolled.

We covered how ballet training works in Germany versus the U.S., what the BA program looks like day-to-day, how Palucca approaches student wellness and injury prevention, and what the European job market really looks like right now. Plus the audition process, what international students need to know before applying, and the one thing both professors want every ballet parent to hear.