Expanded Contemporary Dance (ECD) is a new bachelor program at the Amsterdam University of the Arts. The study programme forms professional dancers through a diversity of subjects that explore social, urban and non-western dance aesthetic, forms and histories, and their relation to European and American theatre dance traditions. Some of the key philosophical points of the programme are: decentering from the notion of Western cultural and philosophical modernity; the constant shift of contemporary dance by the diversity of genres, aesthetics, practices and people; and, equality in difference, this is, inclusion of diverse genres, aesthetics and practices without domination or appropriation.

While keeping a certain relation to AHK's visual identity, the values of the ECD programme are visually conveyed through the use of a constantly shifting grid, and through patterns and repetition that speak about reflection, analysis, rehearsal, individuality and community. The visual identity is heavily rooted in the vocabulary of the bachelor programme, playing with combinations of words that purposely create new and weird meanings, which is giving a glimpse about the thinking behind the programme.

Amsterdam, 2019
Creative direction and design: What The