The Folkwang University of the Arts is a German university for music, theater, dance, design and academic studies. Its traditional main location since 1927 is in the former Werden Abbey in Essen in the Ruhr Area, with additional facilities in Duisburg, Bochum and Dortmund and since 2010 at the Zeche Zollverein, a World Heritage Site.[1] The Folkwang University is the home of the international dance company Folkwang Tanz Studio (FTS). Founded as Folkwangschule, its name was Folkwang Hochschule (Folkwang Academy) from 1963 until 2009.
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The university shares its unusual name with the Museum Folkwang founded in 1902 by arts patron Karl Ernst Osthaus. The term Folkwang derives from the Old Norse name of the afterlife meadow of the dead, Fólkvangr, presided over by the Norse goddess Freyja.[2] It stands for a view of the arts as a whole, not split in unconnected divisions. This in mind, opera director Rudolf Schulz-Dornburg and choreographer Kurt Jooss founded in 1927 the Folkwangschule für Musik, Tanz und Sprechen (Folkwang School for Music, Dance, and Speech) in Essen. In 1928 a previously established school of design joined the Folkwang institution, which received status and name Hochschule (Academy) in 1963, University in 2010, named Folkwang-Hochschule. In 2010 the institution was named Folkwang University of the Arts, reflecting the broader scientific approach. This coincided with RUHR.2010, the Ruhr being European Capital of Culture.
The Folkwang University unites training in music, theatre, dance, design and scholarship, in order to encourage collaboration among the arts.[3] Public events take place at the Folkwang University on its six in-house stages and in collaboration with cultural institutions of the region, such as the Philharmonie in Essen, the Schauspielhaus Bochum, Musiktheater im Revier, the Duisburg Philharmonic, the theatres in Wuppertal and the Ruhrfestspiele.
Undergraduate courses:
Advanced programs:
Staff have included
Alumni have included