Around studies

CCD alumni: Lili Eva Irmeli Oksanen at the Solo Dance Contest of the 17th Gdańsk Dance Festival

BA Dance graduate Lili Eva Irmeli Oksanen was invited to the Solo Dance Contest of the 17th Gdańsk Dance Festival 2025 in Poland with her solo “Pump and Run,” created as part of SOLOEDITION'25. She won second prize and was awarded a prize of €1,750. Congratulations, Lili!

Yosep Jeon wins first prize at the International Dance Competition Festival in Ulaanbaatar

Yosep Jeon (BA Dance) won first prize at the International Dance Competition Festival “Joroon Joroo” in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The festival took place from 28 October to 2 November 2025. “Joroon Joroo” is organised by the School of Dance Art at the Mongolian National University of Arts and Culture (MNUAC) in cooperation with the “Bayarbaatar – Dance Choreographer Center” and several partner organisations. The festival aims to support emerging dance artists, foster artistic exchange, and deepen the dialogue between traditional and contemporary dance forms.
We warmly congratulate Yosep!

Deutschlandstipendium 2025 awarded to Paulina Brunner, Nadine Kribbe, and Bo Preuß 

Once again this year, the ZZT is pleased to honor committed and outstanding students who have been awarded a Deutschlandstipendium.
The scholarship supports students who demonstrate exceptional academic performance, take on social responsibility, or have overcome personal challenges on their educational path.

The Deutschlandstipendium amounts to €3,600 per year, paid in monthly installments of €300. It is funded equally by private sponsors and the German federal government.

We warmly congratulate Paulina Brunner (BA Dance), Nadine Kribbe (BA Dance), and Bo Preuß (MA Mediation in Dance) and wish them continued success and inspiration on their artistic and dance-related journey and work!

DAAD Prize 2025 for Outstanding Achievments of International Students Awarded to Paula Castelli

We are very pleased that this year Paula Castelli (BA Dance) has been honored with the DAAD Prize for Outstanding Achievements of International Students. The €1,000 prize is awarded annually at German universities to recognize students who distinguish themselves through exceptional academic performance as well as social or intercultural engagement.

The DAAD Prize aims to give a face and a story to the many international students studying at German universities. We warmly congratulate Paula Castelli on this well-deserved recognition!

Paulina Brunner, Friederike Reif, and Renato Sbardelotto receive the Deutschlandstipendium 2024

We warmly congratulate Paulina Brunner from the BA Dance program, Friederike Reif from the MA Dance Studies program, and Renato Sbardelotto from the MA Mediation in Dance program on being awarded the Deutschlandstipendium!
The scholarship for Friederike Reif is sponsored by the Cologne Lyceum Club, an organization dedicated to promoting artistic and cultural exchange among women. It supports her theoretical-practical research on breaking down rigid gender roles in partner dance as "dancing in twos."

Isabel Carvalho receives the CROSSOVER scholarship 2024 from KunstSalon e.V 

The CROSSOVER scholarship is a funding project of KunstSalon e.V., made possible by the KunstSalon Foundation. It has been providing financial and structural support to ZZT graduates every year since 2017.
Isabel Carvalho was selected for funding in 2024. Andreas Schmitz, Chairman of the Board of the KunstSalon Foundation, Silvia Ehnis Perez Duarte, Artistic Director & Curator of the TANZRESIDENZ in the Quartier am Hafen and Vera Sander, Head of the BA Dance program at the HfMT were involved in the decision-making process. The scholarship includes financial support of €1,500 as well as 12 months of guidance, advice and support with communication strategies, work processes and building a professional network. Congratulations, Isabel!

Scholarship CROSSOVER 2023

Hyunsoo Auo and Benze C. Werner receive the scholarship CROSSOVER of KunstSalon e.V.

The scholarship CROSSOVER is a support project of KunstSalon e.V., made possible by the KunstSalon Foundation. It has been providing annual financial and structural support to ZZT graduates since 2017. In order to promote the individual work focus of the graduate and thus also to reflect the broad spectrum of support of the foundation, Benze C. Werner and Hyunsoo Auo support in the amount of 1,500€ each, as well as 12 months of support and consulting in the areas of networking and public relations."

Scholarship of the German National Academic Foundation 2023 awarded to Sophie Carnetzki

Scholarship CROSSOVER 2022

Josefine Simonsen receives the CROSSOVER scholarship from KunstSalon e.V.

The CROSSOVER scholarship is a support project of KunstSalon e.V., made possible by the KunstSalon Foundation. Since 2017, it has provided annual financial and structural support for one graduate of the ZZT. In order to promote the individual work focus of the graduate and thus also reflect the broad spectrum of support of the foundation, Josefine Simnonsen receives support in the amount of 1,500 €. In addition, free participation in various professional trainings of the Freie Szene Köln as well as 12 months of support and consulting in the areas of networking and public relations will be made possible.

Scholarship for final projects with a gender theme 2022

Tamora Dinklage and Dimitrios Vasilakis receive a scholarship from the Equal Opportunities Commission of HfMT Cologne for their final projects with a gender theme.

In 2022, the Equal Opportunity Commission will award six scholarships of €500 each for final projects and theses with gender-related issues. In this way, the commission aims to promote the continuous development of gender-related research as well as the encouragement and support of gender-focused seminar papers and theses in order to provide new impetus in gender research at the university. Tamora Dinklage receives one of these scholarships for her bachelor thesis "I see you seeing me", a dance performance and walk-in installation for three dancers. Another scholarship is awarded to Dimitrios Vasilakis for his final project "Training For No Future", in which performers jointly explore the body, space and temporality of digital realities and their connections to queerness.

STIBET Scholarship 2022

The aim of the graduation scholarship is to give foreign students who have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own the opportunity to complete their studies in a concentrated manner. The graduation scholarship is aimed at all foreign students who have achieved good academic results and will graduate within the current university year. Here, financial support is granted for a maximum of six months and paid for the last semester of your studies. In 2022, Darya Myasnikova will receive the STIBET scholarship.

Germany Scholarship 2021

Ana Isabel Vieira Carvallho, Aleksandra Demina and Tamora Dinklage will receive the Deutschlandstipendium.

The Deutschlandstipendium offers a reliable additional source of funding, initially for a period of one year, to selected, particularly talented and committed students who, in addition to excellent academic achievements, have also assumed social responsibility and/or successfully overcome obstacles in their own life and educational path.

DAAD Prize 2021

Sebastian Varra receives the DAAD Prize of HfMT Cologne 2021 for his extraordinary social and artistic commitment.

The financial support will enable you to participate in the Deltebre Dansa Festival or Paris Summer Academy.

PROMOS Scholarship 2021

Isaac Andres Espinoza Hidrobo will receive the PROMOS scholarship funded by the DAAD in 2021.

Among other things, the financial support will enable her to participate in the intensive workshop "Passing Through and Flying Low" in Brussels.

Scholarship of the German National Academic Foundation 2021

Josefine Simonsen was accepted as a scholarship holder of the German National Academic Foundation after a successful application process and audition.

The Studienstiftung supports students whose talents and personality give rise to expectations of special achievements in the service of the community. In doing so, the scholarship holders shape and contribute to society in many ways and are supported until the end of their studies within the framework of the standard period of study. In addition to financial support, scholarship holders can also take advantage of the non-material program. The targeted networking of the scholarship holders - with each other and with renowned scientists and artists - is an important concern. A comprehensive range of scholarships and language courses facilitates the step abroad and thus the confrontation with other cultures and ways of life. In addition, participation in short conferences, concert series or residencies is offered.

Scholarship CROSSOVER 2021

Vivien Kovarbasic receives the CROSSOVER scholarship from KunstSalon e.V.

The CROSSOVER scholarship is a support project of KunstSalon e.V., made possible by the KunstSalon Foundation. Since 2017, it has provided annual financial and structural support for one graduate of the ZZT. In order to promote the individual work focus of the graduate and thus also to reflect the broad spectrum of support of the foundation, Vivien Kovarbasic receives support in the amount of 1,500 €. In addition, free participation in various professional trainings of the Freie Szene Köln as well as 12 months of support and consulting in the areas of networking and public relations will be made possible.

Dis-Dance-Solo

Margherita Dello Sbarba, graduate of BA Dance, receives the scholarship-like support Dis-Tanz-Solo.

The Dachverband Tanz Deutschland e.V., the non-profit cultural organization Diehl+Ritter and JOINT ADVENTURES / NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETZ are part of the rescue and future program "Neustart Kultur" of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) with their jointly developed and coordinated federal dance support. The scholarship-like support Dis-Tanz-Solo refers to the promotion of projects by dance creators that involve researching, further educating and developing their work as well as organizing, documenting and archiving their projects and that are dedicated to the partly invisible areas of artistic work. Projects that readjust and reflect on their own working methods, as well as expand knowledge and formulate innovative ways of working, are encouraged.

#TakeCareResidencies

Katharina Senzenberger receives stipend-like funding from the #TakeCare initiative.

Made possible by NEUSTART KULTUR - the rescue and future package for the cultural and media sector financed by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) - Fonds Darstellende Künste is updating the successful #TakeCare initiative to strengthen freelance artists* affected by nationwide cutbacks and continuing it in a broadly effective form. The grant-like funding is aimed at independent performing artists and aims to further their artistic development in the wake of the pandemic. For the projects funded in #TakeCare, the artistic idea as well as open-ended and production-independent activities are at the center. Emphasis is placed on content-related explorative projects, such as research to generate content and future concept developments, as well as all activities aimed at stabilizing artistic activities.

Scholarship of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation 2021

Emma Stacey was accepted as a Rosa Luxemburg Foundation scholarship holder after a successful application process.

The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation supports students with special academic achievements as well as pronounced social commitment in the spirit of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. The Foundation aims to contribute to democracy, social justice and solidarity as well as to the equalization of social, gender or ethnic disadvantages through political education. The scholarship holders are supported until the end of their studies within the framework of the standard period of study. In addition to financial support, the scholarship holders can also participate in various workshops and seminars.

We are pleased to welcome numerous guests from Germany and abroad who have worked with our students and teachers at the ZZT:

Prof. Dr. Marie Luise Angerer // Lindy Annis // Antonia Baehr // Fabian Barba // Regina van Berkel // Ulrika Berg // Dr. Christiane Berger // Olive Bieringa // Dr. Maaike Bleeker // Lisa Bosbach // Prof. Dr. Gabriele Brandstetter // Nathalie Bredella // Bettina Buck // Christine Bürkle // Jan Burkhardt // Dana Caspersen // Fatou Cissé // Maayan Danoch // Ingo Diehl // Anouk van Dijk // Matthieu Doze // Darko Dragičević // Isabelle Drexler // Katie Duck // Dr. Kerstin Evert // Libby Farr // Dr. Susanne Foellmer // Ole Frahm // Dr. Christine Gaigg // Emanuel Gat // Philipp Gehmacher // Rafaele Giovanola // Mariella Greil // Susanne Grau // Volkhard Samuel Guist // Nuhacet Guerra // Prof. Nik Haffner // Dr. Nicole Haitzinger // Hanna Hegenscheidt // Amy Heger // Daniela Herlyn-Kern // David Hernandez // Claudia Heu // Lisa Hinterreithner // Dr. Sabine Huschka // Dr. Pirrko Husemann // Sangeeta Isvaran // Jason Jacobs // Eva Karczag // Lily Kiara // Henrike Kollmar // Anja Konjetzky // Narendra Kumar // Dr. Friederike Lampert // Heike Lehmke // Thomas Lehmen // Xavier Le Roy // Nanine Linning // Dr. des. Katrin Losleben // Kirsten Maar // Russell Maliphant // Sergiu Matis // Dr. Katherine Mezur // Taiya Mikisch // Emi Miyoshi-Dordzillo // Maura Morales // Jennifer Muller // Britta Muntendorf // Michele Murray // Martin Nachbar // Maria Naidu // Anusha Natarajan // Adonis Nebié // Shumpei Nemoto // Ulrike Nestler // Sandra Noeth // Dr. Gundhild Oberzaucher-Schüller // Rasmus Ölme // Manuel Sebastian Pelmus // Peeping Tom // Ivan Perez // Jan Pusch // Antje Pfundtner // Omar Rajeh // Otto Ramstad // Prof. Dr. Michael Rappe // Yvonne Rainer // Amy Raymond // Georg Reischl // Ben J. Riepe // Madeline Ritter // Jochen Roller // Ann Christin Rommen // Dr. Claudia Rosiny // Paula Rosolen // Martina Ruhsam // Jessica van Rueschen // Dr. Petra Sabisch // Judith Sanchez Ruiz // Renae Catherine Shadler // Isabelle Schad // Yael Schnell // Jörg Schiebe // Dr. Janine Schulze // Stefan Schultze // Yaron Shamir // Norah Zuniga Shaw // Helder Seabra // Katharina Sehnert // Sayouba Sigue // Emanuele Soavi // Prof. Martin Sonderkamp // Dr. Michael Steinbusch // Dr. Wolfgang Steinmüller // Prof. Dr. Martin Stern // Ted Stoffer // Didier Théron // Stephanie Thiersch // Dr. Christina Thurner // Pascal Touzeau // Dr. Tugce Tuna // Eduardo Toroja (Ultima Vez) // Ursina Tossi // Julio Iglesias Ungo // Vasanth Venkatachari // Guy Weizman & Rony Haver // Gabriele Wittmann // Jasna Vinovrski // Alexandra Waiertall // Angélique Willkie // Dr. Maren Witte // Chun-Hsien Wu // Sigal Zouk, u.a.