On 1st August 2007, the Zurich School of Art and Design (HGKZ) and the Zurich School of Music, Drama and Dance merged to become the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Consequently, the Zurich Dance Academy (taZ) became part of the newly established ZHdK Department of Performing Arts and Film. With the merger, tasks, structures, and processes were reviewed and reorganized.  The first year of the taZ as part of the Zurich University of the Arts is over: it has been an extremely successful and busy year.

Diploma Awards
The 2007/2008 graduation ceremony was held on 11th July 2008. Our director, Steffi Scherzer, had the pleasure of awarding diplomas to five outstanding students, who will all be embarking on highly promising careers at acclaimed national and international theatres in the next few months: Annabel Fawcett: Stuttgart Ballet, Aram Hasler: Nederlands Dans Theater II, Den Haag, Gozde Ozgur: Bavarian State Ballet, Munich, Davit Gevorgyan: Zurich Ballett, Junior Company, Nikita Korotkov: Bavarian State Ballet, Munich.

taZ School Performances
At the ZhdK Festival of the Arts (26th-28th September 2007), junior and advanced taZ students performed excerpts of their recent competition entries (Vienna, New York, Spoleto, and Lausanne). The performance also included highlights of the 2006 Fussspuren III School Gala Performance. 

The annual taZ Christmas performance at the Theatre of the Arts (the former "Theater an der Sihl") and the annual end of school year school gala performance at the Schauspielhaus Pfauen have meanwhile established themselves as traditional events:

In the Ballet Workshop, taZ faculty and students gave two demonstrations, each dedicated to a different theme. Capacity audiences applauded the demonstration of classical-academic ballet (15th December) and the modern dance, character dance, pas-de-deux, and choreography performances a day later (16th December). Faculty offered helpful comments to provide the audience with further insight into the courses offered at taZ and our school curriculum.

No less than two guest performances at the Schauspielhaus were scheduled this year: On 24th and 25th May 2008, roughly 70 taZ students demonstrated their skills in Fussspuren IV, performing a range of demanding works of acclaimed national and international choreographers. The programme featured: Pablo Ventura's "Swarm" (adapted from the Adagio in Beethoven's String Quartet No. 12, and developed in conjunction with the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology, ICTS); Lilia Hux-Molotova's choreography "Russian Mosaic"; a range of classical variations adapted from various ballets, including "Grand Pas Classique," "Bajadere," "La Fille mal gardée," and "Swan Lake"; and the Kiel-based Mario Schröder's meditative tribute to Klaus Kinski's ingenious interpretations of François Villon's poetry. Patrice Bart (Opéra de Paris) graced us with the privilege of performing an especially adapted version of his ballet "The Four Seasons" from "Verdiana". Our young dancers were challenged to present themselves to the audience in a contemporary, classical choreography. Their performances were greeted with enthusiastic applause from almost capacity audiences on both evenings. Our end of year school gala performances have begun to attract widespread public attention as ballet and dance events not to be missed. 

Competitions
The series of brilliant competition success in previous years continued in 2007/2008:
In early February, the headlines in Swiss newspapers ran: "Gozde Özgur nominated Best Swiss Dancer," "Gozde Ozgur honoured," "Prix de Lausanne: Özgur wins Best Swiss Dancer Award," "Acclaim for Gozde Ozgur at the Prix de Lausanne." Gozde's performance in the 2008 final of the 36th Prix de Lausanne, an acclaimed international competition for young dancers, earned her the award of "Best Swiss Dancer" (worth CHF 2500). Turkish-born Gozde has been studying under Steffi Scherzer's tutelage at the taZ for three years.

On the occasion of the 13th Solothurn International Classical Ballet Competition (2008), the taZ was able to congratulate the following students on their competition successes: Category 1: Fabienne Schärer: 3rd place, bronze medal, Anna Papasotiropoulos: 5th place. Finalists: Julie Furrer, Eliana Sachpatzidis, Cristina Simoni. Category 2: Benoît Favre, 2nd place, silver medal, Ricardo Vila Manzanares: 5th place, finalist: Sina Friedli.
The 2007 Migros Cultural Percentage Student Prize was awarded to Aram Hasler and Talissa Weder; Talissa Weder was awarded the 2008 Student Prize.

Our New Boarding School
The opening of our own boarding school marks a milestone in our development! Our endeavour to house all our students under one roof has been well rewarded: since the 2007 autumn holidays, our external students have been sharing congenial residential accommodation in the Hislanden/Balgrist district. A long-harboured wish has thus become true. Professional staff is on hand around the clock to look after our future dancers.

taZ e-Boards at Main Railways Stations across Switzerland
The over-dimensional LED displays at Zurich, Bern, Basel, Lausanne, and Geneva main railway stations are hard to miss! From April through August 2008, millions of people will be coming past our illuminated advertisements every day.

Training Weeks
During the autumn, sports, and spring holidays, taZ faculty and guest tutors from Switzerland and abroad, including Eva Zmekova, Luciano di Natale, Kelvin Hardy, and Sylviane Bayard, ran a series of one-week intensive ballet and dance seminars.

Taster Days, Aptitude Test, Open Day
We hosted our annual taZ Taster Days from 5th to 8th March 2008 with a surprisingly larger number of participants than in previous years. There were 44 registrations for our annual aptitude test, held on 8th March, a considerable increase over the previous year. Fifteen applicants, including four boys, were admitted to the new introductory programme. Our traditional Open Day, held on 12th March at our Media Campus location from lunchtime through the evening, provided the general public with a deeper insight into our curriculum and courses.

"The School within a School"
We are still focusing sustained attention on implementing our integrated dance training and secondary education model. Our newly established boarding school and close collaboration with selected private schools mark two first steps towards optimally combining professional dance training and school education.

The taZ Friends Association
The Board of the taZ Friends Association strives to promote talented children and youths from Swiss families lacking the necessary financial means to become professional dancers. The Board sought to expand its membership at the taZ school performances, contributing to event preparation and looking after guests.