The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ( cs, Akademie múzických umění v Praze, AMU) is a university in the centre of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the largest art school in the Czech Republic, with more than 350 educators and researchers, and 1500 students. The academy consists of three faculties: a Film and TV School (FAMU); Music and Dance Faculty (HAMU); and Theatre Faculty (DAMU), offering Bachelor, Masters, and Doctoral level courses, as well as conducting artistic research, and in some departments also research in art history and theory. AMU has two cross-faculty pedagogical facilities: a Languages Centre and a Sports, Rehabilitation and Movement Centre. The university also has two facilities outside Prague designed for residential multi-day creative projects.

History

The Academy of Performing Arts was founded by a Presidential Decree of 27 October 1945, and opened to students the next year, in the winter semester of 1946. The establishment of the school was initiated by a group of artists and writers, including

Jindřich Honzl Jindřich Honzl (14 May 1894 – 20 April 1953) was a Czech theatre theorist, film and theatre director and pedagogue who was a leading representative of Czech modern theater. Biography Honzl was born on May 14, 1894, in Humpolec in the family ...

, , and , during World War II. Professors of the older

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory or Prague Conservatoire ( cs, Pražská konzervatoř) is a music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, Prague Conservatory offers four or six year study courses, which can be compared to the level ...

also supported the idea of transforming the former maestro school into a university. Writers, artists and other film-makers with practical experience in the film industry, including Jaroslav Bouček,

Karel Plicka Karel Plicka (in Slovak: Karol Plicka) (14 October 1894 6 May 1987) was a Czechoslovak photographer, film director, cinematographer, folklorist, and pedagogue. He is considered a founder of Slovak film education and filmmaking. He helped estab ...

Otakar Vávra Otakar Vávra (28 February 1911 – 15 September 2011) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. He was born in Hradec Králové, Austria-Hungary, now part of the Czech Republic. Biography and career Vávra attended universities i ...

, Ivan Olbracht,

Vítězslav Nezval Vítězslav Nezval (; 26 May 1900 – 6 April 1958) was a Czech poet, writer and translator. He was one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the 20th century and a co-founder of the Surrealist movement in Czechos ...

, and , contributed to the school’s future curriculum, designing it to reflect new trends in post-war film development. Later the Film Studio and the DISK theatre, belonging to the Theatre Faculty, were added. The Opera Studio of the Music Faculty also uses the DISK theatre. When the medium of television emerged, the Film and TV School began offering study programmes for TV specialists. It also has a department with a still photography curriculum.

Faculties

The Academy of Performing Arts consists of a Film and TV School (FAMU), Music and Dance Faculty, Theatre Faculty, and a rector’s office. Besides the DISK theatre and Film Studio, the Academy's teaching facilities include sound and photography studios, laboratories, workshops, dancing and training halls. The Lichtenštejn Palace, renovated in 1991, contains a grand concert hall dedicated to the Czech composer

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...

and the Inspirace theatre. The Academy owns out-of-town practice and teaching centres in Poněšice and

Beroun Beroun (; german: Beraun) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers. Beroun creates a conurbation with Králův Dvůr, former par ...

. The Study and Training Centre in Poněšice, South Bohemia, is situated on the River Vltava River, and is used for special training programmes, sports and language courses for students and other users. The Study, Training and Accommodation Centre in Beroun, 30 kilometres west of Prague, is used for training and study activities and workshops for DAMU, HAMU, FAMU and Studio FAMU.

Theatre Faculty (DAMU)

The

Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Department of Dramatic Theatre (DAMU) is one of three departments at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (alongside the Film and TV school and the Department of Music). The academy was opened in 1945 immediately after the Second World ...

(DAMU) was established in 1945 as part of the newly created arts university. Teachers at the faculty have included prominent personalities of modern Czech theatre including

Otomar Krejča Otomar Krejča (23 November 1921 – 6 November 2009) was a Czech theatre director and dissident. Krejča was born in Skrýšov (now part of Pelhřimov), Czechoslovakia, on 23 November 1921. In 1956, he became a member of the Prague National Th ...

, ,

Ivan Vyskočil Ivan Vyskočil (born 21 May 1946 in Prague) is a Czech actor. He starred in the film '' Poslední propadne peklu'' under director Ludvík Ráža in 1982. Selected filmography * ''The Tailor from Ulm'' (1978) * ''The Young Man and Moby Dick ''T ...

. DAMU is a member of the

European League of Institutes of the Arts ELIA (formerly known as The European League of Institutes of the Arts) represents some 300.000 students in all art disciplines. History ELIA emerged from a conference organized in Amsterdam in 1990, ''Imagination and Diversity'', aimed to pro ...

(ELIA) and the

European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centres European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

(ENCATC).

Film and TV School (FAMU)

The

Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ( cs, Filmová a televizní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze) or FAMU is a film school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1946 as one of three branches of the Acade ...

(FAMU) was established in 1946, as the world’s fifth university-level arts school with a programme in film education. At the end of the 1960s, a number of the school's graduates emerged as part of the

Czechoslovak New Wave The Czechoslovak New Wave (also Czech New Wave) is a term used for the Czechoslovak filmmakers who started making movies in the 1960s. The directors commonly included are Miloš Forman, Věra Chytilová, Ivan Passer, Pavel Juráček, Jiří Me ...

movement, including

Věra Chytilová Věra Chytilová (2 February 1929 – 12 March 2014) was an avant-garde Czech film director and pioneer of Czech cinema. Banned by the Czechoslovak government in the 1960s, she is best known for her Czech New Wave film, ''Sedmikrásky'' ('' Dais ...

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...

, and Jiří Menzel. Later graduates of the school to receive international acclaim included

Agnieszka Holland Agnieszka Holland (born 28 November 1948) is a Poles, Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanussi and Andrzej ...

Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. He also has French citizenship.http://www.serbia.com/emir-kusturica-artist-builder-and-anti-glo ...

, and

Jan Svěrák Jan Svěrák () (born 6 February 1965 in Žatec) is a Czech film director. He is the son of screenwriter and actor Zdeněk Svěrák. He studied documentary filmmaking at the FAMU. He and his films have received awards including the Academy Award, ...

. FAMU is a founding member of the

International Association of Film and Television Schools The International Association of Film and Television Schools (French: ''Centre international de liaison des écoles de cinéma et de télévision'', CILECT) is the association of the world's major film and television schools.European Grouping of Film and Television Schools (GEECT).

Music and Dance Faculty (HAMU)

The Music and Dance Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts ( cs, Hudební fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze; HAMU) was established in 1945 as one of the academy’s three components, as a successor to the master school of the

. The school provides education in the fields of music and dance in Czech and English at Bachelor, Masters and doctoral levels. The faculty has 12 departments (the Departments of String, Keyboard, Wind and Percussion Instruments, Jazz Interpretation, Voice and Opera Directing, Musical Sound, Theory and History of Music, Conducting, Composition and Pantomime). The faculty also includes three research facilities: the Institute of Music Theory, the Institute for Dance Theory, and the Musical Acoustics Research Centre (MARC). HAMU is the organiser of the orchestral cycle "The Best" and the Skrznaskrz festival, which features collaborations between all three AMU faculties as well as other fine arts schools.

Academics

The academy runs bachelor, master, and doctoral study programmes covering Art of Music, Art of Dance, Art of Drama, Art of Film, TV and Photography, and New Media. Bachelor study programmes usually last three years and students receive Bachelor of Arts degrees (BcA). Master study programmes usually take two further years. After passing the state examination, students receive Master of Arts degrees (MgA). Doctoral study programmes are established at all the faculties. On passing a doctoral examination and presenting a doctoral theses, students are awarded doctorates (Ph.D). The academy offers other special courses outside the regular university study programme, some of which can be used as credit. Students at the academy are only accepted after completing secondary school education and successfully passing entrance exams. Each faculty has its own requirements for the entrance exams. The official language of instruction of the course units is

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

, but each faculty offers some degree programs in English. A limited number of short-term courses are taught in English or in German, and for others a preparatory course in Czech is necessary.

Facilities and student services

AMU has a library with more than 180,000 volumes of academic literature, sound recordings and audio-visual works, and students are also entitled to use other libraries free of charge, such as the University library and the library of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Students of the academy have free or discounted entry to some cultural events, such as theatre performances, concerts, exhibitions, lectures and films. The academy has co-operative links with other schools in the Czech Republic and internationally, which include artistic competitions, festivals, and reciprocal exchange performances. AMU's facilities include theatres, film and television studios, and concert halls. A university publishing service, AMU Press (NAMU), publishes literature about AMU artistic activities. The final projects of students studying disciplines with a significant graphic component are exhibited in the AMU Gallery (GAMU), which also hosts one-off thematic exhibitions. AMU has two halls of residence: one on Hradební Street in the centre of Prague, reconstructed in the academic year 2006/07, and another on the southern outskirts of Prague. The academy's Language Centre provides classes in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Czech for students and employees. The AMU Sports, Rehabilitation and Movement Centre organises various sports activities for students.

Notable alumni

DAMU

FAMU

Several of the directors considered part of the

attended FAMU, including

(b. 1932), Jiří Menzel (b. 1938),

Jan Němec Jan Němec (12 July 1936 – 18 March 2016) was a Czech filmmaker whose most important work dates from the 1960s. Film historian Peter Hames has described him as the "enfant terrible of the Czech New Wave." Biography Němec's career as a fil ...

Juraj Jakubisko Juraj Jakubisko (born 30 April 1938) is a Slovak film director. He has directed fifteen feature films, between 1967 and 2008. He often takes the dual role of cinematographer, and is often also credited as a screenplay writer as he usually co-writ ...

Ivan Passer Ivan Passer (10 July 1933 – 9 January 2020) was a Czech film director and screenwriter, best known for his involvement in the Czechoslovak New Wave and for directing American films such as ''Born to Win'' (1971), '' Cutter's Way'' (1981) and ...

, and

Vojtěch Jasný Vojtěch Jasný (30 November 1925 – 15 November 2019) was a Czech director, screenwriter and professor who has written and directed over 50 films. Jasný made feature and documentary films in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Austria, USA & Canada, and ...

. Also among FAMU's alumni are a group of

Yugoslav film directors Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to: * Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name: ** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...

known as the ''

Praška filmska škola The Prague film school1970s File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War i ...

after graduating from FAMU. Five prominent Yugoslav directors born from 1944 to 1947 attended classes at FAMU:

Lordan Zafranović Lordan Zafranović (born 11 February 1944) is a Czech-Croatian film director. He was a major figure of the Yugoslav Black Wave. Early life Lordan Zafranović was born in 1944 in Maslinica, island of Šolta, Dalmatia, during the fascist occupati ...

(b. 1944),

Srđan Karanović Srđan Karanović ( sr-Cyrl, Срђан Карановић, , born 17 November 1945) is a Serbian film director and screenwriter. He has directed 17 films since 1968. His film ''Miris poljskog cveća'' won the FIPRESCI prize at the 1978 Cannes F ...

(b. 1945),

Goran Marković Goran Marković ( sr-cyr, Горан Марковић, ) (born 24 August 1946) is a Serbian film and theatre director, screenwriter, writer, and playwright. He has directed approximately 50 documentaries, 13 feature films, and 3 theatre plays. ...

(b. 1946),

Goran Paskaljević Goran Paskaljević ( sr-cyr, Горан Паскаљевић; ; 22 April 1947 – 25 September 2020) was a Serbian and former Yugoslav film director. Biography Born in Belgrade, he was raised by his grandparents in Niš in southern Serbia, foll ...

(b. 1947), and

Rajko Grlić Rajko Grlić (born 2 September 1947) is a Croatian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a professor of film theory at Ohio University and artistic director of the Motovun Film Festival in Motovun, Croatia. Biography Rajko Grlić w ...

(b. 1947).Istočnoevropski filmski fenomen

(b. 1954) also attended FAMU, graduating in 1978, and is also sometimes considered a member of the ''Praška škola''. Cinematographers Živko Zalar (who has worked with Grlić, Karanović and Marković), Predrag Pega Popović (who has worked with Zafranović and Marković),

Vilko Filač Vilko Filač (14 February 1950 – 25 November 2008) was a Slovenian cinematographer. A graduate of the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, he is best known for his work with Emir Kusturica, including ''When Father Was A ...

(who has worked with Kusturica), Valentin Perko, and Pavel Grzinčič, also studied at FAMU.

HAMU

* Sylvie Bodorová (born 1954), Czech composer *

Karel Fiala Karel Fiala (3 August 1925 – 3 October 2020) was a Czech operatic tenor and film actor. He was known for his work in operettas and musicals, but received worldwide attention for his portrayal of Mozart's Don Giovanni in the film ''Amadeus''. B ...

(born 1925), Czech operatic tenor, studied at HAMU 1952-55 *

Michaela Fukačová Michaela Fukačová (born 27 March 1959) is a Czech Republic, Czech cellist. She took up the cello aged 14, and won the Beethoven Cello Competition two years later. She is a past winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. She studied at ...

(born 1959), Czech cellist *

Simon Gjoni Simon Gjoni (Shkodër, 1925–1991) was an Albanian conductor, and composer of many popular pieces for piano and orchestra.Jim Samson Music in the Balkans 2013 p458 "Finally, Simon Gjoni (1928-91), another Shkodér—born composer, studied conduc ...

(1925–1991),

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n composer and conductor, studied at HAMU 1952-58 * Pavel Hůla (1952–2021), Czech violinist and music teacher, was both a student and professor at HAMU * Hana Jonášová, Czech operatic soprano *

Jana Jonášová Jana Jonášová (born 28 April 1943) is a Czech opera singer. One of the most important Czech coloratura sopranos of her generation, she has had an active international career at the world's major opera houses and concert stages for roughly fou ...

(born 1943), Czech operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

, studied at HAMU and is also a current faculty memberJana Jonasova, Jana Biography at operissimo.com (in German)
*

Naděžda Kniplová Naděžda Kniplová (née Pokorná; 18 April 1932 – 14 January 2020) was a Czech operatic soprano who had an active international career from the 1950s through the 1980s. Kniplová possessed a large voice with a sonorous, metallic, dark timbre ...

(1932–2020), Czech operatic soprano, studied at HAMU 1954-58, faculty member since 1991. *

Josef Páleníček Josef Páleníček (July 19, 1914, Travnik, Bosnia, Austria-Hungary—March 7, 1991, Prague) was a Czech piano virtuoso and composer. Biography Páleníček studied at the gymnasium in Prague, and concurrently he studied also at the Pra ...

(1914–1991), Czech pianist, was a professor at HAMU from 1963 *

Ivan Romanoff Ivan Romanoff (8 March 1914 – 14 March 1997) was a Canadian conductor, violinist, arranger, and composer. For three decades he led the "Ivan Romanoff Orchestra and Chorus" on a variety of radio and television programs for the Canadian Bro ...

(1914–1997), Canadian conductor and violinist, studied at HAMU 1947-49 * Edvard Schiffauer (born 1942), Czech composer *

Norodom Sihamoni Norodom Sihamoni ( km, នរោត្តម សីហមុនី, ; born 14 May 1953) is King of Cambodia. He became King on 14 October 2004, a week after the abdication of his father, Norodom Sihanouk. He is the eldest son of Norodom Sihano ...

(born 1953), King of

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

, studied classical dance and music at HAMU, graduating in 1975 * Olivier Thouin, Canadian violinist *

Saša Večtomov Saša Večtomov (12 December 1930 – 29 December 1989) was a Czechoslovak cellist and music pedagogue. Biography Večtomov first studied piano and cello with his father, cellist/composer Ivan Večtomov (1902–81), a soloist in the Czech Phil ...

(1930–1989), Czech cellist and music teacher, was both a student and professor at HAMU *

Ludmila Vernerová Ludmila Vernerová (born 6 December 1962, Prague) is a Czech operatic soprano and the niece of the oboist . After graduating from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, she was a regular performer at the Prague Chamber Opera in the mid 1980s. ...

(born 1962), Czech operatic soprano *

Tomáš Víšek Tomáš Víšek (born 1957) is a Czech pianist. Early life Víšek began study of the piano at eight years of age under professor Pavel Svoboda. During the years 1972–1976, he studied at the Prague Conservatory under professor Valentina Kamen� ...

(born 1957), Czech pianist, studied at HAMU from 1976-84

References

External links

University website
{{authority control Education in Prague Theatre in the Czech Republic Music schools in the Czech Republic Film schools in the Czech Republic Educational institutions established in 1945 1945 establishments in Czechoslovakia