High‑performance dance academies aim to train future professional dancers through physical and artistic rigor, often overlooking a crucial factor: psycho‑emotional training.
A holistic methodology integrating these three variables is the vision of Ismael Gil and Josianne Fleming, renowned professional dancers with international careers, to equip future dancers with the tools needed to face the complex lives ahead of them.
Name, visual identity and storytelling: keys to differentiation
After in‑depth analysis of the context and competitors, both locally and across Europe, we identified the best way to tell the value proposition innovatively and distinctively. We conceptualized a name that is memorable and timeless, and a solid, distinctive positioning.
ADDA, Advanced Dance Institute Barcelona, is a descriptive and easily recognizable name that aligns clearly and convincingly with its positioning: being an advanced dance institute means we are always one step ahead, proactive, alert, and committed. Moreover, ‘advanced’ speaks to skill, ambition, and professionalism.
Bringing the brand to life through narrative
With this positioning as inspiration, we crafted a narrative to bring the brand to life, especially for prospective students, making clear what ADDA is and will be. The message strikes a balance between the artistic and scientific duality of its holistic methodology, celebrating and honoring a profession enjoyed from day one. We created an open letter to future dance professionals, aiming for emotional resonance and connection with them, clarifying the academy’s critical, professional, and bidirectional methodology. Finally, the city of Barcelona inspired a language that is elegant, creative, and human.
© Borja Bermúdez de Castro
A new positioning as a source of inspiration for the visual universe
From there, Columna created an identity reflective of these values that would inspire and connect with its audience. A sophisticated, harmonious, and descriptive logo. A captivating, vibrant photographic style where movement takes center stage, helping visualize the acceleration in training that ADDA offers. A sober, refined color palette. A typeface with nuances evoking movement and spontaneity. Thus was born ADDA, a new professional dance academy in Barcelona promising to revolutionize the training of contemporary dancers with a holistic teaching methodology centered on the student and their development in a competitive, demanding—but beautiful and noble—field.
