Ok- I just happened to be looking around at some information and so I had to comment.
Ok-- Ted Brandson does not make the decisions as to who goes where within the school. In the past few years, it was Jean Yves. That being said, although Jean Yves, did have discussions with the dancers as to where their potential placement would be for the 2018-2019 year, many of them were assigned different levels, by the faculty of AHK, at the end of the year. Some were added into the BA program, some were removed, some were added as BA guest students (do not have the educational requirement). Those promised BA and granted 5 year VISAS were basically out of luck if they were no longer entering into the BA program. The larger issue is that the amount of hours spent training in ballet for the NBA 5-7 were being drastically decreased. This was not a decision that was made by Jean Yves, but by others within the school.
I agree that the program was well put together; but I would not agree that it was better than the previous years. The only piece that stood out as exceptional was William Forsythe's Artifact Suite- Hypno. As far as the split being a bonus for the NBA students, I believe that the NBA program just started, in JY years as AD, to really become beefed up with talent from outside of the Netherlands. There is a natural progression with all training. With the trainee level being at the top for the last 2 years (program instituted 2016-2017), it would make sense that these kids WOULD have the main focus as THEY are the ones that are now moving into the professional field. In the years prior to and including 2015-2016, Level 7 was the top- or the kids that were auditioning to begin their professional dancing careers.
I believe that the BA program is really only a benefit for the Dutch as for other countries, they are not required a BA to enter into Universities (maybe Germany needs BA?)
The trainee program is a strong and well rounded program that will offer a wealth of knowledge, opportunity, and hopefully, a job offer by some of the best companies in the world.
There are always two sides to any story (see picture below) and we, unfortunately, have not had the opportunity to hear Jean Yves side of the investigation. For all that we know, he is the scapegoat for a much bigger issue that is going on within the AHK.