Teacher Info (alphabetical):
If you find a description about yourself, that you want to see changed, of if you are a teacher, and not yet added to this list, please
mail to the webmaster
Regularly teachers
Anastasia Bezruchko
Diederik Burke
Kees lemmens
Maaike v.d. Westeringh
Oliver Artur (he/they)
Patrick Johnson
Raul Saldarriaga
Sara Licher
Sebas van Wetten
Tom Goldhand
Former and iregularly teachers:
...this info might be outdated
Claudia Kratzheller
Kristien Sonnevijlle
Monika Förster
Natanja den Boeft
Rita Vilhena
Robin Berkelmans
Tim Justo
Thalia Laric
Enrique van Doezelaar
Hillary Blake Firestone
Iris van Peppen
Pawel Konior
Sarah Kate Gardiner
Suzan Lemont
Musicians
Sometimes we have life musicians at our jam.
- Since about 2023 a regular musician is Antonio
Alemanno
-- > detailed information < --
Teachers, current and former
Anastasia Bezruchko
I am Contact improvisation dancer and teacher. My background based
on a somatic principles work with body, contemporary art and performance
since about 2012.
For me body awareness is absolutely essential as a human beings,
I am adapt off very detail body scanning, consent, deep quality
of touch and listening. I would like to share movement exercises
what was helpful for me as a dancer to grow awareness. That principals
of thinking and embodied aliveness for seeing your one zones of
growing in your movement.
I guess the biggest gift what you can have from a dance class is
an opportunity to learn how to think and move freely. I wish this
classes to be liberating and joyful. I wish in your dances you find
connection and rising. Join us for practice that explores contact
improvisation techniques, somatic and deep listening skills, quality
of touch and composition, trust in your one stability and inspiration.
Claudia Kratzheller has
been teaching modern dance technique during the last couple of years
in numerous studios in Holland and Germany (HJS, Dance Ateliers
Rotterdam, Krisztina de Chatel , Tanzhaus D-Dorf a.o ) as well as
for the Theatreschool SNDO In Amsterdam. Currently she is teaching
Tango in the Academia de Tango in Amsterdam. From 2000-2003 she
facilitated the Friday Contact Jam in de Koestraat together with
Hillary Blake Firestone,as well as organized a Workshop “ Action
Theatre” with Ruth Zaporah (2003).
As a dancer she worked for Company RAZ and Bruno Listopad and realized
a series of own productions, that were presented in venues and Festivals
in Holland and Germany. See also: www.body-linguistics.com/
Diederik Burke has
been developing his skills in dance through contact improvisation
though many years of working and studying with various dancers and
teachers in Amsterdam and Europe. Being and accomplished martial-arts
(pencak silat) and Yoga practitioner, together with his work as
a Shiatsu and bodywork therapies, he offers a complete set of means
and approaches to work with and explore further developments in
the field of contact improvisation. See also: contactimprovisationamsterdam.wordpress.com/diederik-burke/
Enrique van Doezelaar
Since 1997 Enrique dances African dance, Salsa and 5 rhythms. A
few years later he ran into tango and contact improvisation. At
this time. Enrique has followed many workshops and training courses
with international dance teachers. He goes regularly to contact
improvisation weeks and workshops in the Netherlands and Germany.
He is to be found in many tango salons.
He has made contact or "TOUCH" to a magical form and is very interested
in moving from an active relaxation, both in tango and in contact
improvisation. He shares his knowledge and experience with others
by teaching in Nijmegen and elsewhere. Enrique says: "Through contact
improvisation I can get closer to myself; I love to dance and to
be physically very active. For me dancing is meditation and a way
to be really in touch with my heart and soul."
See also: studiotangible.nl
Hillary Blake Firestone studied dance performance and composition at SUNY-Purchase in New
York and as a guest student of the Theatreschool Amsterdam. In addition to working as freelance performer and teacher in the US and Europe,
she makes pieces which are informed by her improvisation practice. She has studied CI with Nancy Stark Smith, Chris Aiken, K.J. Holmes and
Kirstie Simpson amongst others.
Iris van Peppen graduated
at the School for New Dance Development (SNDO) Theaterschool Amsterdam
in 1999. "As a teacher and dance artist I have 18 years of
experience, started teaching in 1992." See: www.dansimprovisatie.com/
Kees lemmens
"As a dancer I am inspired by other fields of knowledge (I used to work in architecture and fine arts) and even more by other people.
Especially giving and taking CI-workshops is for me a way of learning together. Travelling a lot, I worked with many international teachers.
And since 2009 I give courses and workshops in The Netherlands and abroad."
Kristien Sonnevijlle
See sansville.wordpress.com
Maaike v.d. Westeringh
What Maaike loves about dance is that it brings us to the beauty
of the moment – and every moment is different. Out of this interest
her fascination for improvisation and contact-improvisation was
born. She followed workshops with Julyen Hammilton and studied intensively
with David Zambrano and among others. She has been teaching dance-workshops
in nature at Buitenkunst since 2010.
She finds a constant eagerness to learn more about the body’s expression
and how dance can contribute something to people’s mental and physical
health. She set up her own foundation with two other artists, called
Kudde. They develop dance and theater-projects, both in
the dance-field and in the community. The last years she has been
doing exchange-projects in Uganda, Ghana and Brazil.
After her graduation from the dance academy in Tilburg (NL) in 2004
she has been working as a performer with Loic Perela (Dansateliers
Rotterdam), Anne-beth Schuurmans, Marie Goeminne (dansmakers Amsterdam),
T.R.A.S.H., Karen Boesser and among others. She also created her
own work like the location-project ‘Huisstofmeid’ for the Oerolfestival. See
also www.kudde.info.
Monika Förster is
a performance artist, movement teacher and shiatsu therapist living
in Amsterdam. Since graduating from the New Dance department at
the Theaterschool Amsterdam in 1992, [...]
In particular Monika enjoyes Contact Dancing's playfulness and it's
benefits for the body. She is also a shiatsy therapist.
See also:
shiatsudansamsterdam.nl
Natanja den Boeft
"I've been dancing for a big part of my life and have been teaching some 28 years now, to professionals and amateurs in many
different settings. In my life I've rarely met anything that enchants and satisfies me more than movement, with dance as its ultimate and
poetic form of it. I love dancing just as much as teaching, and I can watch the movements in nature, of an animal, or of a group of children
endlessly. Contact Improvisation is an old love of mine, we've got a stable relationship... Next to being a dancer and a teacher, I am also
a certified Cranio-Sacral therapist."
See also cranio-amsterdam.nl
Oliver Artur(he/they)
I am a queer transgender movement researcher that discovered CI
about 7 years ago in Budapest, Hungary.
Playfulness, physical euphoria, the wild, soft and queer aspect
of CI kept my curiosity alive until today.
I sources my research and practice on the early performances of
CI made in the US, when the form was developed.
Anya Cloud, Lily Kiara (Skinner Releasing Technique®), Ishmael
Houston-Jones, Charlie Morrisey, Makisig Akin, Nita Little, Grégory
Chevalier, Defne Erdur (among others) are dancers I had the opportunity
to learn from and be inspired by since the beginning of my dance
practice and I am endlessly grateful for these encounters.
- Love, Oliver
Patrick Johnson began
dancing contact improvisation in western Massachusetts, USA in the
early 1990's and immediately fell in love with the form. Since then
he has danced throughout the US, Canada, and Europe and studied
with many of the great teachers. In 2000 he moved to Amsterdam and
joined the CI scene here. He is a certified teacher of the Alexander
technique and applies it to all of his dancing and teaching. Patrick's
classes aim to integrate fundamental principles of support and movement
into contact improvisation to provide free, dynamic, expressive
dancing. See also smartbody.nl/en/alexander-technique
Raul Saldarriaga, a Contact Improvisation
teacher and dancer based in Amsterdam, explores natural movements
and ongoing discoveries within the dance realm. Raul did a Master’s
in Choreography and Community from CODARTS University and FONTYS
University, a Master’s in Interactive Media and Environments from
Hanze university, complemented by Bachelor’s degrees in Contemporary
Dance and Art Pedagogy in the Universidad Distrital in Colombia.
Read more: casagrafia.com
Robin Berkelmans
Ik ben uitvoerend danser, dansdocent en maker van dans. Je kan bij
mij terecht voor danslessen, performance, workshops en lezingen
over allerlei aspecten van dans en theater. Read more:
robinberkelmans.nl
Pawel Konior graduated from Academy of Physical Education in 2008 in Krakow, later on
studying 2 years in SEAD. Meanwhile he has been working in the fields of performing arts as a dancer. Powel's contact improvisation class
is based on senses and being sensitive but also being physical.
Rita Vilhena See:
ritavilhena.com
Sarah Kate Gardiner (UK/NL)
is dancer, choreographer, teacher, and researcher based in Amsterdam.
Since 1995 she creates site performances, tailor-made community
dance projects and instant compositions. Teaching and directing
people, both novice and professional, from diverse corners of society
is her fertile ground. Driven by the gaps in our society (age, culture,
social background), her work holds a space for difference to meet
and dialogue through dance. Read more
sarahkategardiner.com
Sara Licher left the Netherlands at the age of 17 to study dance and performing arts in the UK. Here
she got her first introduction to contact improvisation. Six years and a whole lot of improvisation classes later she was prepped to improvise
in the outside world.
After leaving the inside of the four walls she called campus she also left Europe to explore new worlds. On her ventures she would be looking
for dance communities to join, to learn from and to exchange dances. Some encounters were very short but others grew out to beautiful dance
collaborations or movement research projects.
Back in the Netherlands she found herself still not done with learning and started a sport-massage and a yoga teaching course. She is now
teaching toddler dance, yoga and still exploring the endless possibilities that contact improvisation gives..
Sebas van Wetten
"I like the playfulness of CI, and I keep searching for
ways to stay inspired in dancing and teaching. A healthy way to
keep the playing child inside of me alive."
For more than 20 years Sebas has been dancing and teaching ContactImpro
and Creative Dance. He is also a physiotherapist and uses this knowledge
of the moving and learning body in his teaching.
He wants to inspire you to find musicality, poetry and expression
in your dance. He uses images from nature, art and also anatomy
helping you to develop your personal dance. See www.dansavontuur.nl
Suzan Lemont is an
expressive arts therapist, education researcher, choreographer/dance
theater-maker, writer, philosopher and body awareness/movement teacher.
Read more: suzanlemont.com
Tim Justo
Tom Goldhand is a performance
artist, a dancer, a body therapist and a strong believer in improvisation
as a way of life. I Continue to learn from each Jam and person that
I dance with. Learned dance and performance art in Israel for 3
years and after that moved to work, teach and dance in Amsterdam.
In my work and teaching I see a strong Influence from the body therapy
system of “Ilan Lev”, GaGa dance of Ohad Naharin and many improvisation
and contact improvisation teachers that I was fortunate to learn
from. See www.tomgoldhand.com
musicians
Antonio Alemanno
Antonio (IT) is a multi-instrumentalist (double bass, cello, oud,
charango, frame drums, electronics) and composer.
His background in dance and his substantial collaborations with
dancers, choreographers and physical theater performers have given
him the opportunity to extensively investigate the musicality and
flow of movement and acting. He is keen to provoke a dialogue between
spatial presence and sound, creating an intricately shaped, multi-disciplinary
world.
A lack of confinement to style, instrument and discipline opposed
by skillfulness, a big sensitivity to atmosphere and an inventive
spirit define Antonio and his work. He has composed music for dance
and circus performances and commercials, and has performed in over
20 countries worldwide.
Read more..
If you find a description about yourself, that you want to see changed, of if you are a teacher, and not yet added
to this list, please mail to the webmaster
|