Movement, expressing emotion, making connections, and striving for perfection

Dance has been the common thread throughout my life. It is what defines me as a person:
movement, expressing emotion, forming connections, and striving for perfection.

Started when I was six, studied at the National Ballet Academy and the Jazz
Theater-show musical training, taught in Germany and Fuerteventura, among other places. Subsequently studied physiotherapy and manual therapy and am now working as a dancer again.

I prefer dancing ballet, modern, and jazz. All three dance styles have their own charms. With ballet, I love the ‘rules’ involved: straight feet, straightening the back, long lines, and pure movements. Modern gives me the space to experiment; to see what the body can do and what emotions it can express. For me, jazz is pure enjoyment: hips, turns, rhythm. Feeling the ‘beat’ in the body.

Where I used to strive to be a perfect dancer in technique and expression, I can now enjoy the moments I stand on stage. The lessons, the rehearsals, the tension before going on, the lights on stage, the camaraderie, and also the injuries. With Dansgroep Haarlem, Haya gives me the chance to stand on stage again and feel like a dancer once more. Every performance therefore feels like a gift for which I am very grateful.