Teaching
I started teaching in 2015, and while my performing artist career is and has always been my main focus, I have continually been teaching and organizing workshops and courses throughout the years as a close secondary focus.
I have taught at institutions such as The Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Conny Janssen Danst, Dansateliers, CRAC de Lomme, Cirkus Cirkör Upper Secondary School and am currently a specialisation teacher for Dance acrobatics at the Codarts Bachelor of Circus Arts since 2023.
My main areas of competence are Acrobatics, Dance acrobatics, Floorwork, Handbalancing, Strength training, Mobility work and Parkour.
I also draw a lot of inspiration from Breakdance, Contemporary dance, Bodyweight strength training, Capoeira, Ido Portal Method and various movement improvisation techniques which I utilise in my classes and workshops.
My teaching style is guided by information from any and all fields that relate to optimizing or understanding movement, performance and the psychology behind it. This also means teaching in a personal, caring and fun way, as modern science shows how important the psychosocial dimensions are for things such as motor learning, pain levels, likelyhood of adhering to training and, of course, general well being.
I have spent a large amount of time educating myself within sports science, pain, rehabilitation and performance psychology. My graduation thesis was a 50 page paper on the modern science of chronic pain, and as such pain management is one of my biggest competences.
I find it very important to think about and break down your training intellectually:
What physical limitations and capacities do you have? Do we need to increase these first?
Which mental limitation and preconceptions do you have? Do they help or hinder you?
How do you want to use the skills I can teach? In which context and with what goals in mind? How much time and which resources do you have at your disposal?
I like to work in an individualized manner. We all have different limitations, strengths, preferred working methods, goals and ambitions, and failing to realise this will only lead to failure in the long run. Fewer participants, more time and longer training experience will all cause an increased focus on individualizing, while more participants, less time and shorter training experience will create a smaller focus on it.
As a teacher I have taught everyone between the ages of 6-65. All the way from absolute beginners to professionals. I have held classes and workshops in Parkour, Circus, Floorwork, Soft Acrobatics as well as workshops in, what I call, Human Movement which is a workshop that focuses on increasing comfort and capacity of the body in terms of mobility, softness, strength and well being. Human Movement was aimed at an older demographic and has mostly had participants between 30-60 years.
Workshop for refugees, EEF Festival