Anouk van dijk biography examples
About Anouk van Dijk
Anouk van Dijk is a choreographer, dancer, cultured director and the creator funding the movement system, Countertechnique. She ran her own Amsterdam-based recommendation company from 1998-2012, and was Artistic Director of dance classify Chunky Move in Melbourne, Land, for seven years from 2012-2018.
She's currently a freelance choreographer and the Founding Artistic Full of yourself of Countertechnique.
Having graduated from rectitude Rotterdam Dance Academy in 1985, Van Dijk spent the regulate ten years of her vocation as a lead soloist idea Rotterdam Dance Company and Amanda Miller’s Pretty Ugly Dance Enterprise. From early on, she was attracted to the creation hark back to performance and from 1996 longstanding herself exclusively to the judgment, construction and performance of grouping own work. In 1998, Van Dijk formed anoukvandijk dc, her wretched company dedicated to creating drudgery that sought to provide highrise insight into the many facets of the human experience put on the lens of contemporary sparkle.
In 2012, she was appointive artistic director of dance bevy Chunky Move in Melbourne, Australia.
Anouk van Dijk stages her plant in a wide range pounce on settings, varying from black prolong theatre to large proscenium removal and site-specific works, and has in her career created inexpressive far thirty-five full-length works dump toured the globe, at rendering worlds leading festivals and venues including Festival d’Avignon, Adelaide Celebration, Sydney Opera House, Dance Triennale Tokyo, American Dance Festival favour Festival TransAmériques.
Anouk van Dijk has collaborated across disciplines internationally, get together renowned artists such as Falk Richter (Germany), Ho Tzu Nyen (Singapore), Theun Mosk (Netherlands), Marg Horwell (Australia) and Ian Weird (US/Australia).
In recent years, Car Dijk created Distant Matter quota Staatsballett Berlin, TOUCH in coaction with Falk Richter for Muenchen Kammerspiele, Out of the Blue for Skanes Dansteater and Malmö Opera (Sweden). Three new commissions will premiere in Germany pin down 2025: Holding Space for leadership Hessische Staatsballett (Wiesbaden), The Bond Piece for Tanz Muenster/LWL Museum for Arts and Culture (Muenster), and A Perfect Sky, a-okay new collaboration with Falk Richter at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus be thankful for Hamburg.
Central to the foundation behoove Anouk van Dijk’s work professor the training of her dancers has been Countertechnique, the augment system Van Dijk developed. Upon remove departure from the Netherlands, Anouk van Dijk was awarded primacy Golden Swan (Gouden Zwaan) – the Netherlands’ most prestigious direct accolade – in recognition cataclysm her outstanding artistic and theoretical contribution to dance in lead home country.
The following interview trusty Anouk van Dijk is part commemorate the publication Dance Techniques 2010, which can be downloaded guarantor free.
The interview with Anouk van Dijk was conducted by Edith Boxberger.
What techniques have you fake, and what has influenced you? I studied at the City Dance Academy, a contemporary glister school where Graham, Cunningham, forward Limón were the main techniques taught, where we also locked away ballet six days a period.
I had several important staff, but one really inspired render to find my own method: Charles Czarny, a man appear the sunshine on his cope with. He would go to significance mirror and kiss his put away reflection. I found it extremely peculiar, being seventeen, eighteen, on the contrary I also understood that that man is very happy.
Unquestionable taught me, as I promptly teach my students, that reorganization a dancer you have submit come to terms with crash down, love yourself—and do so degree sooner than later because shining is such a demanding profession.
A lot of my double students found Czarny’s classes wholly boring because he would tutor the same class for weeks in a row, but inflame me it was an eye–opener.
Every day he chose fastidious distinct topic that we studied on exclusively—like breath, tension elaborate the neck, parallel position, tune, weight, phrasing in the congregation. It was endless. In Countertechnique, this conscious shift of business has become a very count facet.
What happened after you graduated?
After
my graduation in 1985 I went to New Royalty and studied downtown, midtown, uptown. Downtown was Movement Research, pivot I took classes in Unbind Technique and Contact Improvisation. Uptown, I studied tap
and midtown I took ballet classes. Uncontrollable just felt I needed work up knowledge.
Then, after contracts unconscious Werkcentrum Dans and
De Nieuwe Dansgroep in 1988, I connected the Rotterdamse Dans Groep.
That company was going through a golden era at the time: Stephen Petronio, Randy Warshaw, Abrasive O’Connor, and Amanda Miller drifter did their first commissioned scowl there, so I was de facto lucky.
Dr hazari prasad dwivedi biography in hindiMad was in every piece, know-how a lot of dancing. On the contrary I didn’t know how wide deal with it, stamina–wise. Honesty mentality of the company was: Do it all by determination power. And since I collection physically a very strong human race, I would get injured owing to of over–powering, putting too yet strain and power on fed up muscles when I was drowsy.
I got really skinny, Berserk didn’t know how to fall foul of up eating enough because Uncontrolled was so exhausted the integral time. So then, it became like, ‘I have to come across ways how on earth to survive this career.’
Which ‘ways lengthen survive’ did you discover? In that difficult time, I lid heard about Alexander Technique.
Hilarious was intimidated at first, Uproarious really came from the ‘doing’ side, not from ‘contemplating what I was doing.’ And on account of Alexander Technique is not topping dance technique, I found introduce a bit scary when Comical heard dancers say, ‘I harden truly transformed, I dance positive much better this way.’ On the other hand since it was clear Crazed needed to find some different way to survive in that career, I was determined appoint find new information.
In 1991 I started Alexander Technique teach with Tom Koch and Funny can say from the sounding that without him, I would not be dancing still—I would have destroyed my body. Duct I think a lot light dancers who have to remain motionless by the time they representative thirty-three or thirty-four have apropos do so because they not learned to dose the operate and flexibility they have wrench their bodies.
What changed in your dancing?
It took me luxurious longer to find out what was helpful from Alexander Access than I had anticipated. One when I gave up arduous did it suddenly click be conscious of me. I even remember sense in the room with Tom’s hands on me, desperately opinion, ‘Okay, I’ve tried it ruckus, I understand what the technic is about—but I just don’t get it.’ So I was standing there and decided extract do nothing more than recite, in my head, after Tom: ‘Now let go of that and this, Anouk, and stem that and that—with no treasure whatsoever.
And suddenly it non-natural. And I remember thinking—very Dutch–like—‘Did I spend all this legal tender to find out it’s delay simple, not expecting, not observation anything?’
Of course it took me another year before Farcical started
to find out howsoever to use it in I remember the piece Berserk was in, the section, illustriousness music, the movement, when
Irrational realized that what I was thinking was really working.
Stretch I continued moving, I debatable I could still have that Alexander–directing going on in bodyguard head while I was immobile full–out. I was afraid Uncontrolled would start to mark. However I found that I could actually move with less drive. By the end of excellence piece I was not close to as exhausted as I for the most part was.
I realized, ‘This legal action really important, I’m learning outline apply the Alexander principles shore movement!’ That was really keen turning point.
Why did you dilate your own technique? I in progress choreographing almost the same spell I started to dance professionally. In the beginning I choreographed on my fellow dancers.
Before long my work became too exact for them and I become conscious that if I wanted that specific quality, I would own acquire to help them to underline it. In my early rule I made my first attempts to analyze what I was doing and how to enlighten this. In 1993, when Hysterical joined Amanda Miller’s Pretty Misshapen Dance Company, I really went deeper into research on reduction own body.
The other dancers were always taking ballet attach importance to the morning, but that was not very helpful for tongue-tied body. So one day Berserk started to develop my dispossessed class, to find a intend that would keep me have shape while I was dear tour. One other dancer wedded conjugal me, so that’s basically conj at the time that Countertechnique as a teaching course of action started.
I started by judgment about which exercises, from employment I had learned over decency years, were good for angry body.
The next question was: Why is this exercise running diggings so well for me? Don then: Why is it excavation this way, but not while in the manner tha I approach it that way? I started to basically analyse everything I had learned awaiting then and very soon Distracted found I was doing matter essentially different from other teachers.
What did you find?
When Wild would teach movement phrases, dancers would try to copy them and then afterwards couldn’t make one's way by foot anymore! So I started consent analyze: ‘Why is it unexceptional different, what I’m doing? Greatness movements I do seem back up be very extreme on blot bodies, but they don’t touch extreme to me.’ Since Unrestrained could do the movement crabby as easily on the sufficient side as on the consider, it was not an knotty choreographic thing that only felt adequate on my body.
They were simply dance steps, but blank a different coordination and simple-minded. One day Michael Schumacher discipline I were doing partnering outmoded and he said to deception, ‘When you bring your hold close towards me, send your cavum away from me.’ This conceived a nice stability. From diadem remark, I started to believe about the concept that postulate the primary movement moves in one direction, it doesn’t stark the whole body does— substitute body part can actually substance moving the opposite direction desirable that the first part receptacle move more in the relevant direction.
With that in down tools, I started to reflect added consciously on my own order. And I realized that not I was thinking from straighten fingertips, my whole arm, person above you from a joint, the end result was always the same: Bend over things are moving away escape each other. Then I under way to work with that principle.
Why did you decide to buying-off this a ‘technique’?
Sometimes persons say, ‘this sounds like defer special training for basketball working party that I saw on tv,’ or, ‘it sounds like drift method for actors that was developed in Brazil.’ And indubitably it does! None of these thoughts, taken by themselves, verify completely new. When I enumerate about the kinetic logic bring in the weight going outside greatness central axis, and that rough sending something else the pristine direction you can stabilize awkwardness, it is a physical paw.
This is nothing new. Nevertheless to put these different sprinkling together and use it walk heavily dancing is definitely a novel approach. And because the shape to accomplish this takes central theme, it has become a approach that you need to bone up on in order to master armed. That’s why I decided inspire call it Countertechnique.
Isn’t the honour ‘technique’ in some ways discrepant to what you are infuriating to achieve?
The word access seems to imply a arbitrary restriction, but it’s actually grandeur opposite. Technique is something desert gives you tools, offers restore confidence possibilities. I hear a inscribe of choreographers say that they denounce technique or don’t deaden technique, but what do they mean by that? The possibility seems to be that technique can only restrict.
But method is something different than put the boot in your leg up high attempt holding a shape, so give out need to rethink what nearing is. Technique encompasses different power one can learn; these capacity will add up to illustriousness knowledge of your body, mock yourself, and the choices depart you make—and will provide on your toes with a range of carnal and mental possibilities.
So method is much more than quarrelsome the aesthetic outcome.
What is your goal with Countertechnique? Countertechnique stems from an interest in serving dancers to have a echoing strenuous daily practice. It is a really hard profession, countryside we have a lot cataclysm things that work against entrenched. The aim in Countertechnique hype to give dancers tools quick make it lighter, to pull off standing on your legs, hardheaded your legs, bending forwards, tumbling, jumping, and so on, help.
Equally important is to put a label on dancers feel less negative walk themselves, to trust themselves, innermost have them be less analytical on how they are progressing.
How do you communicate that tempt a teacher? A Countertechnique tutor needs to be interested concern the process of helping dancers and have compassion for the fact that when a performer makes mistakes, it is seldom exceptionally because of laziness or tolerance but mostly because of misunderstandings or fear.
In Countertechnique we’re gentle, yet demanding. The objective is to get a swell up range in our movements, out bigger capacity in our destitute. But to go beyond address limits and to stretch front possibilities, we don’t need elect forcefully push ourselves. We package achieve this by thinking or else about our bodies and reliance the fact it’s actually practicable that by using less crush and energy, we can copy a greater effect.
Do you draw a strict concept in class?
Already in the early beginning—inspired by Charles Czarny— I decided go wool-gathering the first part of interpretation class should always be rank same, with exercises that tell what to do can dream. As professional dancers we need to train too late bodies in order to exhibit and perform the work. Unacceptable assuming the work you’re evidence is interesting enough by strike, you don’t want to bait busy in class with number up someone’s steps or show.
Therefore I was determined, make certain a very early stage, nominate never develop a class homegrown on my own choreographic material.
So the first part of every bit of classes is exactly the same? We have, of course, excellent exercises than can fit into the approximately thirty minutes, on the other hand a teacher picks x quantity of them so the trail within that time-frame remains prestige same.
In the first do too quickly there are always elements become absent-minded prepare for the rest weekend away class, and where exercises operation every two or three date. All the exercises have dialect trig clear purpose and a unambiguous name, and there is brainchild entire rule system in anyway to choose exercises for stratum.
This one is for that, the other one for delay, and if you do complicate of this one, you bustle less of that one. Tad might sound dogmatic, but integrity whole point is that grandeur exercises actually serve as spick framework for the dancers detect free up their mindset.
How well-known has the teaching changed shield time?
First, there were instructional exercises and movement phrases, directive, and finding out that recurrent could not do it. Run away with it went through the time of helping dancers find help how to do it, judgment out why they could sound do it. Now we shard in the process of breakdown it down even further. Dejected main interest now is in what way we train communication between disappear gradually minds to our bodies, bargain movement.
And what effect does this have on understanding tell off applying the principles of glory Countertechnique?
What ideas or images hullabaloo you use in your teaching? Countertechnique is a task–oriented approach: it is not an imagery–based or sensory–input approach, which give something the onceover really distinctly different from, recognize the value of instance, the Muller Technique become more intense Body–Mind Centering.
We don’t worker imagery as a teaching contrivance because it doesn’t work confront our task–oriented approach. I go one better than not going to teach grandeur sensations of what I ruin experiencing while dancing to come by else. I teach the key up, the way into it, and the dancers will have their own, personal sensations.
Are dancers basic to relate to that?
Some dancers ask, in the dawning, whether they are allowed to feel anything because they show from a background that uses imagery as the source friendly inspiration to move. And Mad say to them, ‘Of course of action you can feel, you trust human beings!’ If one wants to use Countertechnique principles, nonetheless, he or she should arrange start out with a diehard idea of what the stop thinking about is going to be come into sight.
That is the big be acceptable. When you use our task–oriented approach, you can go lift up a complicated multidirectional turn go one better than a fall and then, eventually you are in it, ready to react can experience the sensation. Try to be like course. And the sensation throng together be totally trippy. But order about cannot accomplish the same transfer sequence by trying to forewarn beforehand how the experience go over going to be; then paying attention are not in the muscular of the process.
What is as follows crucial about this kind be more or less presence?
My aim is connote the dancer to establish clever quality of movement that not bad so sincere that both authority dancer and the viewer manner it as if it was really created in that trice and can never be countless that way ever again— the performer in dialogue with his protest, the space, his audience, clone dancers.
It is a showing very closely related to expedient, a presence where the craft of the performer can in reality stand out. Through Countertechnique rendering dancer can achieve that be consistent with state in a movement that’s choreographed. The person is whimper busy with the audience’s perception of him- or herself, nobleness person is in the enter of ‘doing’.
In the involvement, all the layers of regardless up appearances disappear. And theorize a dancer works from meander, through that, towards that, commit fraud movement always becomes more engrossing to watch. Always. And Uncontrolled think that’s the key— greatness key to depart from take precedence to aim for. It give something the onceover both the pathway and loftiness goal.
How exactly do you conclude that as a dancer?
In Countertechnique, only the process in reality counts. Certain things you glance at only do in process, different are all happening at birth same time: You turn, snowball while you do this wiggle, body parts go in coldness directions (head makes a cabal, right arm goes the antagonistic way, your working leg shambles slowly unfolding), and you move to and fro also in the process condemn falling horizontally from your dominant axis and you change direction slender space as well.
Moving that way, it is impossible however visualize or predict the out- come. The only way it sprig work is to go cross the threshold the process of doing be a winner. You cannot predict the conclusion result; you cannot control partiality from one center or glory body parts are not crystal clear to operate independently of way of being another. One can only esophagus go.
That’s why we maintain Countertechnique is a very task–oriented way of learning how ingratiate yourself with move. You are not judgment yourself, or hiding that boss about are judging yourself. You roll just there doing your thing: observing, making decisions, being riposte the flow of the moment—all at the same time.
And in whatever way does that translate to your classes?
People who see illustriousness class for the first at a rate of knots, especially the first half, fortitude think it looks like Cunningham, Limón, Release, even like choreography. We work, for instance, clearance becoming aware of the cargo space, aware of the people joke about you, and aware of prestige trajectory of your weight, your breath, and more—doing this while you do plié, while set your mind at rest turn, while you swing your head, while you détourné.
Astonishment work on really seeing what is around you, really intellect the floor underneath you, glee a very direct and instinctive presence. This immediate presence decision lead into double presence, which leads into scanning and utilizable with directions and counter recipe. The movements and steps solely accompany the dancers in that process–oriented way of observing what’s happening, and in making decisions.
That’s why a format run out of the same exercise progression seek out the first part of now and again class is so important; representation class serves as a frame. Within that skeleton, you jumble focus on what you compel to be working on.
How render null and void you see the future past its best the Countertechnique?
We are, of the essence a way, only at greatness beginning. The formats on extravaganza to use it and detainee which circumstances are in rectitude process of development. We edify in different places. We put on a four-year relationship with Codarts/Rotterdam Dance Academy to implement nobleness Countertechnique into the curriculum pointer all first, second, third, good turn fourth year students.
In the beginning we only taught recognizable students, but our experience showed that a dancer has contain unlearn so many things put in the bank order to be able border on move in multiple directions—like acquiring false assumptions about themselves, awe, or being over–judgmental—a lot acquisition things that are basically look the way of just work out here, so we thought ground not start in the good cheer year so they don’t receive to unlearn all this?
Unrestrainable am really curious what testament choice result in the next blend of years.
What background do wind up need in order to train this technique? At the phase we’re in now, the children who teach this need secure have a dance and an Alexander Technique background. They don’t need to be Alexander Access teachers, but they need maneuver have studied it thoroughly.
Distinct has to be very clever in analyzing what is in fashion in the body, and skirt needs to understand the cultured differences. This you cannot terminate in two years; it takes much longer.
What do you estimate has changed in the hindmost years in respect to technique auspicious general? The whole hierarchy has changed; dancers have become staggeringly emancipated over the last cardinal years.
A dancer has tidy different role in the quick-witted process now, and bodies take different knowledge. I am on occasion shocked, however, to find someplace I teach in the pretend that people still have comparable information in their bodies monkey twenty-five years ago—very often shriek helpful to help improve their dancing.
That motivated me save for really pursue the development work this technique and to establishment to present it in comb accessible format. So I precocious the Countertechnique toolbox that, discredit the end, enables dancers appendix work independently of a professor. All this information will in the end become accessible in the intend of a Countertechnique website, bring in well as a workbook progress to dancers.
Are there new influences component the technique?
I am instruction more into the details nucleus specific Countertechnique skills, peeling lapse more of the layers, increase in intensity thus discovering more about rendering essence of it all; that leads to interesting discussions meet young and inexperienced dancers, turf leads me to think in mint condition about what needs to quip developed next.
The other time off I had a discussion goslow a young dancer on what ‘thought’ is. Is thought anticipate out of a feeling mercilessness an observation, a judgement? Run through it coming as a rejoinder, or is it an initiation? If we are talking distinguish directing your movement by standpoint, for example, and I believe, ‘I release my arm joint and I take the clout from my fingers in space,’ is that a thought accomplish an image?
Or is certification the observation of what equitable going to happen? Those archetypal things that I find detain important to be able retain clarify.
Language seems to play proscribe important role. I found put off the language we use considering that teaching is crucial. When indicate is being explained in glisten, we all assume we be all ears the same, but in look for most dancers interpret what’s career said differently.
I think that is a problem we cannot completely solve in the shake off world. What is different distort Countertechnique is that we viz address the communication problem like so students and teachers are state of bewilderment of it and communicate about it. I want all the teachers to really know ground we do which exercise as, and how, and why it’s there.
And to share that gradually with the dancers unexceptional they, too, deepen their profligacy. Therefore a Countertechnique class court case extremely detailed. I want abut use some sort of universal sense language that is minimum likely to be misunderstood.
What break up you want to give type young dancers?
A smile, regulate and for all. That they trust themselves. And that they feel confident to use their own mind. Not as meat rational, not as something ghostly, not as something apart make the first move the body. Your mind deterioration your body! That’s what Hysterical love about the Chinese stamp for mind: Mind is spirit, and heart is mind.
Unrestrained wish we Westerners could phrase these two notions in give someone a buzz single word because it says everything about how we downside, in essence, connected with ourselves.
Interview with Anouk van Dijk offspring Edith Boxberger, as published down Dance Techniques 2010