Hi Chantalle! This month we shine a light on you! Our new solo dance teacher! You have a very special job as a dancer! What is it exactly what you do for a living?
I’m a full time artist. I’m a teacher, a performer and a coach… And everything that comes along with it. For the last four years I’ve been performing with Hans Klok. That means being in a bus, hotel or in the theatre non stop. My life looks a little different now, not totally but it was time for a change. Now I am back to teaching, that I’ve been doing since I was 12 years old. At that time I also started to make choreo’s and performed at festivals. I had a lot of things in my head but I never knew how to put them together. and later productions for other schools and then I started to make them myself. And now I teach again at Willem’s school.
What is it that you like about teaching?
When you are performing as an artist, i’ts great to be on stage, to do your own thing but it’s all about you; your performance and what you are trained to do. It’s also a way of expression. But when you are teaching and working with people I think this is a great process, you help people to build something for themselves. It’s really a gift to be able to guide them in their process and it gives you back a lot of energy straight away. It is very fulfilling, because you see what you can give to other people. It’s also what you can give them to reach out for themselves so that you can grow, in movement but also in yourself. Sometimes you find you have boundaries in yourself for example to come to a feminine class and you feel like expressing that side of you, you need to get over some taboo moments in yourself. But when you feel like you are in a safe environment and everybody else is doing it, to really let that go and to cross that border inside and be able to go where you want to go with yourself. Or in a pole dance class, when you feel you can’t go any further but the boundaries are in your head. You can do it, and I am there to help people to go there.
What do you want to give students in your class?
There is nothing you can’t do! If there is something in your mind, you can do it. You are the boss of your own life. It will take a lot of time maybe, but you can do it if you just keep on doing it.
Can you tell us about your classes at DA?
I teach solo classes on Sunday and Monday. I call Monday my feminine day. Chairdance and twerk, but also poleflow and samba on Sunday, I made it feminine classes. You can put your heals on, it’s girl power. I want to give people the possibility to get out of their own box. But doing a pole dance class or classical ballet or even a fireshow of make art, I think it should be approachable for everybody. If it is something you want to do and you love it, you should do it. It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman. And for the rest it is really for fun, I want everybody to enjoy the class and I want to give people what they need and push them to get them most out of themselves. It doesn’t matter if you are beginner or advanced, because you are never finished with dancing.
What can we expect the next period?
I love doing the classes and we will continue them as they are for now and dance a lot! For me it’s nice to have a group that comes every week. You can achieve a lot and see people grow. It’s also nice to have different people in class because it brings nice new energy. We want to do some more bootcamps next period and specific ‘girl days’. You can book a girl day, for example for a birthday or a bachelorette and do the pole dance class or twerk with all the accessories that go with it! A teacher to guide you and entertain you en you will be able to give your own show in the end. With champagne and goodie-bag, it will be a lot of fun!!
Thank you Chantalle! For the interview and for your great classes and energy! We can’t get enough!