DANCE CLASS: Countertechnique

Monday night dance classes at Le Mondo continue for the month of February with COUNTERTECHNIQUE on Monday, January 31, at 7PM. (More classes on our calender page!)

ABOUT THE CLASS

Countertechnique,  created by Anouk van Dijk, provides tools for body  and mind to deal  with the deman­ding dance practice of the 21st  century. It is a movement  system to help the dancer think about the  dancing body, focusing on the  process of incorporating information into  action. Within a clear  structure of exercises, the Countertechnique  class thoroughly prepares  the body for rehearsal and performance,  enabling dancers to move bigger,  more fluidly and more spatially, while  becoming stronger and more  flexible.

ABOUT YOUR TEACHER

Kelly  Hirina, originally from Michigan, moved to the Netherlands as a  Fulbright scholar and continued to live and work there as a  professional  dancer for twenty years. While there, Hirina worked with  many different  choreographers such as; Emio Greco & Pieter C.  Scholten (EG|PC),  Krisztina de Chatel, Suzy Blok, Nicole Beutler, Liat  Waysbort and Dylan  Newcomb in companies such as ICKamsterdam and  Dansgroep Amsterdam.  Hirina also worked in mime/theater onstage with  Jakop Ahlbom and  Compagnietheater (Theu Boermans) and in films with  directors such as  Arno Dierickx and Noud Heerkens.

Alongside her dance career she studied  acting at the Atlantic Theatre School in New York City.

Hirina  is a certified teacher of both Countertechnique, created by  Anouk van  Dijk and Double Skin/Double Mind, created by Emio Greco and  Pieter C.  Scholten. She has been teaching these methods at the Lucia  Marthas  Institute for Performing Arts (Amsterdam) and in her role as  the  artistic coordinator of ICKamsterdam’s academy. These methods offer healthy approaches to the dancing body while stimulating their  personal  creativity. Hirina also incorporates methods from  ICKamsterdam, the  Sensorium Toolkit and Pre-choreographics, in  choreographic development.

She  acquired her M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Michigan  with  research based upon the link between mind and body in dance  training,  rehearsal and performance. Her specific interest is in  pedagogical  methods that enhance intrinsic motivation, appreciation for  learning (a  process-oriented approach) and goal setting.