Courses and workshops that I developed drew on experiential dance as an integrative method and learning methodology for helping students inquire into themselves and connect to each other.
Dancing in University Education
In June 2024, too, I will be offering, for the 8th time, a transformative elective to the students of the honors program PPLE at the University of Amsterdam, where dancing and movement are used as reflection methodologies.
3-30 June 2022 and 2023: “Self and Other through Mind and Dance” updated iteration of the elective for PPLE students, CREA, University Of Amsterdam
1-26 June 2021: “Choreographic Self-and Other through mind and dance” CREA, Amsterdam
Online (adapted) edition 2-27 June 2020 Breath and Dance: ontologies of Self Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, meeting in the dance studio will not be possible. This edition will imply daily (individual) practice at home and three times a week online Zoom sessions.
From 3 to 28 June 2019, I designed and taught an elective seminar titled “Choreographic Self and Other: Exploring Empathy through Dance” at PPLE College, University of Amsterdam. Dance, somatic experience, and reflective writing were combined to help students explore the phenomenology of self and relate to each other.
5-30 June 2017 and 4-29 June 2018 designed and taught an elective tutorial track: “Bridging ontologies: through mind and dance,” for Integrative Seminar IV: Societal Challenges at the interdisciplinary honors program PPLE (College for Politics, Psychology, Law and Economy), University of Amsterdam. In this experimental course, dance improvisation was used as a prime assessment tool to allow students a deeper understanding of (selected) analytical concepts (such as Self, Other, Alienation, Empathy, etc.).
Workshops for members of Student Meditation
Since 2022, I have occasionally been offering workshops in experiential dance to the members of the Student Association, the student association of the University of Amsterdam.
Performance Workshop: Experiential dance
presented at AIS 2019 Conference | Amsterdam, 24-26 October, 2019
During the workshop, I shared my experience of how movement practice can be integrated into the learning process on the undergraduate level, how we can use conscious movement to nurture students’ soft skills, as well as create novel ways to facilitate deep thinking and reflection process.
Workshops for students’ wellbeing
A sequence of workshops was organized for Safe Space, a student initiative (UvA) dedicated to raising awareness of mental health issues among undergraduate students.
September 30, 2019, Relaxing body (achieving deep relaxation, anchoring in own body, experiencing being fully present and alert);
November 2, 2019 Unwinding Anxiety
December 9, 2019 Empathy towards self and other (exploring self through interactions with a group, experiencing a genuine connection with others through improvisation);
January 29, 2020 Breath-work for emotional release (to attend this workshop, students should have participated at least in one of the earlier classes).
Experiential Dance 