Creative Children´s Dance

 Annika Wolf's courses are marked by the fact that improvisation and creative impulses from the children form the central artistic element. After training as a dance teacher, she continued her training in New York, Los Angeles and Cologne. Since 2008 Annika has been working as a choreographer in numerous schools in Düsseldorf, and since 2013 as a teacher at tanzhaus nrw. In January 2020, she took over the artistic supervision and coordination for the dance department of the Kulturamt NRW. "For me, it's about the children getting a feeling for themselves and their movements. I accompany many children and young people over the years and it makes me particularly happy when I notice the progress they make and how proud they are of themselves," says Annika.

Elisa Marschall ist eine deutsch-nicaraguanische zeitgenössische Tänzerin, Performerin, Choreografin sowie Tanz-, Yoga- und Theaterpädgogin. Sie absolvierte ihr Tanzstudium an der Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen und an der ArtEZ Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Arnheim (Niederlande). Bisher hatte sie Gelegenheit mit Regisseur*innen und Choreograf*innen wie Susanne Linke, Anna Holter, Maura Morales, Philipp Stölzl, Andreas Rosar, Carlus Padrissa sowie mit artcenisco performing arts, Sepidar Theater und das Theater der Klänge u.a. zusammen zu arbeiten. Im Jahr 2014 zertifizierte sie sich in Indien zur Yogalehrerin. Seitdem unterrichtet sie leidenschaftlich gerne Gruppen sowie einzelne Personen. 2020 absolvierte sie eine Ausbildung zur Theaterpädagogin in BuT® an der Akademie off-theatre in Neuss. Seit 2021 ist sie Mitglied des Forumtheaters Inszene in Köln, wo sie als Schauspielerin sowie Moderatorin in der kulturellen Bildung tätig ist. Derzeit absolviert sie neben ihrer künstlerischen Tätigkeit einen Master in Szenischer Forschung an der RUB.

Gabriela Santos holds a BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where she was able to dance numerous works by American choreographers such as Bill T. Jones, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor and many more. Gabriela also taught at the Ballet Academy East in New York, gave numerous workshops, and took every opportunity to complete internships with prominent teachers while dancing in professional projects. Beyond New York, Gabriela worked as a dance teacher, choreographer, and dancer in Peabody Preparatory of Dance in Baltimore. Very soon after completing her studies, Gabriela was contracted as a stage dancer by TUI Cruises Mein Schiff 1, where she performed daily in several theatre productions. She is currently working towards her master’s in dance pedagogy at the Palucca University of Dance. Gabriela has been teaching dance in Germany since 2019.

Glib Movenko was born in Kiev, Ukraine. First he danced Latin and Standard (Ballroom Sport Dance) for about 10 years, then Hip-Hop since 2000. During his studies "Choreography - Teacher of Choreography and Art" he learned classical ballet and Ukrainian folk dance. He has 20 years of teaching experience. Dance has saved him several times in different crises, such as the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the 90s, a family separation or his own puberty. Dance has always given him the motivation to keep developing and to train with all his heart and strength. And this often with success in international dance competitions. The many trips to competitions and performances have since given him the strength to use his art and sport in the context of international understanding, which especially distinguishes and enriches his enthusiasm for teaching dance with children.

Nadja Görts was last dancing in Musicals and she has an MA degree in Dance Pedagogy, Research and Artistic Practice from Sporthochschule Cologne. As a choreographer she has worked in Germany and internationally in Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Tunisia. Her recent dance film „Würde“ received several awards in international festivals. As a music theatre pedagogue she regularly supports the team at Junge Oper am Rhein. Her training as a yoga teacher with a specialization in yoga therapy, dance and movement pedagogy was undertaken in Bali and she has been working as a yoga teacher and trainer for several years. Nadja is also a full-time mum of a two-year old daughter and experiences from her own pregnancy have influenced her personal teaching style.

Nora Pfahl graduated from her dance studies at ArtEZ University of Arts in Arnhem. She passionately danced ballet, modern and jazz dance from an early age. Since her graduation, she has been working internationally as an instructor, dancer and choreographer. Apart from her numerous freelance artistic works, she is also in demand as a choreographer for TV station KiKa, Junges Schauspielhaus, Tonhalle and tanzhaus nrw in Düsseldorf. Since 2006, Nora has been an instructor at tanzhaus nrw. “I am very happy to be able to do exactly what I love.” Her acting debut – following her childhood’s second dream job – was as the Red Riding Hood in Düsseldorf theatre collective Pièrre.Vers’ production of “Rrr.käppchen”. The collective also takes part in Düsseldorf’s Asphalt Festival and düsseldorf festival! annually. Additionally, Nora choreographs and hosts the “Plutino” series at Tonhalle Düsseldorf, a work within the frame of “Take-off: Junger Tanz”, initiated by tanzhaus nrw.

Sofia Klein Herrero was born in Düsseldorf and received her dance training at the Escuela de Ballet Carmina Ocaña y Pablo Savoye in Madrid, as well as at the Conservatorio Superior de Danza María de Ávila de Madrid, where she completed a Bachelor in Choreography and Dance in 2018. Sofia has danced in numerous ballet companies and theatres (Aalto Ballett Essen, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Oper Wuppertal, Ballett Bautzen, Musik Theater im Revier Gelsenkirchen, Pasodos Dance Company Mallorca, and many more).
Her work as a dance teacher includes various dance schools, workshops and companies where she taught different styles: ballet, contemporary, modern dance, pointe, creative children's dance, preballet, stretching, improvisation technologies, choreography, as well as yoga, pilates, balletfit and body conditioning. Since 2020 she is studying a Master in Dance Education (Classical Dance) at the Folkwang University of the Arts Essen. Sofia Klein Herrero works as a dancer, dance teacher, choreographer and fitness trainer.

Stefanie Schwimmbeck arbeitet seit ihrem Studium an der Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Köln freischaffend als zeitgenössische Tänzerin und Tanzvermittlerin. Als Tanzvermittlerin reichen ihre Erfahrungen von diversen partizipatorischen Projekten über zeitgenössisches Tanztraining für Laien aller Altersstufen und professionelle Tänzer:innen bis hin zu Lehrtätigkeiten an Hochschulen. Sie ist Lehrkraft in der Kreativen Werkstatt der Brotfabrik Bonn-Beuel für kreativen zeitgenössischen Tanz für Kinder und Jugendliche und gestaltet die alljährliche Schulaufführung mit ihren Tanzschüler*innen im Alter von 4–18 Jahren. In Düsseldorf ist sie regelmäßig Teil des Tanzlabors „move on…“ im Akki – Aktion & Kultur mit Kindern e.V.. Die Tanzvermittlung schlägt für sie eine Brücke zwischen Tänzer*innen, Schüler*innen und Zuschauenden und nimmt eine zentrale Rolle in der Stärkung der Kunstform Tanz ein.

Tanja Emmerich started dancing ballet at age eight. Later on, she took additional classes in modern dance and jazz with Carlo Melis and others. As a youth, she discovered the variety on offer at tanzhaus nrw and took even more classes in jazz dance and hip hop. Tanja studied at the ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem and completed her dance pedagogy studies at the Weber-Schule in Düsseldorf. Following this, she obtained a certificate as a dance pedagogue at the Ballettseminar Stuttgart under the direction of Eva Steinbrecher. She has been teaching children, youths and adults in different dance styles while also working regularly as a choreographer for dance and theatre productions such as the Neusser Musical-Wochen. She has been a member of the core instructional team at tanzhaus nrw since 2015.

Tereza Matos completed her studies in classical ballet and modern dance at Brazil’s Universidade Federal da Bahia. She was subsequently invited to journey to Germany by renowned Wuppertal choreographer Pina Bausch, later studying at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. Here, she graduated as a classical ballet dance pedagogue in 2008. Tereza took part in several opera and musical theatre productions. She accumulated more than 35 years of stage experience in pieces like “Orpheus und Eurydice”, “Hair”, “Die Bassgeige” and as a guest dancer at Essen’s Grillo Theater, as well as in Dortmund and Aachen. Among her colleagues and role models are Jean Cébron and Susanne Linke, both seminal choreographers, in their works closely linked with the Folkwang University of the Arts.