Willemieke Verweij

Willemieke started out as a ballerina, yet started her dance training late in classical ballet terms. Growing up in Africa, the opportunities to take ballet classes were limited. Though dancing is very much a part of African culture, ballet not so much. After coming back to The Netherlands, Willemieke started her education at the Royal Academy of Dance. However, her passion for teaching developed itself in Toronto Canada where the very first classes were taught. Soon after, the first foundations were built to create her own dance and yoga school.

With an endless curiosity for other cultures and practices, Willemieke obtained her Master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology. This curiosity also led her to the path of yoga in her early 20s. Everything in yoga influenced her dance teaching and did so to such an extent that she decided to ‘break’ with the more traditional approaches of teaching ballet. She recently completed her second Master’s degree in Dance with the Royal Academy of Dance while studying Modern Vinyasa Yoga intensively under Baron Baptiste and Simon Park. This experience deepened her practice and teaching methods around the principles of authenticity and free expression.

My approach
True connective movement cannot be set apart from the exact moment the movement is made and all that is present within that moment. All that the dancer or yogi feels, experiences, and ultimately expresses. Without the embodiment, and on a deeper level, the ensoulment of the movement, the movement becomes mechanic, an empty shell. This basic principle applies to all movement types. To me, this training has all the ingredients for an ever-changing and ever-interesting practice in which not only form is important, but also a deeper level of expression and self-development.

Why I teach
I love observing all the differences within people and bringing the body to a state where it clicks and you can experience the full potential and freedom that your body can move within. It’s magical to me to get people to explore their maximum range of motion and regain structure in the way a body is naturally built.