OBOC 2026 - Countertechnique

APPLICATION DEADLINE 1 FEBRUARY

One Body, One Career (OBOC) Intensive Europe 2026

Amsterdam 25 July - 4 August - organised in collaboration with Henny Jurriëns Studio

We’re thrilled to return to the spacious studios of our partner Henny Jurriëns Studio (HJS) in Amsterdam for OBOC 2026, taking place 25 July – 4 August!

This year is extra special — OBOC turns 20, marking two decades since Anouk van Dijk launched the first intensive in 2006.

Across ten full days, you’ll work with Countertechnique Founder and Artistic Director Anouk van Dijk; Senior Teachers Elita Cannata, Niharika Senapati and Na-ye Kim; Teachers Eva Schaller, Francesca Dominguez and Arianna Hartanov; and Alexander Technique expert Tom Koch. In addition, dancers Niharika Senapati, Javier Garcia Monzón, and Tiemen Stemerding will share repertory from 2009 and 2025, connecting the early days of OBOC with Anouk van Dijk’s most recent work.

The OBOC offers a wealth of information and lots of lush dancing, to both first time and returning participants!

The OBOC Intensive is for professional dancers and advanced dance students interested in pursuing a long, healthy and successful career in dance. First time participants will gain a detailed introduction to the distinct elements and methodology that form Countertechnique, while returning participants will have the opportunity to deepen and expand their understanding. Through physical practice, theory, discourse and creative workshops, participants will gain a set of practical tools that they will be able to draw from and apply in their daily dance practice, other movement styles and through performance seasons.

The 2026 OBOC runs for ten full days in Amsterdam and offers pathways for both dancers new to Countertechnique and advanced practitioners. Daily classes and Practical Tools sessions will be led by Anouk van Dijk, Elita Cannata, and Niharika Senapati, with Na-ye Kim, Eva Schaller, Francesca Dominguez and Arianna Hartanov assisting and teaching additional classes and workshop sessions. Tom Koch will teach his Alexander Technique approach for dancers in group and individual sessions. Elective afternoon sessions will explore Countertechnique applications in repertory, partnering, improvisation, and — for the first time — ballet.

In the second week, three creative elective workshops will be offered, where you can develop strategies for composition and creation while exploring aspects of Anouk van Dijk’s artistic process and repertory, partnering, and performing as a choreographic act. The OBOC will conclude with a sharing of the workshop outcomes.

OBOC Amsterdam takes place at the spacious Chassé Dance Studios, and offers spots for maximum 90 dancers, working in three to four groups simultaneously in intimate settings. Previous editions have drawn a mix of participants from all around the world. The OBOC is the ultimate opportunity to immerse yourself in Countertechnique, and an amazing event to meet other dance artists, teachers and dance makers who are interested in pursuing long, creative careers and who love dancing!

DATES

Sat 25 July – Tue 4 August 2025 (day off: Thu 30 July)
All days: 9:30 am - 6:00 pm
Applicants must be able to attend the entire period

PROGRAM FEES

The full cost for the intensive is 1.275 EUR. A one-time Application Fee of 32.50 EUR is required for all applicants.

Applications close on Sunday 1 February 2026 at midnight. Applicants will be notified by Monday 16 February 2026.

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit a personal motivation statement and CV for consideration in PDF format, together not exceeding two pages. An additional online dancer's reel is required, which should include footage shot in a studio (improvisation or choreography). Applications are considered based on motivation and entrance level.

Applications are open from Monday January 5 - Sunday 1 February. Find the registration form here: Apply Now.
For any additional questions and all the conditions that apply to the program, please consult our FAQ page before applying.

LOCATION

The OBOC will be held at the Chassé Studios in Amsterdam, located in Amsterdam-East. We will be using several very spacious studios, measuring 24 m x 18 m, 27.5 m x 11 m, 27.5 m x 10 m, 12 x 11 m and 8 x 10 m (for Alexander Technique only). All participants are responsible for arranging their own housing, but housing assistance will be available.

FURTHER QUESTIONS AND TERMS& CONDITIONS

The HJS and Countertechnique teams will do our best to answer your questions, but we encourage you to review our extensive FAQ page before reaching out or submitting your application. This page will also provide you with all relevant conditions applicable to the program. All participants are expected to have read the information on this page prior to applying. Find the FAQ page here.

The full Terms and Conditions for participation in the OBOC program can be found here. Upon registration, a formal acceptance of these terms and conditions is required.

OBOC AMSTERDAM 2026 FACULTY

Anouk van Dijk

Anouk van Dijk is a choreographer, artistic director and the creator of the movement system, Countertechnique. From 2012 - 2019, she was the Artistic Director of renowned contemporary dance company Chunky Move in Melbourne, Australia. Currently Anouk van Dijk works internationally as a freelance choreographer and is the Founding Artistic Director of Countertechnique.

Anouk van Dijk spent the first ten years of her career as a lead soloist for Rotterdam Dance Company and Amanda Miller’s Pretty Ugly Dance Company. From early on, she was attracted to choreography and from the late nineties committed herself exclusively to the conception, creation and performance of her own work. In 1999, Van Dijk founded her own company, anoukvandijk dc, dedicated to creating work that sought to provide an insight into the many facets of the human experience through the lens of contemporary dance.

During her tenure of Artistic Director of Chunky Move in Melbourne, Australia, she created several large scale productions, amongst others An Act of Now (2012), Complexity of Belonging (2014, with Falk Richter), Depth of Field (2015), Rule of Thirds (2016), Common Ground (2018). In recent years, she created amongst other Distant Matter for Staatsballet Berlin, followed by the multi-disciplinairy show TOUCH with writer/director Falk Richter at the Münchner Kammerspiele in Germany, and Out of the Blue for Skånes Dansteater / Malmö Opera in Sweden, on music from Bach to Björk with the Malmö Opera Orchestra and Children's Choir. Three new commissions have premiered in Germany in 2026: for the Hessische Staatsballett (Wiesbaden), Tanz Muenster/LWL Museum for Arts and Culture (Muenster), and the new collaboration with German writer/director Falk Richter, A Perfect Sky, at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg.

In her career Anouk van Dijk has created more than thirty full-length works that toured to the world’s leading festivals and venues including Adelaide Festival, Sydney Opera House, Schaubuehne Berlin, Dance Triennale Tokyo, American Dance Festival, Theater der Welt (Hamburg), SPRING International Performing Arts Festival and Festival d'Avignon.

Anouk van Dijk initiated the One Body One Career Countertechnique Intensive (OBOC) in 2006, and has served as its Program Director ever since.

Niharika Senapati

Niharika Senapati graduated in 2011 from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in Perth. Trained as a contemporary dancer, she describes her practice as floating between the different roles of dancer, performer, teacher, maker, sound designer and choreography assistant. Niharika has worked closely with Anouk van Dijk during her tenure as Artistic Director of Chunky Move from 2012-2019, appearing as a dancer in almost all of her choreographies, most notably An Act of Now (2012), 247 Days (2013), Depth of Field (2015), Rule of Thirds (2016), Anti—Gravity (2017) and Accumulation (2018). She was also Choreographic Assistant for two of Anouk van Dijk’s collaborations with theatre director Falk Richter, Complexity of Belonging (2014) and Safe Places (2016), as well as Van Dijk's work Distant Matter (2019) for Staatsballet Berlin. As a freelance performer, Niharika has had an extensive list of creative collaborations as a performer, composer and choreographer, such as for Trustees by the Belarus Free Theatre for Malthouse Theatre (2018), Replay by Eszter Salamon (2018), Daddy by Joel Bray (2019) and Mosquitoes by Jessica Arthur (Sydney Theatre Company, 2019). Niharika has been an ensemble member of company Dancenorth in Townsville (QLD, Australia), led by Artistic Director Kyle Page. Since 2022, she has an been dancing with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerp, Belgium, performing works of Jan Martens, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, William Forsythe, Sharon Eyal, Jermaine Spivey, Alain Platel, Anne Teresa de Keersmaker, Marcos Marou, Giselle Vienne, Pina Bausch and Wim Vandekeybus.

Alongside performing, Niharika is a Senior Countertechnique teacher, contributing to over 10 editions of OBOC including OBOC Montreal 2019, and OBOC Amsterdam 2022, 2023 and 2024. She has taught all throughout Australia, as well as North-America, Europe and Asia.

Read more about Niharika in this interview.

Elita Cannata

Elita Cannata is a Senior Teacher Countertechnique. Born in Italy, Elita is currently based in Amsterdam. She has studied Countertechnique since 2005 and performed for anoukvandijk dc in 2007 and 2008. She attended her first Countertechnique Teacher Training (CTTT) program in 2014 and, with the support of the Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, returned to the CTTT in 2018 and progressed to the level Senior Teacher. Since 2021 she is part of the Faculty of OBOC, as well as the CTTT, and is inspired to support the future generations of Countertechnique Teachers.

Elita has graduated with a Bachelor of Dance in 2007 at Rotterdam Dance Academy / Codarts in the Netherlands and in 2011 got her MA in Theories of Performing Arts at the Università degli Studi in Bologna. During and after her graduation she performed for anoukvandijk dc, Cathy Sharp Ensemble, Compagnia Tpo & Tom Dale, Tan Temel, Samuele Cardini, Itzik Galili, Lynsey Peisinger, David Middendorp, and Fabrizio Favale among others. Next to her dance and teaching career, she has worked as a rehearsal director with Project Sally and Another Kind of Blue. As a teacher she visits many Institutions of Higher Education and dance companies around Europe, such as Skanes Danstheater, Goteborgdanskompani, Nederland Dans Theater, Introdans, ECD Academie voor Theater en Dans, ArtEZ Arnhem and Henny Jurriens Studio among others. In addition to her teaching career, Elita works as an events coordinator within the creative industry, contributing to events such as the International Film Festival Rotterdam and Venice Film Festival.

Tom Koch

Certified Teacher of the Alexander Technique

Tom Koch pursued his Bachelor of Arts in Theater, with a minor study in History of Science, at University of Missouri-Kansas City. After being certified to teach in 1987 by the American Center for the Alexander Technique in New York, he was a pioneer in integrating the Alexander Technique with ballet movement and education, particularly for resolving chronic pain and repetitive injuries. He was for years the Alexander Technique teacher for William Forsythe’s groundbreaking Ballet Frankfurt (later the Forsythe Company). He has also taught group and private lessons for Netherlands Dance Theater, Tanztheater Wuppertal (Pina Bausch), the Dutch National Ballet, Sydney Dance Company, Chunky Move, La Biennale di Venezia College Danza, Codarts University, L’Artère, Studio 303, Henny Jurriëns Studio in Amsterdam, and many others. Every year since 2006, Tom has collaborated with his former student Anouk van Dijk to teach the annual One Body, One Career Intensive (OBOC) for dancers, in Amsterdam, Melbourne, Montréal, New York and Los Angeles. His work is not limited to dance but includes a wide range of artists in all forms of dance, music and theater. He also has taught the technique to doctors, writers, scientists, secretaries, architects and police agents. Although now retired from private practice he still enjoys teaching his own workshops focusing mainly on helping those with chronic pain to find improved movement and living strategies.

Na-ye Kim

Born and based in South Korea, Na-ye Kim resides in Seoul. She has been studying Countertechnique in-depth since 2019, including attending two One Body, One Career intensives and participating in the Countertechnique Teacher Training program in 2021 and 2022, and became Senior Countertechnique teacher upon completion of her third training in 2025.

Na-ye Kim is a dance artist, educator, and scholar. She trained in classical ballet at The Royal Ballet School and earned a BA (Hons) in Dance Education from Durham University (UK). In 2006, she completed her MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts (USA). She has performed extensively on international stages, including with Mikhail Baryshnikov's Hell's Kitchen Dance, and has also worked with renowned American choreographers such as Gerald Casel, Aszure Barton, Karole Armitage, Bill Young, Kyle Abraham, Bridget L. Moore in New York.

Na-ye furthered her academic pursuits with a PhD in Dance Education from Seoul National University (Korea). She served as a full-time lecturer at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts from 2016 to 2019 and is now the Chair of the Department of Dance and an Associate Professor of Contemporary Dance at Sungkyunkwan University (Korea). She also leads her project company, Na-ye Kim Movement Collective (NKMC). Her research focuses on contemporary dance, choreography, and creativity in pedagogy.

Eva Schaller

Eva Schaller is a freelance dancer, teacher, and choreographer based in Vienna, Austria. She began her journey with Countertechnique at Codarts, and performed in Anouk van Dijk's company anoukvandijk dc in Situations, SHOT, Am i out? and STAU throughout the Netherlands and abroad between 2007-2009. She participated in the One Body One Career Intensives in 2007, 2008 and 2016, and became a certified teacher in 2016. She completed her second CTTT in 2022.

Eva has collaborated with choreographers Emio Greco|PC, Anouk van Dijk, Christine Gaigg, Georg Blaschke, and Willi Dorner, amongst others, and worked with the Munich Philharmonic with Sabine Glenz.

Her choreographic practice is deeply engaged with Austrian modernist dance heritage, archival research, female histories, and embodied memory. Works include the solo Recalling Her Dance (2021), which was shown at Tanzquartier Vienna and Impulstanz Vienna International Dance Festival, as well as the group work Femenine (2022), performed in various public spaces across Vienna.

In 2023, Eva completed the Master's program in New Performative Practices at the Stockholm University of the Arts. Her recent work O! A Biography, created in collaboration with the Black Page Orchestra and the Dance Department of MUK Vienna was presented at Tanzquartier / Wien Modern.

Since 2016, Eva has been teaching Countertechnique in professional dance programs across Europe such as Impuls Tanz, and is a regular guest teacher and choreographer at the MUK Music and Arts University Vienna.

Javier Monzón García

Javier was born in Madrid and trained at the Royal Professional Conservatory of Dance of Madrid from 1995 to 2003. Early in his career he gained stage experience with Béjart Ballet Lausanne, The Royal Ballet at Teatro Real Madrid, the Royal Ballet of Flanders, and Europa Danse. In 2003 he joined Compañía Nacional de Danza 2 under Toni Fabre, before becoming a member of Nederlands Dans Theater 2 (2005–2008) and later NDT 1 (2008–2010), performing works by Crystal Pite, Wayne McGregor, Ohad Naharin, Jiří Kylián, Hans van Manen, and William Forsythe. He returned to Compañía Nacional de Danza in 2011 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2012.

Since 2015, Javier has worked as a freelance artist, collaborating with choreographers including Anouk van Dijk, Iván Pérez Avilés, Chevi Muraday, and Fabian Thomé. His work with Anouk van Dijk includes performing and staging Common Ground, as well as performing in her 2025 collaboration with German writer/director Falk Richter, A Perfect Sky, at the Deutsche Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, and in their collaboration TOUCH, at the Munich Kammerspiele in Munich. Alongside his performance career, Javier creates his own choreographic work, including Urizen, Morphology, Bashdoor, Entropía, and Intento de Brillar. In 2025, he co-founded the artistic project Ca’Mon in Amsterdam with Erik Cataldo.

Tiemen Stemerding

Originally from the Netherlands and now based in Malmö, Sweden, Tiemen is a contemporary dance artist with an extensive background in both company and project-based work. He graduated from Codarts University of the Arts in Rotterdam in 2017, after which he joined Theater Bielefeld as a company dancer. From 2018 to 2024, Tiemen danced with Skånes Dansteater, collaborating with choreographers including Marcos Morau, Anouk van Dijk, Örjan Andersson, Fernando Melo, Tero Saarinen, Mari Carrasco, David Hernandez, Roser López Espinosa, and Ben Wright. His work with Anouk van Dijk includes performing in Out of the Blue for Skånes Dansteater, as well as her 2025 collaboration with German writer and director Falk Richter, A Perfect Sky, at the Deutsche Schauspielhaus in Hamburg.

Alongside his company work, Tiemen has appeared in projects with artists such as Dunja Jocić, Bobbi Lo Production, and Miquel G. Font, with performances spanning Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands. He has also developed his own creative projects, including the short dance films ASAL and Space Stood Still, as well as commissioned and collaborative works presented in the Netherlands.

Arianna Hartanov

Born in Denver, CO (USA), Arianna Hartanov is a dancer, choreographer, and certified Countertechnique Teacher currently based in Münster, Germany, where she is a company member with Tanz Münster. Her work spans classical ballet, contemporary, and neoclassical forms, with a strong focus on physical clarity and musicality.

Arianna has performed leading and featured roles with State Street Ballet and Tanz Münster in a wide-ranging repertoire that includes Giselle (Myrtha), Cinderella (Fairy Godmother), Corelli Concerto, and George Balanchine’s Who Cares?. She is frequently cast in dramatic and character-forward roles, including Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty, Odette in Die Schwäne, and Bagheera in The Jungle Book. Alongside her company work, Arianna has been a core collaborator with Selah Dance Collective, originating principal and soloist roles in new creations by Meredith Ventura, Weslie Ching, and Nicole Powell, in addition to producing her own work. Her contemporary performance work includes Malena, Palermo, Rite of Spring, In the Violet Hour, and Sound and Smoke. She has toured internationally throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan, performing in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Osaka, and Tokyo.

Arianna became a certified teacher in Countertechnique in 2023 and completed her second training in 2025.

TESTIMONIALS FROM PREVIOUS OBOCs

“I’ve gone beyond what I thought was possible for myself” – Erica Brandell

“Dance finally feels like I’m doing it for me again.” – Nicole Smith

“The program was so amazing. … I haven’t smiled whilst dancing in so long.” – Ashley Allen

“I feel like a completely different dancer” – Kristen Ahring

“It will have a tremendously positive impact on my dancing in all forms.” – Emily Hansel

“it has been lifechanging for me as a dancer” – Madeline Burr

“The [Countertechnique] toolbox will change how I approach all movement forms” – Sidney Ramsey

“Countertechnique’s way of communicating can aid the dancer to feel comfortable, safe, empowered in one’s body” – Jennifer Sydor

“These tools are a way for us to trust in ourselves, the process, and the overall beauty of movement.” – Madison Elliott

“will help me stay healthy and happy for years to come” – Samuel Melecio-Zambrano

“these tools could allow for dancers to stay in it longer while embracing the process of the aging body” – Elise Jumes

“This program has helped me realize that I have more years of dance left in me than I thought.” – Travis Cooper

“new hope for the future of dance” – Shelley Cochrane