Assistant Professor at the Universiteit van Amsterdam 

Since I have finished my international career as a principal dancer (Het National Ballet, Amsterdam, English National Ballet, London) and accomplished my PhD project, I work as assistant professor at the department of German Studies and cultural analysis. My research area entails different fields of cultural and literary studies and recently revolves around topics such as 'Europe: narratives and frames', ‘body and motion pictures’, ‘dance on screen’, 'Corona frames and semantics', and narratological structures in political/cultural discourses. The special quality of my research lies in the fruitful combination of my expertise in the field of art practice as well as the scientific and analytical reflection. My latest publications include: “Hans van Manen: Between formal austerity and dramatic expression” (Oxford University Press, 2021) and in the context of the pandemic crisis: “Das Virus: Sinn des Sinnlosen” (KulturRevolution 2020).

Area of interest

At the moment I am interested in the following topics: Europe: frames and narratives in literature and culture; “The role of perceptions formed by traditions, values, and beliefs, in shaping European societies and politics in the 21st century” (preparing for a Horzon 2020 proposal); The effects of the pandemic on the cultural sector in particular the effects on the work of dance/dancers/choreographers;       

In the pipe line:

Currently I am preparing for a Horizon 2020 project proposal where my focus lies on discourses of resentment in East Germany (“Enttäuschungsdiskurse. Zur kritischen Auseinandersetzung mit und (künstlerischen) Darstellung von Misstrauen, Ressentiment und Verbitterung im Osten”).

Member of: 

• Vereiniging van Germanisten aan de Nederlandse Universiteiten (VGNU);
• Culturele Genootschap de Muiderkring;
• Member of the raad van toezicht van dansgeselschap “Leine en Roebana”.

CV

Artistic career (ballet dancer)  

1985 – 1987 Nationaltheater in Munich

1987 – 2007 Niederländischen Nationalballett (Het Nationale Ballet/English National Ballet)

1993 – 2007 ‚Principal‘ (eerste soliste)

Roles: amongst others, swan lake, Romeo and Juliette, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Giselle, Cinderella, Bayadere, Raimonda

Works by: Balanchine, Hans van Manen, Rudi van Dantzig, Toer van Schayk, Krzystof Pastor, Glen Tetley ect.

Guest artist: amongs others England (London: Royal Albert Hall; Coliseum), Schottland, Dänemark, Russland (Moskau: Bolschoi-Theater), Israel, Deutschland, Polen, Taiwan, Niederländische Antillen, Brasilien etc.

Academic career: 

Since my : Promotion 2012 on the German contemporary writer W.G. Sebald "Der katastrophisch-messianische Geschichtsraum bei W. G. Sebald: Bewegung, Stillstand, Liminalität" (Publikation bei Synchron-Wissenschaffts-Verlag 2014), I am working as assistant professor at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. 

Find list of publications in the attchment;