Alumnus Esmee van Dijk: “There’s only one way to find out who you are as a dancer and as a teacher”

Esmee couldn’t be happier. At the age of 23, she is getting ready to fly to Los Angeles, the beating heart of the commercial dance scene. “I’ll be dancing there for a month, something I’m looking forward to immensely.” She will be staying in a kind of dorm with fellow dancers and will take about fifty stand-alone dance classes over the course of a few weeks. “Over there you are taught by the best. And who knows where it might lead...”

Videos, concerts and events

One of Esmee’s biggest dreams – in addition to having her own theatre production and dancing in a major musical – is to join an international star as a dancer on their world tour. “That’s not my main aim in going to LA, but it would be amazing.” Though she began her dance studies at ArtEZ thinking she would devote herself to teaching, in recent years the pull of performing has become stronger. “I had no idea that there were so many possibilities as a dancer,” Esmee says. “Music videos, concerts, events; the list is endless. That plus the growing number of opportunities coming my way have led me to focus more on the performance side of things. In addition to teaching, because that’s still where my heart lies.”

Doubts

On a weekly basis, Esmee can be found putting pupils through their paces as a dance teacher at Quintus, a centre for art and arts education in Kampen. She also works on several primary school projects and teaches people with Parkinson’s disease, alongside regular stage appearances at shows and festivals. “And on top of all that, I still take dance classes myself,” Esmee laughs. “It’s a busy life, I know. But it brings me so much joy and things are going really well.” It’s a life she had never dared to imagine. “To be honest, before starting at ArtEZ I sometimes had my doubts. Training to be a dancer... is there really a future in that? Most people I knew thought the same. But these days I’m so busy that I even have to turn things down. I just can’t fit them into my schedule.”

“I definitely did not expect to make the top ten of TV show Project Dans”

 Living in Kampen certainly works in her favour. “You don’t have many academy-trained dance teachers in these parts, so it’s very easy for me to get work. I have something of a monopoly on dance classes around here, ha ha. In fact, I haven’t had to apply for a single job since I graduated, something I mostly owe to my network.” A big help in finding the right contacts was Esmee’s decision to take dance classes locally herself. “That puts you in touch with people who are looking for someone with a dance background, and that gets the ball rolling.” Did she ever take unpaid jobs to build a name for herself? Esmee nods. “I used to, as a performer. That’s a slightly different world. It’s tougher. Unless you’re prepared to do something for nothing, you can forget it. They’ll find ten other people who will. As a teacher, on the other hand, I’ve never done anything for free. After all, it’s what I was trained to do.”

Valuable life lessons

She looks back fondly on her time at ArtEZ. “I could already dance when I arrived, but at ArtEZ I was really able to hone my skills. And that includes aspects like how you perform in front of a group and how you take charge of a situation. Very valuable life lessons. I now have a backpack full of knowledge that enables me to teach people from all walks of life something about dance. I think it’s a really cool way to get people moving.”

Proof that her own career as a dancer is far from over came in the shape of TV dance competition Project Dans. Esmee came fifth. “I definitely did not expect to make the top ten,” she says, looking back. “We were given a lot of professional one-on-one coaching and I got a lot of good feedback. All in all, that TV show gave me a lot.”

“Are you surrounded by classmates who love classical ballet, but you don’t? That’s fine. Do your own thing.”

To potential students considering a degree in dance but who may be having doubts like she did, Esmee’s advice is simple: “Go for it. It’s hard work, but definitely worth it. You are still so young and you’ll soon discover for yourself whether dance is the right degree for you.” She sometimes misses the opportunities that were there for the taking during her studies. “You have access to everything at ArtEZ,” Esmee says. “You can go into the studio, take dance classes, collaborate with other students, borrow equipment; my advice would be to use all these things to your advantage. It’s an absolute luxury – financially, if nothing else! – to have the chance to take so many different classes. You only realise that when your studies are over. Looking back, I could definitely have got so much more out of it.” She also says that it’s important to stay true to who you are. “Are you surrounded by classmates who love classical ballet, but you don’t? That’s fine. Do your own thing. That can be tricky as a teenager. But it’s the only way to find out who you are as a dancer, and as a teacher.”