Classes & Workshops

I teach a wide range of workshops and classes, from professionals to amateurs of all ages. Here I have listed the most popular workshops currently, and a full list of possibilities is available at the bottom of the page.

You can check my Calendar to know where and when I am teaching next, or contact me directly to programme your workshop of choice.

Most subjects can be taught to professionals or amateurs (beginners-advanced), and the movement/voice performance improvisation can be taught to all levels at once if needed. All subjects offered can be taught as workshops or classes. Combining both in one workshop is also possible eg. floorwork in the morning, improvisation in the afternoon. Some video documentation of classes can be found on the corresponding workshop page.

Featured workshops

Performing the Present

Performance improvisation in movement & voice. For people who like to explore improvisation from all different directions!

What makes you unique as a performer? How can you expand your palette of skills? What do you appreciate watching in a performance? What do you most enjoy giving to an audience? The essence of Present Performing is to help people find their own unique performance presence using movement and voice. Inspired by Al Wunder’s Theatre of the Ordinary, the work of Andrew Morrish and Ruth Zaporah’s Action Theater, this class promotes an experiential way of learning. Participants discover what they like doing, what they like seeing and take responsibility for developing their own style of theatrical self-presentation.

Get Down

A floor work class with funk… strengthening centre, perfecting technique, extending movement range and having fun. How to throw yourself at the ground and miss…

The classes start by warming up at ground level: strengthening centre and upper body for taking weight by travelling across the floor with set material or improvisations. With a strong centre we can move fluidly and economically on all levels. We then transition into practising specific movements and short phrases passing through different levels, exploring inverted material. Emphasis is placed on efficient use of the body. We use gravity, momentum and weight of body parts, spirals, direction, softness to find fluidity and ease in, out and over the floor.

Your own best teacher

Coaching-based strategies for teaching and learning dance

In dance we are generally thought, and taught, to ‘train’ ourselves and others: learning and passing on information to perform our specialised activity. But what if we worked to ‘educate’ ourselves or our students as well, in the Latin sense of the word educere: to build the person, to draw out their latent potential? Create thinking, sensing, inspired and empowered dancers? What if we could also empower and uplift ourselves with this process? Your own best teacher is designed for dance teachers of any genre or level, for dancers interested in pedagogy, and for those who wish to push their own boundaries further by coaching themselves.

Remixed Release

Strength, alignment, fluidity and economy…and fun!

These contemporary classes are release technique and floor work based, and include contact and other forms of improvisation. Aspects of yoga, Alexander technique, pilates and Skinner Releasing are also often part of the class. I focus on the body’s alignment and working economically in movement through emphasis on direction, sequencing, impulse and fluidity. Part of working economically is use of the centre and internal musculature, so reinforcing and learning to access that power is a major objective also. Strengthening the upper body for contact and floor work is integrated gradually into the class.

Embodying Text

Improvised physical play with words for dancers and movers.

Using the body as our instrument is the daily practice of a dancer, but how to add vocal expression to our performing? How to feed voice or text back into our bodies as inspiration for movement? This workshop opens the toolbox to using voice in improvised performance, for dancers or movers in the performing and circus arts: skills that can also be transferred to the creation of set performance material. Inspired by Al Wunder’s Theatre of the Ordinary, Ruth Zaporah’s Action Theater and the work of Andrew Morrish, this workshop promotes an experiential way of learning. Participants discover what they like doing, what they like seeing and take responsibility for developing their own style of theatrical self-presentation.

Wise ‘n’ wild

Wise moves & expressive grooves (+60)

This contemporary movement class is based on Release Technique, floor work and includes Contact and other forms of Improvisation. The focus is on recognising & respecting our bodies are different the older we get, and incorporating that wisdom into our dancing while playing with our limits and individual expression. The first foci are joint mobilisation, strength, stability & alignment. The more grounded and centred we are in our bodies, the more courage we can have to move boldly through the space. We also look at working economically in movement through emphasis on direction, sequencing, impulse and fluidity.

Other available workshops

Moving GenerationsA dance improvisation workshop for (grand)parents & children

Why not share your love of dance with your children, or share in their love of moving? The focus of these workshops is to move to connect with your child, to play and explore together. There are no steps to learn, no wrong moves, only expressing yourself through your body and experiencing your child in a different way.

Fun & Functional Training for Dancers – holistically supporting a dancer’s training

What do you do physically to support your dancing and keep yourself injury-free? How do you resource yourself mentally & emotionally? Interested in working on body conditioning in a conscious and playful way?

This workshop is focused on holistically supporting a dancer’s training, at whichever level you are, from beginner to professional. Susanne will guide you through the week using ideas and exercises coming Functional Training, natural movement, contemporary dance and life coaching.

Play spaceMovement Improvisation for Beginners

The essence of Play Space is to help people connect their own improvisational movement style & presence. Inspired by Al Wunder’s Theatre of the Ordinary, the work of Andrew Morrish and Ruth Zaporah’s Action Theater, this class promotes an experiential way of learning. Participants discover what they like doing, what they like seeing and take responsibility for noticing and developing their own style of moving and interacting.

Contacting performance (with David Hayo) – a workshop intensive, combining contact with other improvisational performance skills including voice.

This intensive builds on themes inherent in contact improvisation to craft instantaneously composed performances. It is designed as a whole programme, allowing participants to go deeper each weekend into the material, and add new elements each time. We focus on compositional tools such as rhythm, space & phrasing in order to relate to others in a more specific way while contacting.  Creating with the awareness of being seen, while staying in full connection with the piece that is developing and our partner.

Being & doing sexybeing becoming form, form becoming being.

Reclaiming sexy has been an eye opener for me personally, and it was the overwhelming feedback from participants in the class at ImPulsTanz 2014 that just by doing the moves they felt, and became sexy. The state of sexiness was produced by the movement – form becoming being. Then the being reinforced the form and a feedback loop was created. We will start with directed exploration, then work with partners and in groups to explore in an experiential way your own personal focus – practicing being, doing & observing the form or feeling created.

Pole technique beginners

Pole technique classes concentrate on learning the figures and combinations fluidly, as well as reinforcing the necessary musculature and stretching. They are divided into levels to guarantee an optimal workout for everyone. I have been teaching beginners since Sept 2013, and put a focus on the pleasure of dancing into my classes. It’s mixed, men are more than welcome!

Pole connection – Release-based contemporary dance using the floor and a pole as a playground…

Susanne has developed her own approach to the pole combining her floorwork class material (Get Down!) and general contemporary release-based material (Remixed Release) with brand new pole-based moves.

Pole show girlPin up pole class

Pin up pole class offering a new choreography each class- from burlesque to booty-shakin’ badness. It includes basic pole moves and puts the accent on glamour, groove, panache, and feeling fabulous. ‘Cause why not strut your stuff (in heels)?! It’s a great way to have fun and reinforce your self confidence! Show boys are more than welcome.

Legomotiontechnique & construction of contemporary dance

A dance workshop where you focus half of the time on contemporary technique and the other half on improvisation and choreography. Strength, alignment, fluidity and economy… This workshop is Release technique and floor-work based, and includes contact and other forms of improvisation. Aspects of yoga, Alexander technique and Skinner Releasing are also part of the mix.

Partnering BasicsThe basis of partnering is listening and responding.

Through release-based contemporary technique, Contact Improvisation and other forms of improvisation we will learn how to dance more effectively with a partner, how to lift and be lifted by another person, and how to help ourselves and others improve technique. Working with a partner teaches us to focus internally: listening to your own movement and touch, or your partner’s, to be able to respond appropriately.

Photo Credits: 1. Beursschouwburg, 2. Elodie Malroux  – Circuit Est, 3. Susanne Bentley, 4. ImPulsTanz 2013 – Karolina Miernik, 5. Ludmila Glukhova, 6.Rudy Carlier, 8. Susanne Bentley, 9. Serge Gutwirth, 10. Sarah Cavenaile, 11. Elodie Malroux  – Circuit Est, 12. Stan Arte, 14. Danspunt