First up: Amsterdam and Berlin!

Hi Everyone! Zach and I have been traveling for almost a month now and we’re having a great start to the trip!  So far, we’ve been to 5 countries including The Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria and Slovenia. There have been a few hiccups including falling in the river on a rafting trip in Cesky Krumlov, but nothing that we can’t handle and we are starting to find our travel groove. One of the big things I noticed right away is that  August is the month that most Europeans go on vacation and lots of things are shut down. This made it challenging to explore dance in some countries, but I had the most success in the bigger cities. In this update, I’m going to tell you about my experiences in Amsterdam and Berlin.

Our first stop was to The Netherlands. We stayed in a town called Haarlem, about 20 mins outside of Amsterdam. I was looking forward to seeing one of my favorite dance companies, The Netherlands Dance Theater which is just a short train ride away in a city called The Hague.  Sadly, they were not performing while we were there, but I did stop by to see their incredible facility. Lots of construction was going on, but it was cool to get to see a bit of where the magic happens! 

 If you’re looking for a great studio to take class at, I found the Amsterdam Dance Center.  They have beautiful studios and live accompaniment for class. I took an advanced ballet class from instructor, Asuka Watanabe. Interestingly, she taught the class in English even though she spoke Dutch amongst the other dancers in class. She was an excellent teacher and I was excited to get to know her more and what her experience was like as a dancer in Amsterdam. Originally from Japan, Asuka also studied in France, New York City and The Netherlands. When I asked her what the biggest difference she felt between the dance community in the USA and The Netherlands, she responded, “I think in the USA the people dare more to challenge things and being themselves, and they do have much more energy and drive. In Europe in general they sometimes still stuck in tradition. I do love and respect the traditional way of doing the things/training though. It gives so much clear and beautiful lines and structures but sometimes it makes much harder to go beyond the boundary. I learn so many things through the experience of putting myself in the different environment. It would be nice if we keep experiencing new things, getting to know new people, getting inspired from them to open the world. And meanwhile we get to know ourselves even more.”

 Asuka has developed her own teaching method which she describes as, “Asuka Method is a new dance method to capture the pure essence of dance and life.” If you’d like to learn more about Asuka check the link below for her website. 

From there we headed to Berlin, Germany. Berlin is a huge city and I knew I would find interesting art here. It was incredibly impactful seeing the Berlin Wall Memorial.  Something that once signified such a terrible divide, is now a beautiful work of art, showcasing artists' creativity. 

I found a ballet class taught in English at The Center Berlin. The class was geared for an advanced beginner/intermediate level and the studio had an old school charm to it.  There I met instructor, Zarah Branzi. Her corrections were thoughtful and her spirit was encouraging to the class. She started off her dance training as a teeny tiny one at The Oregon Ballet Theater (OBT) and spent my childhood summers at The Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA). She received her BFA in Dance & Choreography at the California Institute of the Arts (CALARTS), graduating in 2010. When I asked her what she enjoyed most about living in Berlin, this was her response, “Berlin is a big bustling city packed full of artists. I am constantly inspired by the huge array of work being created by dance makers and non body based artists alike surrounding me. On any given day of the week there are endless options for shows or exhibitions to see!” I was also curious to know what major differences she notice between the US and Germany.  She responded, “When I first came to Berlin I was a bit put off by the performance art leaning work being created in Germany. I was used to choreography, legs, music & counts which is so prevalent in the work being created in the US. I honestly found a lot of the work lazy or boring. With time, and a deeper understanding I’ve gained an appreciation for this research based work and have found my views have shifted. Now I am interested in work that lies somewhere in the middle with plenty of movement, while still remaining conceptual and dramaturgically sound.”

While in Berlin, we went to a performance of the Broadway musical, Cabaret! Even in German, we were able to follow the story and the iconic songs and dancing were fantastic.The best part was that we got to enjoy the show with my colleague from Colorado Conservatory of Dance, Marnie and her children Inara and Bergen who were both trained at CCD and are both continuing their training at Canada's National Ballet School!

Thanks for reading and following our adventure! Please let me know if there is anything you would like to hear more about. In my next newsletter, I will share my experiences from the Czech Republic and Austria! 

Best, 
Ashley Kohl Adler

Check out the links below for more information:
Netherlands Dance Theater -https://www.ndt.nl/en/home.html
Amsterdam Dance Center - https://amsterdamdancecentre.nl
Asuka Wanatabe - https://asukamethod.com/
The Center Berlin - https://www.thecenter-berlin.de/

Travel Tip #2

Don’t be afraid to take class in a different country! Ballet is a universal language and connects us all.