Tim Volleman

Bio Tim Volleman Born in the Netherlands, Tim has currently found his home in Bologna. His journey with Countertechnique® began during his studies at Codarts/Rotterdam Dance Academy in 2007. In 2020 he successfully attended his first Countertechnique® Teacher Training program, followed by a second CTTT in 2023, seeking for continuous growth and development. In the same year Tim also specialised in teaching workshops and curriculum work.

As a dancer, Tim performed with various companies including Project Sally, Nederlands Dans Theater II, Cathy Sharp Dance Ensemble, Internationaal Dans Theater, de Stilte and National Dance Company Wales. He has collaborated with visionary choreographers such as Heidi Vierthaler, Juanjo Arques, Caroline Finn, Marcos Morau and Fernando Melo, amongst many other inspiring artists.

“From a very young age I have been fascinated by the movements of the human body. Working as a professional dancer made me question how I could preserve my body as I aged: I couldn’t accept that I would become “too old” to move the way I wanted. Countertechnique® has been my answer to that.

Countertechnique® allows dancers to move all the crazy ways they are asked to and wish to, while respecting the body as an irreplaceable, precious instrument. As a teacher, sharing this knowledge gives me great joy, empowering others to (re-)discover their body and find enjoyable ways to partner with it for the rest of their lives.” 

Countertechnique® provides tools for body and mind to deal with the demanding dance practice of the 21st century. It is a movement system to help the dancer think about the dancing body, focusing on the process of incorporating information into action.
Within a clear structure of exercises the Countertechnique® class thoroughly prepares the body for rehearsal and performance, enabling dancers to move bigger, more fluidly and more spatially, while becoming stronger and more flexible. Dancers are encouraged to be pro-active in discovering connections and solutions, to be less concerned with judging themselves and to work in a healthy way with regard to body and mind.
Countertechnique® makes daily training a valuable investment in the dancer’s own development, as well as interesting personal research.
Countertechnique® was created and developed by Dutch choreographer, dancer and teacher Anouk van Dijk, former artistic director of Australian dance company Chunky Move.

The Countertechnique® class is a contemporary dance technique class. It stretches, coordinates and strengthens the body, making the dancer sweat, build stamina and really move.
The class starts with a recurring set of exercises, allowing dancers to investigate the Countertechnique® principles in detail. The second half of the class consists of changing components, working towards luscious movement combinations and jumping at the end.
The Countertechnique® class results in dancers using less energy, losing their fear of taking risks and gaining speed in changing direction.

By continuously and sequentially directing and counter directing parts of the body through space, Countertechnique® allows the moving dancer to work with an everchanging dynamic balance. This dynamic balance reduces the pressure on the overall
body structure and can be changed at any given moment. The consistent use of the counter direction in all movements is key to the technique; both the awareness and application of this principle is trained throughout the Countertechnique® class.
The Countertechnique® theory is organized around two principal notions: the ‘toolbox’ and ‘scanning’. The toolbox is the systematically organized collection of tools for body and mind with which Countertechnique® works, often visualized as a virtual map that dancers carry with them. Scanning defines the process of dancers continuously and actively observing their mindset and body in order to choose the most appropriate tool(s) from the toolbox for the situation they find themselves in. Scanning allows dancers to make active use of the toolbox in their daily practice of training, rehearsing and performing.

In Countertechnique® classes, dancers are introduced step-by-step to the various tools – making sure, however, that the priority always lies with experiencing and enjoying the difference in moving, rather than first having to understand the tools intellectually. Classes are therefore very accessible, and can be taught to participants of all levels. Even so, gaining a full understanding of the different tools and being able to apply them in complex movement, instantaneously and often simultaneously, involves a learning process of several years, even for professional dancers. Throughout this process dancers increasingly become their own teachers, allowing them to practice
and progress even at times when a teacher is not available.
Countertechnique® encourages dancers to take control of their own training and accept full responsibility for their personal development. The Countertechnique® system offers the tools to do so, enabling dancers to get the maximum out of their career, whilst – of equal importance – continuing to enjoy it to the full!