My passion and expertise lie in partner dancing. Since 1998, I have explored around 20 partner dances – from the World Dance Program to other Latin and African American dances, all the way to contemporary partner dances. Since 2007, I have been teaching partner dance and dedicated to dance research, focusing on partner dance history and pedagogy. As a trained social worker, I successfully used partner dance in youth work and adult education from 2010 to 2019. Whether young, old, or mixed-ability: every target group is an enriching experience for me. I owe a special debt of gratitude for my professional development to the dance instructor, intercultural trainer, and process facilitator Nurka Casanova. Through my long-term collaboration on her intercultural, intergenerational, and inclusive partner dance project, "Schenk mir einen Tanz" (Give Me a Dance), I learned a great deal that continues to shape my work today. It was within this context that my training as an intercultural trainer came about. From 2019 onwards, I pursued further training as a dance teacher and completed several dance pedagogy and dance therapy qualifications. In 2024, I completed the advanced training program in dance pedagogy, focusing on dance, bodywork, and personal development at TanzEnergie. The psychologist, psychotherapist, and dance therapist Irma Benndorf has been a lasting inspiration in my teaching practice, encouraging me to respect and work with the body's needs and abilities. Based on my practical experience and research, I developed Zweisam Tanzen, an alternative partner dance concept, and became self-employed in 2020. From 2021 to 2023, I deepened my expertise in partner dance research while working at the Cologne Dance Archive and now work in the library at the Cologne University of Music and Dance. In 2026, I will complete my Master's degree in Dance Studies, which I will also dedicate to partner dance research. Due to my diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in 2021, I have further focused my work on relaxed and health-oriented methods as well as an inclusive approach. This has resulted in my dance concepts Dancing in the Dark (for blind and visually impaired people) and SlowSteps two-gether (mindful and energy-saving, trauma-sensitive and intuitive).

Since 2007, I have professional experience as a solo dance instructor for partner dances in the styles of Rock 'n' Roll, Merengue, Fusion, One-Step, and Blues. A key element of my work is the integration of Afro-diasporic dance principles, which I respectfully place within their cultural and historical context in my teaching. Through the resulting intuitive and improvisational dance practice, I foster individual development in dance, as well as inclusive, mindful, and consensual dance practice. I also teach authentic Blues and dances of the 1920s, based on my research findings. The additional integration of intra- and interpersonal reflection and the teaching of body awareness further enable students to appreciate and understand their own bodies, their capabilities, and their limitations. Within the sensitive context of interpersonal encounters, I offer a resource-oriented, safe space for individual expression and process-oriented growth, moving beyond the standardization of dance movements. My inclusive and diversity-sensitive teaching practice offers participants the opportunity to experience movement and take on roles that are beneficial and support their development. I offer a variety of approaches – be it through my needs-based, multi-method teaching methods, non-binary and dialogical leading and following, or a focus on physical variation beyond right and wrong. A particular emphasis is placed on the qualities of musicality and connection within the dance couple. The connection to one's own body, the music, and fellow dancers are central elements of my teaching. Because of these values, I prefer teaching settings that allow participants a special connection between body, music, and space, as well as creative expression. This is reflected in exceptional dance spaces – depending on the offering, for example, outdoors, in museums or yoga studios, as well as in particularly stylish locations. From calm to wild, as a self-discovery experience or with the goal of a stage performance: I look forward to dancing with you! Let's connect! 🎶  

• I have had the honor of working at the following institutions:
• ASB Hamburg
• ASB Bonn
• Cologne Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• Federal Employment Agency, Regional Directorate North Rhine-Westphalia
• Federal Art Gallery Bonn
• Eifel Clinic Manderscheid
• Frei[T]Räume eV, Hamburg/Nairobi
• InterKulturEvents Lüneburg
• Lüneburg City Center Youth Center
• Cologne University of Music and Dance
• La Pista, Cologne
• Vacant Spaces as Meeting Places, Bonn
• Leuphana University, Lüneburg
• Urania Mirror Palace, Cologne
• VfL Lüneburg
• Socialink eV, Lüneburg
• City of Cologne: Summer Cologne
• Swingin'Pool Cologne
• Cologne Dance Archive
• Cologne Dance Museum
• Templum Düsseldorf
• Cologne Adult Education Center