What is the best thing that I love about my work?

I am really happy that I can call my work a ‘calling’. I love that I am allowed to share an inner sense of purposefulness through my dancing profession. The best thing is that through my work I can be an enabler for others to dream, to be inspired, and to be engaged or even challenged on a very human level.

What is my idea of perfect happiness?

My idea of perfect happiness is a balance between many different ingredients: a big part of it is my profession and that what keeps me occupied during the day. Then there is also living comfort, social contact, relationships and very importantly, health. For a long time I believed that I could be happy if I could only do what I loved uttermost: to dance. Later on I realized, that it is equally important to me to build a supporting base and relationships, to nurture myself.

What is my greatest fear?

My greatest fear is to be without connection and feeling alienated from the world.

What is the trait that I most deplore in myself?

I have a tendency to perfectionism, which I encounter nearly daily, connected with my performance projects and now even more, when starting to choreograph and guiding artistic processes. Sometimes I wish I could look at things from an easygoing perspective, but then my friends remind me, that being so critical on yourself makes you work on yourself further, which is true… I believe I should find a balance there.

Which living persons in my profession do I most admire?

I have a big respect and admiration for anyone in the dancing field. There has to be a big passion connected to dance to decide to embark on this profession, since there is very little financial and structural help/support. To name a few I know: Trude Cone, Doris Plankl, Martina Marini, Keren Levi, Hagit Yakira, Minke Elisa Brands, Alessandra Ruggeri, Sanne Clifford, Maristella Tanzi, Cara Angela Liguori, Guiomar Campos, Joop Oonk, Daiane Lopez da Silva, and many others…

What is my greatest extravagance?

The many travels I am making.

On what occasion would I lie?

I have never done it yet, but I am considering lying about my age due to some ‘age’ constraints about not only work related calls in our society. I talked to a woman who lied about her age in order to be able to study what she loved. She did so and is really happy about it. I am considering not respecting age-related calls, since sometimes they seem unfairly restricting to me.

What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work?

I dislike that there is not much structural support in my work. For example, I meet dancers or makers who think that it is ‘normal’ to work unpaid, or I see difficulties for a freelancer to even be able to rent an own decent living space. Dancer’s life’s are physically hard and do not have much ‘safety’ guaranteed on a physical level already, it would be great if there were more support structures communicating and regulating ‘payment’, ‘working hours’, ‘health support’, ‘conditions’, etc.

When and where was I the happiest, in my work?

This is very difficult to say. I have a strong feeling that ‘the happiest’ is still about to come. I also look back at a very happy year, full of exciting and rewarding dance projects.

If I could, what would I change about myself?

I was born with two teeth missing. I’d give myself fantastic, healthy teeth.

What is my greatest achievement in work?

Being in the selection for young dance-makers platform in Italy Anticorpi XL, where I could tour my first solo piece over Italy and further.

Where would I most like to live?

Amsterdam, even though I’m not so used to cold, wet and humid weather.

What is my most treasured possession?

A chain by my grandmother, I feel connected to her through it, so in an extended form I guess my treasures are my loved ones (even though they are not possessions 😉 ).

What is my most marked characteristic?

My smile. People keep on telling me that I am smiling a lot.

What is my most inspirational location, in my city?

I enjoy hanging out in the Amsterdam Eye museum. I like the architecture and enjoy spending time there, looking out onto the water and at the same time being warm in an enclosed big artistic space.

What is my favorite place to eat and drink, in my city?

Amsterdam has lovely Roti places, which I like a lot.

What books influenced my life and how?

‘The Glass Bead Game’ by Herman Hesse, opening philosophical horizons to me
‘The empty space’ by Peter Brook, contextualizing around acting / performing

‘The artist’s way’ by Julia Cameron, a workshop-like book for artists or anyone wanting to become more true to their creative selves

Who are my favorite writers?

Herman Hesse, Jacques Lecoq

You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day?

Music by Vladimir Godar

Who is my hero or heroine in fiction?

When I was a child it was definitely Cinderella. Now I have a hard time to pick one.

Who are my heroes and heroines in real life?

I find that in most people there is something heroic about their life choices and their life path, therefore this question is really hard to answer for me. One of them for example is definitely Pina Bausch.

Which movies would I recommend to see once in a lifetime?

‘Ghost in a shell’, ‘Bicycle thieves’, movies by Miyazaki

What role does art play in my life and work?

I truly believe that we humans need art in order to lead fulfilled lives.

Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime?

I believe that my greatest supporters are the companies/choreographers/programmers who believe in me that have invited me to work for them, often even on a regular or repeated basis. Another great partner in crime is visual artist Maarten van der Glas, with whom I have collaborated on dance movies, performances and the Dance Hack NL platform.

Which people in my profession would I love to meet in 2018?

I’d love to meet a ‘perfect match’ of dance makers, choreographers in Amsterdam for whom I can perform, ideally for a long term collaboration.

What project, in 2018, am I looking forward to work on?

I’m looking forward to work on a new production of the Italian dance/theatre company ‘Tanzschmiede / Fucina Danza’, where I’ve been engaged as a choreographer for the upcoming season.

Where can you see my work or me in 2018?

In January you can see me twice in the Netherlands: ‘Podium Castellum Hoge Woerd’ in pieces by Minke Elisa Brands. In February we perform ‘3 is a crowd’ by Sanne Clifford at ‘Stukafest’ in Utrecht and Amsterdam. In April and May I’m performing own creations in Germany (Selb) and Italy (Castelfeder). Finally, in autumn of the coming year I plan to perform with the company ‘Tanzschmiede / Fucina Danza’ at Alps Move Festival (IT) and other festivals in the Netherlands, Italy, the UK and France.

What do the words Passion Never Retires mean to me?

When I hear those words, I hope to have enough means, possibilities and strengths to make that saying reality and to keep on pursuing dancing and making dance works.

Which creative heroines should Peter invite to tell their story?

Sanne Clifford, Martina Marini, Doris Plankl, Trude Cone, Minke Elisa Brands, Joop Oonk, Irma de Vries

How can you contact me?

www.anastasiakostner.com

You can also find me on Facebook, Vimeo and Linkedin. Thank you for reading!