I am Marije Nijhof, dancer and shamanic trained. I also am very experienced in guiding and coaching people and teams.
Work and dance
I have always danced in addition to my regular job as a manager in government organizations; by dancing, I was able to work in organizations that were stuck or going too fast, where procedures had been elevated to law or where chaos had arisen due to a lack of clarity. I have initiated organizational developments with Management Teams. Took a closer look at the mutual cooperation with colleagues. I worked together with employees on how their team could do a good job and with clients on how they were best supported in their development.
And just like in real life, these were usually not easy success stories. I have had to retrace my steps often enough, I have taken two steps forward and back again and I have gotten stuck in bureaucracy and in persistent habits. Without dance, I would have been doing my work frustrated and grumpy or I would have been at home with a burnout. But by dancing I can stay true to myself, I don’t let myself go crazy and I keep an open mind; looking at the possibilities that people and organizations have.
Private life and dance
That life offers endless challenges in addition to opportunities, I have also experienced privately. One of the people next to me, who is now fortunately doing well, was struggling with serious psychological problems. Through deep valleys, with a lot of trial and error, looking for ways of being together in our family and a sometimes hellish journey through authorities, dancing has kept me both physically and mentally healthy. Dancing can help you in times of fear and grieve. And it can show you where you have influence and where it is better to let go.
Not a teacher yet
At the beginning of 2026, I decided to professionalize the knowledge and experience I have gained with dancing, so that I can start helping other people with this dance medicine. I am not yet an official teacher, but I am preparing for that.
In the past year I have done an in-depth year training (apprentenschip) at the School of Movement Medicine and in 2027 I will start training to become a Movement Medicine dance teacher. In addition, I did a shamanic year training in the Lakota tradition and an Embodied listening training. I have also been dancing 5Rhythms dance for nine years. And I am very grateful to my Amsterdam 5Rhythms teachers for the passion and depth with which they teach.
This is the luggage I bring to do this beautiful and profound work.
with warm regards,
Marije
