I knew Jaap Flier over thirty five years ago. He was the head of the Theater School where I was a dance student for a year. I turned up at the dance school in early September 1980 as a ‘hospitante’ – a visitor, and as such I could join any classes for twenty five guilders a month – the equivalent then of five pounds. I was the first English student to take advantage of such generosity – a marvellous training with some of the best chorographers from Europe and America. But in those days Europe was much farther away from home – it took a day, or night to reach by ship and train, three days for post to arrive, and a lot of money to telephone. I was lonely and isolated, and by the end of the first term, rarely speaking my language, I was near breaking point. ‘How are you?’ Jaap asked one snowy morning, when I went into the office before class. Then, taking one look at me, he saw the answer. ‘You need to join a particular year group, you can’t be so alone.’ And he went on to sort out a timetable that fully integrated me into the school. It was a small thing perhaps, but it changed everything for me. I remember Jaap Flier as a kind man, pragmatic, insightful, wise. Seeing this short film brings it all back – that difficult and yet amazing time. That I stayed on and completed the year, I owe to him. And without that training my lifelong involvement with dance and movement could never have happened.
vimeo.com/171627124