Anja Jochem, dancer, coach and choreographer sparks off enthusiasm.
Being born as a child of a renowned circus family the passion for performance runs in her blood. When Anja saw West Side Story at the tender age of six, it was clear for her: Musical is my life! At the age of 7 she started her ballet education; at 14 she danced in the Extra Ballett at Theater Dortmund; later she studied Jazz Dance, Musical Dance, Singing, Acting and Tap Dance. She graduated in Musical at the 'Performing Arts Center', Munich, and started giving classes at distinguished dance studios in Nordrheine-Westphalia.
At the age of 24 she settled in Manhattan, New York, to learn from the grand masters of Jazz and Tap Dance. She worked with Robert Tucker and Frank Hatchett (Broadway Dance Center), Francis J. Roach (Ballet Arts at Carnegie Hall) and Luigi Faccuito, (Luigi's Jazz Centre), all of whom influenced her style in dance and choreography.
She developed her abilities in Tap Dance with Bettye Morrow (International Tap Association, Broadway Dance Center) and Van Porter (Broadway Dance Center), Roxane Butterfly (private classes), Josh Hilberman, Hervé Le Goff, Barbara Duffy (Woodpeckers Dance Center & Interarts Space, Home of the American Tapdance Orchestra).
She performed at Woodpeckers in connection with 'New Tap Choreography', among others with Josh Hilberman, Barbara Duffy and Brenda Bufalino. Furthermore she took part in Tap-Jam-Sessions (among others with Gregory Hines), she also starred as a dancer in the Video-Clip 'Bad to the bone' (Ruff Stuff, Choreography: Sharon Heller).
Anja collected more international experiences, e.g. at the Dance Summer Bozen, Bolzano Danza – International Dance Festival, and continuously improved her style in workshops of famous dancers like Dick O'Swanborn and Nat Horne (Jazz) as well as Max Pollak, Lane Alexander, Heather Cornell, Brenda Bufalino (Tap).
In Germany Anja Jochem implemented her experiences in a number of ways:
As a trainer she worked in various studios. In special projects she worked with children and youths from disadvantaged social environments, e.g. for the international MUSE-project of the Yehudi-Menuhin-Foundation. At the American Dance Center, Schule für Bühnentanz (School of Stage Dance), she has been coaching dancers and musical performers for entrance examinations at academies & for auditions for shows since 1994.
On the basis of her universal career path and integral perspective Anja always takes the productions she is involved in to a level of coherent, artistic quality. She danced and choreographed diverse free musical theatre productions, for example 'Auf den Lippen Schnee' (Jubiläumsensemble, Bonn) and 'Der gestiefelte Kater' (Freilichtbühne Coesfeld).
In the area of Tap Dance she staged two own feature-length shows, 'Crazy Feet I' & 'Crazy Feet II'. Her partners here were stage dance expert Robin Lynn and Tap Dance World Champion Thomas 'Kelly' Kolczewski as well as musical performer Frank Wöhrmann.
She danced with Sebastian Weber and Jutta Maas in TapXL, a project that opened for the Tap Dogs (Fujitsu Siemens, Hannover). The opening ceremony of Zeche Ewald, an industrial mining monument saw Anja’s choreographies in the event ‚Ewald trommelt’ (‚Ewald drumming’) in 2007. In the same year she created the choreography and directed the dance rehearsals of the musical 'Zero Tolerance', which received its world premiere at the GOP theatre in Essen on 26 November 2007.
Anja is particularly in demand as a reliable partner for creative concepts with special challenges. She choreographed gala performances of individual artists and choirs (e.g. Joy! The Gospel Singers, Chorpulent..). She staged fashion collections of ambitious designers at FormArt, a design exhibition. Among her clients are also Fujitsu Siemens, Volksbank, Hettlage & Fischer, VW Enning.
Her current project is a musical in connection with festivals of the European Cultural Capital RUHR.2010. Anja Jochem has two children and lives in Essen.