A weekly feature on the lives and loves of people from our city.
My day: No day of the week is the same for me. I teach throughout the whole school, lower and senior students, which brings a lot of variety and there's never a dull moment! I start at 8 or 9am. My journey to work is the ‘calm before the storm’, a moment to clear my mind and organise myself for the day. Sometimes the bus with lower school students passes me on the way, and it is a lovely start to see them waving at me. The classes I teach vary in length from one hour to two. Usually I have 15 minutes in between classes . Apart from teaching classical ballet and other related classes (eg boys class and pointes for the girls), I am the tutor of two groups – Year 10 (lower school) and second year students on the professional dance course (senior school). I have a tutorial session with the seniors every week. This is a nice moment to catch up with them, listen to their problems, see where they stand and what they think, and give them support. Lunch is usually somewhere between 12:30 and 1pm for about 30 minutes. Just enough time to eat something, exchange a word or two with colleagues, catch my breath again and go to the next class.
I usually finish at 6pm. On my way home, I might stop at the supermarket to get my groceries, and then I finally get in at around 7pm or even later. The evenings go by too fast; some relaxation, food, a shower and preparation work for the next day, I go to bed too late and I get up too early. But it is all worth it, as I truly love my job!
Dress: I have to be able to move freely and demonstrate movements so I wear leotard, tights and ballet shoes with a skirt and shirt.
What is the favourite part of your job? I absolutely love the contact with my students. I think communication is a very important aspect of building the student-teacher relationship and to create mutual respect. If you have a good bond with your students, you can be strict and push them to their boundaries and beyond . I experienced many different types of teachers when I was a student. I always felt it was inspiring, motivating and comforting to have a teacher who is open, treats his or her students as humans and can have a laugh once in a while too.
What is your least favourite part of your job? Difficult question! There will always be little things that rub you up the wrong way, no matter what you do or where you are. Of course, there are certain aspects which I would rather skip or change. But that is only human and not worth mentioning.
What would be your dream job if you weren't doing what you do now? I think I would still be on stage, dancing myself. I couldn’t imagine a life without ballet or dance.
How do you relax when you are not working? I don’t have that much time to relax, which means the time that I get is mainly used to catch up on some sleep! The job can get very intense, both physically and mentally. But I like to go for long walks, have a good catch up with my family and friends abroad (obviously I miss them a lot), read, watch movies, listen to music and go out with friends.
I like photography and to write too. I am used to living in a bigger city, so I miss going to the theatre and the cinema. When I have a longer period of time off, I love to travel and see different places, known and unknown. And of course visit my family and friends , which always recharges my energy and helps to put things in perspective.
What is your favourite film? Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.
What is your favourite book? Kandy by the Dutch author F Springer. I am a big fan of books by F Scott Fitzgerald and Haruki Murakami too.
What is your favourite song? Music is like medicine for my soul, and my favourite song strongly depends on my mood at a certain moment. However, songs like Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol are timeless.
If a film was made of your life, who would you like to play you? Marion Cotillard.
Have you had your 15 minutes of fame? To be honest, fame is not important to me; that is why I have become a teacher in the end, it doesn’t have to be about me. I have had the honour of meeting the Dutch royal family several times.
FACT FILE
Name: Hana Goseling
Job: Ballet teacher at The Hammond School
Born: The Hague, The Netherlands
Education: Graduated at the highest level of secondary education in The Netherlands in combination with my vocational education in dance at the Royal conservatoire in The Hague. Graduated with a Bachelor degree in dance at the same Royal Conservatoire. After working as a professional dancer for a couple of years I obtained my Master in dance pedagogy (with distinction), with a specialisation in classical ballet, in Dresden in Germany. Currently doing a course in dance notation.
Family life: Single, no children.
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