‘I am also known in the dance world as TyLee and was born in 1988 in Rotterdam. After a technical secondary vocational education (mbo), I decided at the age of 22 to go all the way for dance by studying to become a dance teacher at Codarts Rotterdam. As a serious autodidact in hiphop I have been dancing since I was 18. I was formed by the HipHopHuis and Indirah Tauwnaar. Pop king Michael Jackson made me fascinated by popping.
After a few years of Hip Hop dancing and competing, including in America, I saw the physical possibilities that the dancers there had. They had technique from Ballet and Jazz, but could also dance Hip Hop and use elements from Popping or Break. On the advice of others, I took ballet lessons from Noes Fiolet. To everyone’s surprise, including myself, I liked it! So I started taking/teaching more and more lessons, doing training sessions, coaching, being on stage and choreographing myself: From dancing for companies like Nike and L’Oréal, theatre shows at home and abroad, challenges at dance competitions, and so on, at a certain point the most logical choice was to continue my education at an academic level at Codarts Rotterdam. There, I mastered Jazz and Contemporary dance. With all this knowledge as a basis, I developed the ambition for my own dance language. I want to profile myself as a maker and choreographer. I like to move without shame, work hard and express myself, Just Go!’
Foto: Arie Bon Photography