Our School Team




Ime Essien-Hassel



Ime Essien-Hassel was trained as a stage dancer and dance teacher at the École Française de Ballet (Bonn) and the New City Dance School (Stuttgart). She worked as a dancer and singer in various musicals, rock operas and in modern musical theater in Germany. After her internship with the contemporary dance company Conny Janssen Danst in Rotterdam (NL) in 1992, Ime worked for Charleroi Danse/ Plan K in Belgium and with the Tanzcompagnie Gießen in Germany. There she worked first as a dancer, then as a rehearsal director and choreographic assistant in.

This was followed by a 7-year engagement as artistic rehearsal director (RD) with NorrDans in Härnösand (SE), and subsequently as guest RD with the Staatstheater Bielefeld (D), the Theater St. Gallen, as RD & ensemble coach with Skånes Dansteater in Malmö (SE) and assisting Jasper van Luijk (NL) in creation for the ArtEZ Bachelor of Dance in Arnhem (NL).

Since 2000 and 2007 Ime Essien-Hassel has been studying and working with the essential-communication approach Process Inquiry®, the movement inquiry through Dansergia®, and as a Change Catalyst®. This work and more forms the methodological basis for I.M.E. InnerMovementEvolution, the holistic approach for personal authentic performance quality and physicality that she teaches.

Since 2004 Ime Essien-Hassel taught and worked as a dance teacher and movement coach in contemporary dance companies, colleges of dance and open dance studios internationally – in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland & Tanzania, and was part of the former Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet (US) Germany tour 2010.

I.M.E. InnerMovementEvolution is embedded in the curriculum of the ArtEZ Bachelor of Dance in Arnhem/The Netherlands since 2005, with the main courses “Process Inquiry® in Dance”, Essence Work, Physical Musicality and Inner Architecture. Besides, it develops further to support personal development and healing through energy-movement understanding also for non-professional dancers and every-body.

Ime Essien-Hassel is a certified ContaKids Teacher.