Kay Patru is a dance and movement improvisation teacher, choreographer, certified body work therapist based in Amsterdam. His work focuses primarily on developing improvisation and somatic awareness tools designed to awaken the innate intelligence of the body. As part of his continued somatic therapy and dance training education Kay follows regular professional workshops and seminars around the world. His work is deeply inspired by body oriented practices and self-inquiry methodology as tools for creativity and well being.
His latest choreographic projects focuses on designing the sensory experience of the body in relationship to nature and material. He teaches and leads workshops regularly around the themes of creative movement , group process through improvisation and somatic awareness classes in Europe and South Korea.
As a freelance artist he danced, created and collaborated in numerous European productions featuring visual artists, choreographers and musicians. His work has been presented in the Netherlands (Korzo theater, Melkweg theater, Dansateliers studios, Lucent dans theater), Italy (Rifrazzione festival), Romania (National Center of Dance), and South Korea (National University of Performing Arts, Seoul International Impro festival, Seoul dance center).
In recent years Kay Patru started an intensive artistic collaboration with South Korean based artists. He was guest lecturer at the Korean National University of Performing Arts (KNUA) for the Choreographic and Performance department. He participated in the Seoul international Improvisation festival (SIMPRO) last spring 2015.
Originally trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance techniques at the National Ballet School of Canada, Kay Patru’s professional dance career led him to dance for international dance companies such as Netherlands Dance Theater II (NL), the Grands Ballets Canadiens (CAN), while working for renown choreographers among others, Jiri Kilian, Ohad Naharin, Jacopo Godani, Crystal Pite.
In 2001 he followed a BA in visual art/multimedia at the Image and Sound department of the Royal Academy of Arts (KABK) in the Netherlands. In 2014 he completed a BA in shiatsu body work therapy, alongside medical science and psychology training.