In the early 2000s, Kelly was introduced to Countertechnique. During her freelance dance career, she would train in Countertechnique at the professional training center of Amsterdam, The Henny Jürriens Stichting and a few times with Anouk's own dance company at the time, Anouk Van Dijk dc. Kelly began working with choreographer Jack Gallagher, a previous teacher of Countertechnique, where her practice became more regular.
Once Kelly's career settled into company life, her contact with Countertechnique unfortunately became limited. Kelly did however do her best to continue to incorporate the practice into her performance schedule in order to prepare her for stage work when no structured class was arranged. When able, she would return to open classes to learn from the latest teachers as the technique had continued to advance due to Anouk's intense dedication to Countertechnique.
In 2020, Kelly was able to participate in the extremely limited Teacher Training Program due to Covid-19. Four teachers were certified, including Kelly, in August 2020. Immediately following certification, she began teaching at the Henny Jürriens Stichting and the Lucia Marthas Institute for the Performing Arts. Kelly looks forward to deepening her understanding of the technique and helping aspiring dancers incorporate tools to survive a demanding dance career in health and joy.
