POP IN / POP OUT:

Countertechnique®

with Sophie Minouche Allen (she/her)

Friday, November 20, 2026

2 - 5pm

at 1100 Kettner Blvd. San Diego, CA 92101

DISCO RIOT's POP IN/POP OUT series offers community workshops from trusted teaching artists to promote a culture of sharing, exploration, diversity, expanding perspectives, and building community. We learn more from one another. We grow together. Join us!

All proceeds from this workshop will support DISCO RIOT's Education & Outreach programming. No one is turned away for lack of funds. Please reach out to Nicole at education@discoriot.org for a waiver code.

This event is ADA accessible. In alignment with the values of DISCO RIOT, this class centers access, bodily autonomy, consent, and the cultivation of safe(r) community space. Please reach out to education@discoriot.org for any support with access needs, accommodation inquiries, or requests.

Countertechnique®

This workshop offers an introduction to using Countertechnique® in the changing circumstances of daily dance practice. It will include a 2-hour Countertechnique® class followed by a 1-hour session of reflection and application of information into action. As a freelance artist herself, Sophie will also share how Countertechnique® specifically supports her dance practice and career. This workshop is designed to benefit both movers who are new to Countertechnique® as well as those already familiar with the technique. Notebooks and long pants are suggested.

Countertechnique® was created and developed by Dutch choreographer, dancer and teacher Anouk van Dijk, former artistic director of Australian dance company Chunky Move. Countertechnique® provides tools for body and mind to deal with the demanding dance practice of the 21st century and makes daily training a valuable investment in the dancer’s own development, as well as interesting personal research.

For more information: www.countertechnique.com.

Sophie Minouche Allen (she/her)

Sophie Minouche Allen is a Chicago-based dance artist who performs, choreographs, teaches, and collaborates throughout the city and beyond. In addition to her independent projects, she’s performed with Bob Eisen, INSÉKTA, Helen Lee/Momentum Sensorium, The Seldoms, Ayako Kato/Art Union Humanscape, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre and many others, including Freedom From and Freedom To curated by Cristal Sabbagh. Her choreography has been presented by Door Kinetic Arts Festival, Symbiosis Arts/SANCTA, bim bom, CPR Dance: Inhale Movement, FACT/SF, 3AM Theatre, The College of DuPage, Thodos Dance Chicago/DanceWorks Chicago (DWC), and Midwest RADFest among others. Sophie is on faculty at The Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet, guest teaches for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and organizes her own open class series and seasonal workshops in Chicago. She’s also had the pleasure of teaching with FACT/SF for their Winter Dance Lab and Summer Dance Festival, DanceWorks Chicago for their Dance360 summer programming, The University of Chicago for an Autumn Quarter as well as seasonal workshops, The Rooted Space for 3 years of weekly classes, and Western Michigan University, Visceral Dance Center, Illinois High School Dance Festival, Gibney Dance, DISCO RIOT, and many others for guest classes. Sophie is a certified Countertechnique® Teacher and a dual-degree graduate from the University of Michigan with a BFA in Dance and BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). 

sophieminouche.com

@sophieminouche