Success Stories
Paul Blackman & Christine Gouzelis
Directors | Choreographers
“ For us to be working with Arika was such a rewarding experience. We were in the middle of our creation with CONTINUUM at Göteborgsoperan Danskompani.
Quite a pressing time.
[Coaching] was relieving. It took off weight.
Very important to hear each other speak again to understand the reasons behind why we took on this endeavour in the first place.
It was like a breather, a bit of a pause before making some big and final decisions.
… to have faith and trust in ourselves as artists
Arika was a mediator, because we would never give ourselves the time.
It was important that although we speak with various people we know, friends, you can tell that with coaching there was intention. There were specific things that you wouldn’t be able to narrow down.
There was commitment in what it is she was approaching. That gave us security and it gave us the ability to relieve these issues that are important by someone who really understands the human side.
… to understand what the outcome is and knowing how to get to it.
We’re on stage all day, we have to perform, execute and deliver. Just the fact that there are so many people continuously and unconsciously judging you and being inspired by you it was great to talk so that we can just steer towards our goal and allow the nature of this environments to be around us without threatening us, or threatening the work itself. Because that’s always there so it gave a little bit of simplicity and focus towards the goal.
In the last week it was fundamentally necessary even thought we didn’t know it at that time.
Thanks to Arika for helping us arrive to where we arrived.
She helped us settle, listen and understand where we were meant to go.
Allows you to care a bit more. You get to that point where you become so obsessed and dry because of the tiredness and pressure, you don’t have time to do the things you believe in many times. You’re just trotting to get to the finish line.
The quality of how you get there is vital.
It was a very good pause to understand the quality of getting to your destination, where you are trying to get to as a team.
Inspiring and so professional.
I think it’s an investment, a pure investment.
— Paul and Christine
“Coaching for me has been such an eye opening experience, especially with Arika as my coach.
She gave me such a safe space to delve deep within my thought, within my own assumption that I’ve had about my skills which were really holding me back from my potential and what I innately knew that I could achieve.
It’s truly something for anyone and everyone who is looking to further better themselves by being true to themselves.”
Stephanie Ko
Coach | Trainer | Violinist
“She gives you an incredible amount of space for exploration- but very candid, so she would always give you straight forward feedback and observations.
We created my very own, very authentic, natural strategies that would allow me to stay at the top of my game.”
Olga Kirillova
Former Executive, Adidas | Co-Founder MettaCOaching
“Coaching was a process that really sat with me. It’s given me alot of tools, different ways for introspection.
It gave me a new way to understand myself, a process that pushed me to meet myself in different ways, and to create space for myself and others.”
Emilie Leriche
Göteborgsoperan Artist | Choreographer | Filmmaker
“ Arika brought out something that has been disturbing me which I couldn’t see coming at all.
I was able to slowly sense my emotions and thoughts and decide if I want to follow it or look at it from another angle.
I started to feel like I can look at myself from the top, having birds eye view of myself.
This feeling was amazing.”
Sam Chen
Göteborgsoperan Artist | Entrepreneur
“She guided me through this very important year because it is a transition for me into the professional field. [Coaching made me realise] that a
ll the answers to my questions are already within me.
All I need to do is ask the right things, listen carefully to my heart and trust it.
And then dare to do it without hesitation.
It’s something I will take with me while I develop my artistry.”
Daria Titova
ARTEZ Institute Fourth Year
“Arika transformed everything I thought possible.
By the end of each session I was filled with energy, hope, and wonderful ideas of how to move different parts of my life.
It helped me creatively manifest things that I’ve been wanting for a long time.
The biggest take away is that I am able to do more than I thought I was capable of.
It was a dream to work with her especially during a really difficult time in the world.”
Elizabeth Schmuhl
Artist | Founder, The Shed