About Us

 Charis de Ruijter-Hinz

Charis: Infectiously Positive, Energetic, Enthusiastic, Extremely Knowledgeable… and absolutely loves PINK.

Born in Hamburg, Charis is the inspiring force behind Musical-Dance School Blijmond. At just four years old, she already knew: "I want to be a ballerina." So, naturally, she started ballet lessons.

At the age of 15, she left Hamburg for Cologne to study at the Ballet Academy, where she graduated cum laude. She was soon accepted into the ballet company of the renowned Semper Oper House in Dresden, where she danced for several years as part of the Corps de Ballet (the State Ballet of Germany).

Charis performed in nearly all the great classical ballets, such as the famous Swan Lake, as well as many modern works by acclaimed choreographers like John Neumeier, Hans van Manen, Jiří Kylián, and many others.

After her dance career, Charis went on to study music and dance therapy at the universities of Münster and Prague. In 1995, she moved to the Netherlands for the love of her life, Erik, and began teaching at ballet schools and in primary education on a project basis.
In 2007, she and Erik wrote their first musical together, and in 2012, Musical-Dance School Blijmond was officially founded.

Erik de Ruijter

Born in Amsterdam, Erik is a multi-instrumentalist. Guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards – all in service of one thing: songwriting. Over the years, he played in numerous bands as a guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist. 

These days, he works as a music producer, still performs as a singer and entertainer, and composes original music for musicals.

In his Artivox studio in IJmuiden, Erik teaches singing and music, and creates beautiful works – for himself, for Charis’s musicals, and for a variety of other artists.

A true multi-talent, Erik performs in many forms: as a singer-songwriter, Elvis Presley impersonator, troubadour, barrel organ player, and more. Even Sinterklaas knows where to find him when the music Piet is overbooked!