Monday, January 01, 2024

2023

 


2023

-I formed my own company Anna C ehf
-I got my own office in Reykjavík
-Got my ACC accreditation as a Coach (Internationally Certified)
-Graduated from Akademias as a Certified Online Marketing Specialist
-Raised money for Líf, Chrohns association and Hugarafl 
-Grandma died, grateful to have seen her and that she saw Aron before she passed away
-Aron got seizures and ended up in the hospital. 3 ambulance rides this year.

GIGS:
-Public Speaking gigs about stress to coaching to AI tools for VR, Dokkan, ICF and SVÞ 
-DJ, MC at weddings, bingo and most fun singalong and dance entertainment with Happy Studio
-Murder Mystery gigs at Hótel Kríunes and for event companies
-Taught wedding dance and of course our regular zumba and jallabina classes at World Class
-Personal training and group training. Love it!


Travel
-Greece to see my Cashmere mafia friends (Webster Alumni)
-Hella with Frikki for a Happy Studio gig
-Hveragerði for a gig and romantic getaway with my love
-Hotel Ranga, romantic getaway with my love
-Cabin getaway with friends


PR 

Podcasts


Family
Halldor is doing brilliantly in his master studies and Modis as well in school, and always creating something. Very artistic. Loves playing Roblox with friends. So grateful for them




Monday, December 26, 2022

2022



2022 was the year I became a mom 
Kudos to all the moms out there and parents in general. No joke dealing with postpartum and thanks to lack of sleep my nervous system is a mess and my anxiety has started acting up again. I was diagnosed with Chrohns after a lot of pain that I first thought was just postpartum. Turns out it wasn´t. Now I get medicine, a shot every two weeks. November was hell, between my pain and Aron picked up every flu and was so sick he had to go to the hospital. It was so hard. So after my and Aron´s sickness I just focus every day on gratitude. Every day that is not in pain is a good day. 

PERSONAL
- We named our baby boy Aron Benedikt Claessen Halldórsson in a ceremony at Hótel Kríunes where Páll Óskar and Monika sang and played and Palli gave him his name. I sang and mom gave a speech.
-Maternity leave, where i took care of Aron and slept between. Grateful for my love and his support.
-published an online Burnout and Relationship seminars on http://happystudio.teachable.com
-became the first Zumbini teacher in Iceland, and had a pop up class at Dans og Jóga
-got diagnosed with Chrohns disease and got medicine for it.
-started work again as a personal trainer, dance teacher and entertainer. 



GIGS:
-Danced for Haffi Haff in Eurovision Semi Final for the song "Gía" (English Volcano)
- Murder Mystery at Kríunes
-Danced at a book release party
-Haffi haff gig at a kindergarten and a birthday party
- Happy Studio gig at MEKÓ Barnamenningarhátíð
-Happy Studio gig at MEKÓ Moroccan day
-Happy Studio gig at fjölmenningarhátíð Harpa
-MC at a wedding
-DJ gig at Mannauðsdagurinn
-Salsa gig at a birthday party
-Country gig in the countryside
-Gig at Víkurskóli and a birthday party
-Taught a bachelor Michael Jackson moves
-Christmas Bingo host during the holidays
-"I Wanna Dance" by Svala and Haffi Haff music video
and more....

See youtube




TRAVEL:
-Almeria with the family
-Vienna to see my best friend Alexandra, Marco and their baby who live in Mexico
-Cyprus to see the Claessen family, with a layover in Poland
-Paris for a romantic getaway, a year after our engagement

PR
Fréttablaðið



Taking care of a baby, especially newborn is a full time job!!!!!
Make sure you take care of yourself and your relationship.
Grateful for family and friends for their support. 
Enjoying my time with my family



Friday, April 22, 2022

2021

 2021

Had a baby boy on my birthday, got engaged to my love Halldór on top of the eiffel tower in Paris, France and we moved into our dream home in Norðlingaholtið.

Worked as a personal trainer and zumba instructor at World Class, finished Hot Yoga and Body Reroll Teacher training, codependency- and happiness coaching. 


Gigs at Kramhúsið and with Friðrik as well as murder mystery nights at Hótel Kríunes 


Got Covid while pregnant. 

Interview in Vikan, Rás 2, etc.


Travel: Paris-France, Grímsborgir, Hvanneyri, Akureyri, Húsavík, Egilsstaðir, Vík, Jökulsárlón. 


Other: 

Helicopter ride to the volcano

ATV ride in Vik with the family


What a year! 🎉So grateful 🥰

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

2020

 



The year started out great, I played gong at an seminar, was an assistant at a show Búkalú and acted in Hatari´s new music video. Did a gig for Alþingi and for 100 kids in the countryside. Did gigs at Kramhúsið and taught a group Latin/Ballroom dances weekly alongside my normal zumba and jallabina classes at World Class. 

We in Dans og Kúltúr organized an epic Roaring 20´s party. Went on the radio and were featured in the paper because of it: https://www.frettabladid.is/lifid/orjufanlegir-dansfelagar/


Traveled to Mexico for my best friends wedding and met all my friends there. Such a beautiful ceremony.



Tried Ayahuasca and boy did the world change.... LITERALLY
I came home and there was COVID. 

From live classes to zoom
From lots of gigs to none
From live classes to zoom

We in Dans og Kúltúr were suppose to go to Dubai but Covid changed that. 
My job was changed in an instant

So I changed my focus and studied
Became a 
PERSONAL TRAINER
Yoga Nidra Trainer
Absolute Training Trainer
added NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) 
and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)

Did live dance classes on zoom and posted videos on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCog86Vq61STB8NuKtr4faPQ

In the summer there was no cases so we were FREE .... for a while
So I saw two concerts, Dúndurfréttir with my dad and Aldamótatónleikarnir with friends.
Went for some cocoa and dance spiritual ceremonies. Did my weekly therapy.

Actress Anna was in full swing

ACTING:
Teygur commercial
Hatari music video
Leynilögreglan
Ráðherrann
Verbúð
and another "V" TV show I can´t remember the name of


Wrote articles on Vísir.is:

Was a featured guest at the podcast Þín Eigin Leið: 


Blue Lagoon offered Ielanders a special deluxe deal so me and Oddrun went and pampered ourselves. 
Traveled to Hvammstangi to go to my first Sveitaball and saw Paparnir and Stuðmenn . 
Traveled the countryside with Þórdís to Akureyri, mývatn, Ásbyrgi and of course JaJa Ding Dong bar in  Húsavík. We stopped by at the beerbaths for some refreshment. Really fun trip. 

Surprised everyone at work and sang with Ingó veðurguð at their summerfest. 


Became a personal trainer and taught dance along with working in the spa. 
Did coaching and hypnosis. 

Then came second wave of COVID

Adaptability. The rules changed every 2 weeks, so my job changed that way as well. A personal trainer, dance teacher and an entertainer working in a spa, all my jobs were out. So surrended and RESTED! Finally working on my burnout for real. Doing absolutely nothing and that was ok.That was my job!

Best part of 2020

Met the love of my life Halldór and got to know what its like to have a family of my own. Him and his daughter welcomed me with open arms. I moved in after only a couple of months. So grateful.


2020... it was the worst of times...it was the best of times.
A time to reflect on your life. At yourself! 
It all depends on how you look at it right? 

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

2019

2019


Year of firsts
The year I did something new every day
The year I started playing guitar
The year I started writing again for a news outlet
The year I also worked as a DJ and Karoke Host
The year I did a show of my own at Hótel Kríunes
The year I started writing again on a popular web site
The year I spoke in front of a room full of people and told my story
The year I learned a lot, NBI, Reiki, Gong, RTT and assisted twice in Dale Carnegie
The year me and my best friend Frikki organised a trip to Morocco and dance parties at Hard Rock
The year I tried out comedy at Gaukurinn and Secret Cellar


Travel
-Thailand
-Dublin, Ireland
-Morocco
-Romania
-Vienna, Austria
-Cyprus
-Rome, Italy
- Finland

Got enough of traveling and finally had the feeling I wanted to stay in Iceland and make a life there

Diplomas

-RTT hypnosis
-Gong (sound healing)
-Facebook/Instagram marketing
-Reiki
-NBI


Acting
Blindspot
Agnes Joy
Gullregn
Pabbahelgar

Samgöngustofa ad


Blue Lagoon Retreat Ad


Worked as a CEO for the Icelandic Dance Sport Federation until this year and I´m proud to say I helped dance get more covered in the media. We have AMAZING dancers and they deserve even more coverage in the future. They are not only winning here in Iceland but abroad.



MEDIA
Sporið
K100
Bylgjan
Fréttablaðið
Útvarp Saga
Hringbraut
Mannlíf
Stöð 2
BURNOUT! I was interviewed on Stöð 2 regarding my burnout.
Created a group in the process: https://www.facebook.com/groups/356382358366879/
and I´m coaching several clients to help them from burnout to balance.

ARTICLES
Started writing articles on Vísir.is
https://www.visir.is/t/2082/Anna%20Claessen

Learned a lot, be careful about what you write about or you´ll end up on DV (gossip outlet).
Which I did. Learned a lot and wrote about the experience.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
-Choreographed the main Pride song and danced alongside my idols

-Dans og Kúltúr
So proud of everything me and my best friend Friðrik have done with Dans og Kúltúr. First of all our trip to Morocco. Despite Wow air going under we found a solution and had a wonderful layover in Belgium. We moved our dance parties from Gaukurinn to Hard Rock and celebrated Culture Night and Halloween among other events there with great success. 1001 nótt, 17.júní, menningarnótt, Pride, Reykjavík Fringe and travel to Finland´s Laahti fringe are among a few of the events we danced in. 

On Halloween both me and Frikki went out of our comfort zones and performed as other characters, me as Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit

-Singing
Did gigs at Hótel Kríunes, Alþjóða geðheilbrigðisdaginn, Hugarafl and more.



 -Zumba and Jallabina
Taught dance classes at World Class and took part in several charity events.
Proud to help raise money for good causes.

Ended the year with a zumba event with these fabulous instructors Javi and Daði (from Allir Geta Dansað) and our ZIN Iceland representative Ísabella

-Assistant Coach in two Dale Carnegie Seminars
Grateful to meet these amazing people and learn from them.




MY WORK FINALLY ON SPOTIFY


My LA podcast Entertainment Drive-Thru, where we interviewed people in the entertainment industry. Honored to interview and get to know these amazing people.
https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ga0VGmfMllwALiT1bDqa7

Anna and the Bells: I´m really proud of our songs so I put them up on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0pI0BwgEWFnt7XUZEzegbY

PERSONAL


It was a really difficult year personally. Went on meds last year when I felt like the world was collapsing and finished this year without meds. Very proud of myself! Went off with a help of RTT, Hugarafl, friends and above all my own strength. Been working on myself a lot. Proud of it!

Thankful for my friend Oddrún who told me to do a blood test and doctor for giving me an iron injection. After that I completely changed my diet with a help from a trainer. I started working at the spa in World Class. They have a amazing food there. Really helped me in changing my diet.

Family 
My brother had a baby, a beautiful girl named Elva María Claessen
Another girl in our family. Celebrated in our childhood church, Seljakirkja.
Thankful for my family














Wednesday, January 09, 2019

2018

2018

Travel:

-Spain x3 (Salou, Sitges and Barcelona we organized, Salou with family and Salamanca for Aga’s wedding with friends)

-Bali x2 (first by myself then with the family)
Ubud, Nusa Dua and Seminyak
-LA x2 (So grateful for my friends there who let me stay with them and spent the day with ❤️)
-Denmark (Roger Waters Concert, BFF weekend trip as well as layovers to see my nieces)
-Mexico (surprised my bff for her bday)
-Singapore (with family)
-Thailand (Pattaya with the family)

Acting
World cup commercials (2x)
Blue Lagoon hotel commercial
Norwegian commercial
Flateyjargatan
Ófærð Season 2
Áramótaskaupið
Venjulegt Folk
Pabbahelgar (2x)
Valhalla murders
Verliebt in Island
Agnes Cho
1918

Featured in
Morgunblaðið
Útvarp Saga
Stöð 2

Taught beyonce and did gigs at Kramhusið, zumba and jallabina at World Class, taught aqua aerobics for seniors as well as 3 charity zumba classes to support great causes

Got my diploma in Executive Coaching at the University of Reykjavik

Sold out our dancetrip to Spain and organized multiple dance shows at Gaukurinn with my bff.

Became CEO of the Icelandic Dance Sport Federation (DSÍ) after working at Hotel Kriunes

This year has been tough, so tough i broke down more than id like to admit, but i always allowed myself to rest and heal and then pulled myself up, worked on myself and surrounded myself with people that lift me up. Im proud that i was able to do all this despite the pain and grateful to the people who helped me through it

Met amazing people, some who have become my best friends ❤️ so grateful to all the people in my life, my family and friends here and around the world, just know i love you and miss you and you always have a place in my heart ❤️


Thank you to everyone i met and worked with this year, Friðrik Agni ÁrnasonWorld Class Laugar, Kramhúsið, Margrét Erla Maack - Miss MokkiGaukurinn, Dansíþróttafélag Hafnarfjarðar Dansíþróttasamband ÍslandsÍþrótta- og Ólympíusamband Íslands - ÍSÍ, Salsa Iceland, osk.is Lærðu að elska þig, Hotel Kríunes Optimized Performance K-Iceland Festival MARIO & YANA Háskóladansinn Dans Afríka Iceland and all the others, especially those who booked me for gigs, attended my classes, was on our show or came on our trip....its been a pleasure.

Heres to an even better 2019 🎉



Wednesday, January 10, 2018

2017



2017
Changes
-changed jobs, centerhotels to ikea to my own

-created dans og kultur, website, shows, trips

-studied coaching at HR
-sold the apartment and bought a new one 
-learned jallabina and started teaching
-sang with my girl group
-got to know the amazing salsa community at salsaiceland




I am super proud of our project Dans og Kúltur which was born in january and by the end we had a website, trip, shows, coverage in k100, Frettablaðið, vikan, útvarp saga and we’re planning even bigger things. Thank you Frikki, Asa and Sigrun for everything and Gaman Ferðir and Gaukurinn for working with us.


Travel
-alicante with family
-stockholm with frikki to get jallabina licence
-london with family
-albir with frikki 
-munich meeting friends 
-barcelona/cambrils/sitges, our own dance trip
-new york with frikki and met andreea



Its been a challenging year to say the least but im grateful for the people in it which showed on my bday when half the people were people i met this year. Met friends i havent met in many years,reminds me how lucky i am to have friends around the world.



2017...we’re sooooo OVER!!!!
2018 here i come
-coaching

-teaching dance at World Class and Kramhusið
And a couple other secret things on the horizon

🎉HAPPY NEW YEAR 🎉