Lafféber thinks this is a pleasant development. In her opinion Dutch men are more busy dancing while they are dancing, while men from other nationalities pay attention to their dance partner while dancing. Like Mehmet Cubuk, a Master student of Computer Science Engineering, does with his dance partner Beste Eris, a Master student of Sustainable Energy, both from Istanbul. Eris and Cubuk dance intensively and with great enthusiasm. Eris: “This is my last year in Eindhoven. I take what I can get this last year.” Therefore she attends Jazz ballet, Tap dance and Salsa courses in the evenings. Eris needs her time for her studies, but dancing and sports are a welcome alternative. She likes the atmosphere at Footloose.

Aydin Can, a PhD in Chemical Engineering, enjoys dancing with Footloose too. “I can release stress here. It is so different from my studies.” Can already had a lot of dancing experience in Turkey. He was even a dancing instructor over there. Can: “Here at Footloose you have permanent dance instructors. In Turkey they used a student-trains-a-student system. If you were a good dancer, they selected you to take trainer courses. First you become an assistant trainer and after three years, you become an instructor yourself.” Can points out two ladies on the dance floor. “They are former dance students of mine.” One of them is Seray Candar, a Master student of Operations Management and Logistics. She has a Dutch dance partner and she loves to dance at Footloose. She attends most dance evenings every two weeks.

Different from working
According to Can, dance company Footloose looks a lot like the dance association in Istanbul of which he was a board member. “We also had dance evenings and joined international competitions. This means a lot of organizing.” To the question whether he sees differences between Dutch dance partners and himself he answers: “Many Dutch men work too hard when they dance. They put a lot of effort into it, but forget to pay attention to the woman they are dancing with. I try to put joy, love and attention in dancing with a partner. That’s different from working.”/.

Footloose

Footloose organizes courses in Rock and roll, Jazz ballet, Tap dance, Salsa, Ballroom and Latin dance. Membership costs 30 euros per year and 20 euros for the second semester only. The board of Footloose can be reached at 040 - 247 8504 or at info@esdvfootloose.nl.