Page 11 - aruba-today-20220714

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LOCAL Thursday 14 July 2022

Janice and Oslin Boekhoudt,

more than 20 years teaching and

entertaining with their swing and flavor

Janice Boekhoudt Kock him with this. before, and he also saw
isn’t unknown in the world the possibility to open the
of dancing and entertain- “I always danced, my dance school. And that’s
ment in Aruba. Janice, to- parents danced, so I was how finally they came
gether with her husband brought up in the world to the decision to open
Oslin Boekhoudt started the of dance. I didn’t know Pachanga in the year 2000.
first salsa dance school in anything else. And when
Aruba, Pachanga. During I met my husband, that Janice and Oslin have
an interview with our re- he had the same passion represented Aruba in vari-
porter, Janice told us about for dance, that’s how we ous countries abroad, for
her career as a dancer, started the dance school example in Suriname, the
how she started and what Pachanga”, Janice says. Netherlands, Curaçao
inspired the couple to and Venezuela, for dance
start their dance school The reason why Janice competitions, to give
Pachanga. and Oslin started with the dance workshops, or doing
dance school Pachanga in shows. In 2002, the couple
Janice says that she start- Aruba was because there won the main title of World
ed dancing from a young was a big demand for salsa Champions of Salsa, and
age, because her mom, lessons. “We would go to in 2004 they competed in
Mrs. Ceslin Yarzagaray and dance at certain places, Curaçao and manage to
her father Mr. Franklin Kock and as soon as they played win the main title one more
had a dance group called salsa, most people would time.
Danza Aruba, and ever leave the dance floor and
since she was young, she there wasn’t anyone danc- “We always see the possi-
danced with the group, ing. So we realized, the will bility to promote the name
participating and shows and interest was there, and of Aruba, to promote the
and presentations in differ- that’s how we started”, she name of Pachanga, so that
ent venues. said. the world knows that the
people of Aruba can also
Later she met her now- Janice emphasizes that al- dance”, Janice says.
husband, Oslin Boekhoudt, though naturally there were
and the moment they different schools of dance, She told us she enjoys
started the dance school these were focused a lot dancing anything, and
Pachanga together was more on folkloric dance she dominates all types of
in the year 2000. In the be- and classical dance like dance, and wherever she
ginning, Janice explains, ballet, and very few had and Oslin go, they can
Simadansa approached actual Latin dance. She represent the island. “I like
her husband Oslin for him explains also that Oslin was salsa, bachata, kizomba,
to start giving salsa lessons, a dance instructor in the zouk, samba, merengue…
and Janice began helping Netherlands for many years so I love all types of dance,
because in this way I can
represent myself and I can
represent Aruba.”

Last year, Janice was
studying, and through her
studies and because of
the situation with the Co-
vid pandemic, she had
less available time and the
dance school was not op-
erating as often as before.
But she said they were still
offering private lessons for
those who wish to learn to
dance salsa ‘with swing
and flavor’, and for anyone
who is interested in learning
to dance any style of Latin
dance.

“Mi wish is to finish my stud-
ies to start doing shows
again, to get on stage
again, and maybe that I
can start the dance school
like it used to be before”,
she said.