~ Cees van Dolderen – St. Maarten's Lord of Dance ~
PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten's "Lord of Dance," founder and long-time director of Motiance Dance School Cees van Dolderen passed away early Monday morning in the Netherlands at age 56.
Van Dolderen had health problems for years, which seriously deteriorated last year, forcing him to resign as dance school director. During the past months, he was treated at a hospital in the Netherlands. His serious condition prompted him to return to his beloved St. Maarten, which he called home for many years.
"Cees has suffered a lot in these past months," said Motiance Director Arlene Halley, who arrived in the Netherlands Sunday. Halley said Van Dolderen had died peacefully at 4:40am in the presence of his mother, brother and sister.
A memorial service will be held Saturday in the central town of Ede, after which he will be cremated. Following the deceased's wishes, his ashes will be flown to St. Maarten, where they will be dispersed early May.
As the St. Maarten worlds of dance and the arts in general are in shock after Van Dolderen's passing, and numerous messages on his passing are exchanged on social networking Websites on the Internet, it is certain that a memorial service will also be held on St. Maarten. Details will be announced at a later date.
Van Dolderen was not only involved in dance. He was very social-minded, and has also been chairman of Mary's Fancy Homeowners Association.
"It is sad that Cees was unable to witness the celebration of Motiance Dance School's 25th anniversary," Halley said Monday. It is uncertain whether the "I am Motiance" recital in tribute of Cees van Dolderen, which was scheduled for April 16-18 as part of Motiance's Silver Jubilee celebration, will continue as scheduled.
"We will see about that later," said Halley.
Van Dolderen was not just the founder of Motiance Dance School. He was the school's father and more. He was the school's very heart.
Motiance Dance School was founded on September 1, 1985, out of the need for healthy and educational after-school activities for children and youths of all ages. There were no after-school activities at that time. It became the policy of the school to provide inexpensive activities and to cater to as many children as possible of all walks of life. Scholarships were given frequently to those who could ill afford the fees; second and third children in the family received discounts.
To be able to keep enrolment fees low, to be able to give scholarships to those who were at a financial disadvantage and to those who were extremely talented, the school became a foundation in 1986, and was run by a board.
The school started at the Movies One and Two building on W.J.A. Nisbeth Road. Classes offered included Afro-Caribbean dance, jazz, classical ballet, tap dance, and gymnastics for boys and girls. An annual end-of-the-school-year recital and trademark musicals were part of the programme from the school's inception.
Over the course of the years, the school's enrolment grew to an average of between 180 and 200. Classes in modern dance, adult and junior companies, and differentiation in levels were added to the schedule.
In its first 10 years, the school mostly focused on recreational after-school activities. When other after-school activities were offered on the island by other organisations, the school focused more and more on dance education as its first priority.
The social recreational aspect is still present, but the main goal of the school has become to provide high-standard dance training in as many styles as possible, on all levels.
The school had been instrumental in reviving St. Maarten's national Ponum Dance.
Besides resident teachers, guest teachers from the United States, Jamaica and the Netherlands have added to the development of dance on St. Maarten. Quite a few students of the school have chosen a career in dance, with many others having chosen dance as a side-career, or are continuing their education in amateur dance companies in the Netherlands and the USA.
In the year 2010, St. Maarten has three dance schools and hundreds of young and senior dancers. Cees van Dolderen stood at the cradle of this development. Now, St. Maarten dance will have to continue without him. He will be living on in the hearts and memories of dancers, but the stage will never look the same again.
