As a lawyer, Maaike van Santvoort from Vught spends almost the entire working day with her nose in the books. Artistic pole dancing is her outlet and she is very good at it. Last Saturday evening she became world champion in Poland together with Hanka Venselaar, in daily life a university lecturer in Nijmegen. “The news still has to land.”
At her employer DAF Trucks, Maaike is known as ‘lawyer Maaike’. Once home and in the pole dancing studio, she is the ‘normal Maaike’. “During the day I work with my head and sit still. When exercising or teaching in the studio, I turn off the work button and work with my whole body. Pole dancing is very physical, a wonderful way to be active.”
“They seem like two extremes, but there are similarities.”
Maaike sees similarities between her work and hobby. “They seem like two extremes, but in terms of person there are certainly similarities. I am driven, disciplined and like structure. That comes in handy at work and with pole dancing. Moreover, I really enjoy doing both. I hope this combination continues. to continue for a long time.”
The theme of Maaike and Hanka’s four-minute show at the World Cup was ‘time’, also important in legal matters. “Time in the broadest sense of the word, such as a ticking clock, rushing, stress and irritation if someone does not hurry up. Hanka became a mother last year and we soon started training again, that’s also about time. We came up with our own ideas moves with the theme and found nice music.”
“World champion, it still feels unreal.”
They already won silver at the World Cup, but now they are the best in the world. “Friends and family members responded so enthusiastically, but it still feels unreal to me. We knew in advance that we had a strong program, but of course you don’t know what the rest of the couples will come up with. It’s such a varied field in terms of style and taste. Moreover, it is a jury sport, you never know how things will turn out.”
As a world champion, doors will undoubtedly open that are normally closed. “We would like to continue to participate in competitions, although you cannot always put on a show there. This World Cup, for example, was in a gymnasium, so you do not benefit from nice lighting. If we participate in a show in theaters, among other places, we can “We really want to express ourselves artistically. We’ll see what comes our way.”
Below you can see a show by Maaike and Hanna in the theater.
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