Eastern Turkey learning to shake it in Latin way

ELAZIĞ - Anatolia News Agency

The first in Elazığ, the Happy Life Dance and Pilates School, draws high interest especially from young women, according to the trainer Mesut Şahin. DHA photo

A dance academy opened two months ago in the eastern province of Elazığ is drawing unexpectedly high interest, especially from young women, according to the school’s operator.

“The Happy Life Dance and Pilates School,” the first in Elazığ, has attracted over 40 students since the opening. Latin, salsa, cha-cha, bachata, zumba and oriental classes are all offered at the school although Latin dancing is most popular, according to the school’s administrators.

“There is a huge interest in the school in Elazığ. We have registered between 40 and 50 students in two months and expect more in the coming days,” said Turkish Dance Federation coach and Latin dance trainer Mesut Şahin, who opened the school in the city’s Cumhuriyet neighborhood two months ago.

The school is the third region in the region following others in Malatya and Batman, Şahin, adding that they had attracted far more interest than they had expected. 

“We give courses seven days a week; I come to the city [from the Aegean province of İzmir] on Thursdays and Fridays, and my assistants are here the other days. We give practical and theoretical classes to participants, mostly working on Latin dances but we have also started oriental classes,” he said. 

Discussing the interest in zumba dancing, Şahin said: “Zumba dance classes are currently offered in five Turkish cities as interest in zumba, which is a mixture of all dances, has exploded. It combines sports and dance culture and has drawn interest, especially from women.” 

Şahin said their plan was to include Elazığ in regional dance competitions organized during the summer months. “We will organize competitions in collaboration with the Turkish Dance Federation. This is why we hardly work right now. We expect to be very successful in these competitions depending on time and our volunteer dancers.” 

Sinem Çağlaroğlu is one of the successful course attendees and is from the southern province of Adana. 
Çağlaroğlu has been attending the courses and said she loved to dance thanks to Şahin. 

“The atmosphere is very enjoyable and we have many friends. We learn almost all types of dance. We also have oriental dance but we want to focus on Latin because it is different,” Çağlaroğlu said.