Honorary members & people of special merit

Blue Suede Shoes is not that old yet, but already quite mature and settled. For this, we have a few members and special persons to thank. Scroll down to discover who these people are and what they did to help!

Honorary members

Honorary members (ā€˜ereledenā€™) are members that have shown incredible devotion to the association. An honorary member must have contributed significantly to the development and improvement of the association. In doing so, they set an example for other members in what it means to be a great community member and spread the love for dancing.

Marieke Janssen

Marieke was elected a member of honour on the 13th of November 2021. Not only is she a founder of the association, she is also a corner-stone.

If you take a look at the board page, you will see she has been in Board I and III, but that’s only part of her commitment to Blue Suede Shoes. Marieke has been in countless committees and workgroups over the years, and she is still active to this day. Sometimes we even have to slow her down šŸ™‚

Marieke also inspired and actively partakes in the food activities within Blue Suede Shoes. Think of community dinners that strengthen the bonding and bakings for parties that bring joy to all present.

Lastly, she is one of the first Ballroom and Argentine Tango dancers and has always promoted crossing over.


External honorary members

External honorary members are people that have not, prior to being appointed, been a member of Blue Suede Shoes, but even so have greatly supported Blue Suede Shoes in its development to what it is today.

Zaneta and Take portrait

Take Uto & Zaneta Leonidi

Take and Zaneta, as a pair, were the first Argentine Tango teachers at X. They are morally responsible for setting up the tango community in Delft. This is no easy feat, and they even went as far as using their own living room to organize tango practices to keep everyone active and engaged.

They helped Blue Suede Shoes tremendously by transferring all the knowledge required for being and running that community and everything that comes with it. Tango CafĆ© wouldn’t be the way it is (or maybe at all), if it were not for this dynamic duo.

They are very humble of their contributions and generally nice people. We elected them November 13th 2021.

Janneke Janssen-Jansen

Janneke is also known in our association as ā€˜Marieke’s momā€™. Marieke herself says ā€œI donā€™t think we would have had the association if I didnā€™t have my momā€. Janneke has been an invaluable help in organizing events.

In the beginning there was so much stuff that had to be move around, which was a logistical nightmare before we got a proper closet. Janneke both provided a ā€˜stuff migration serviceā€™ and storage space. If we had to do groceries or arrange last minute things she was always there to help. This continued even past the first years, she’s been a tremendous help with all the activities of our first Lustrum.

She has been a great support to Marieke, and to the association. She got appointed November 13th 2021.


About the creation of Blue Suede Shoes

The history page already describes how Blue Suede Shoes came to be and its journey to what it is today, but two extra things (people) need to be mentioned. They gave the association the boost it needed at the start.

Marit van de Kamp

Marit van de Kamp

Like Marieke, Marit is one of the founders of Blue Suede Shoes. Marit was the chair and face of the association. Her enthusiasm, communication with other associations, and promotion put Blue Suede Shoes in the public picture right from the start. This kick-started the association and we grew to considerable size in no-time.

Remy Kabel

Remy has never been in a board, official reason stating ā€œIā€™m too oldā€, but nevertheless deserves a special mention. Every fire needs a spark to get going, and Remy has provided that spark.

Before Blue Suede Shoes was a thing, he formed a ‘team Delft’ to partake in xTDS events. He urged the others to take the leap and create the association that we’re glad to have today.

In addition, Remy has since the beginning been our lovely technique class teacher. His enthusiasm for Ballroom dancing and proper technique, in combination with engaging teaching methods, make the classes loved by everyone that participates.