World Para Dance Sport and sport community mourn the loss of Hans Verhoeven

World Para Dance Sport mourns the loss of Hans Verhoeven who passed away earlier this month in the Netherlands.

Verhoeven is part of the history of Para dance sport as one of the founders, alongside Corrie van Hugten, of the Holland Dans Spektakel in Cuijk, the Netherlands.

Back in 1989, Verhoeven and Van Hugten joined forces to organise an event in which dancers with disabilities and non-disabled dancers could participate as equal partners. The event became a platform for the development of the sport and is now the Cuijk World Para Dance Sport International Competition.

Born in a family of dance teachers, he ran the Verhoeven Dance School in Uden before starting his own Dance Centre in the neighbour city of Cuijk in the province of Brabant. 

For his contribution to dance Verhoeven was awarded the Order of Orange-Nassau from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and also the Golden Thumb from the province of Brabant.

World Para Dance Sport offers its condolences to the family and friends of Hans Verhoeven, as the whole of the Para dance sport community in the country.