Who Says You’re too Old to Kick?
AARP card-carrying members, hang on to your hats. Dust off those shoes. Get ready to roll a shoulder or two, jut a hip here and there, dance your heart out…. How about a grapevine or two? With some baby boomers already in their 60s, the US Census Bureau predicts that the number of those 65 and older will have doubled by 2030. Studio owners, if you’re not offering classes for the 50 and over crowd, you might want to think twice and join the bandwagon. Octogenarians (and over), get ready!
Diana Quijano-Graham, who teaches an adult jazz class at Leggz Ltd. Dance in Rockville Centre, NY, uses her 30 years of teaching experience to work with her seniors. A graduate of the Performing Arts High School and a Broadway vet, she’s been teaching some of the same students for her entire teaching career. With an average of 20 people per class, the age range of her students goes from 25 to 69. They all take the same class with no modifications for the more senior members of the group.
Several of Quijano-Graham’s ladies are in their 60s. She has three men who take the class, one is in his 40s, another is in his late 50s or early 60s, and one, named Lou, is 69 years old. “It doesn’t matter how good or bad you are, once it’s in your blood, you gotta dance. It keeps my body and mind so agile, you wouldn’t believe,” says Lou.
One modification Graham makes in teaching her adult class is adding repetition. “I always teach the combination two weeks in a row to make sure my students get it. Many of them have found that memorizing the sequencing and patterns helps them with any overall memory problems they may be having,” she says. After a thorough warm-up and challenging rhythmic sequences, she doles out twelve 8s of information. That’s quite a bit to remember. “It’s very enjoyable to teach adults because they are much more appreciative of moving. They don’t take it for granted that they can move, but enjoy the fact that they can still move. It’s a lot of fun,” says Quijano-Graham.
Jacki Thoen, a teacher at the Logrea Dance Academy in Ossining, NY, feels very lucky to have been teaching adults the art of jazz dance for the last eight years. “My education and background as a personal trainer help me to modify class exercises and keep the class safe for women of all different levels of fitness. I believe that it is important to be able to modify a class or a routine based on the particular strengths and weaknesses of the class. For example, some women love to turn while others get dizzy. Some have limited flexibility but a lot of physical strength,” says Thoen.
Jazz class can provide a needed release for adults. “In the midst of their busy lives, my Saturday morning class is a place to unwind, get fit and play. They are able to expose a side of themselves outside of their usual role definition,” Thoen says. While Thoen’s students are not quite into their 50s, adulthood brings them a special perspective in class. “They challenge themselves, while being in a supportive, non-competitive environment. The comfort of accepting your own personal best is one of the compensations of being a certain age. That skill tends to come with maturity. I seek to make the women in my class comfortable in their own bodies…and not worry about ‘getting it perfect’ or looking exactly like the woman next to them. For some of the women, coming to jazz class motivated them to stay fit and exercise throughout the week.”
As we conduct a heated debate about health care costs as a nation, we should also be looking at some basic facts about exercise for adults and seniors. Part of our national discussion includes the use of preventative measures for health care that support better health from the onset. Exercise, we know, is one of those preventative measures. Some of the facts about exercise are that it:
• Increases bone density, which can delay or even offset osteoporosis • Increases stamina, which leads to continued independence • Increases metabolism while decreasing excess fat tissue • Increases circulation and cardiovascular health • Creates greater strength of core muscle groups for stability and balance • Improves joint mobility and overall flexibility.
Dance class avoids the monotony of walking the treadmill, exercises both the body and the mind, most definitely gets the heart pumping, and provides a sense of community togetherness in ways that one-on-one exercise does not. “Another aspect of my class that is enjoyable is the camaraderie between the women. They often go out for coffee together after class. The social aspect is part of the reason the class is so enjoyable,” says Thoen.
The Dance Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), has been offering jazz classes for senior citizens from ages 55 to over 90 with overwhelming success for the past five years. Dr. Carole Rae, founder of the dance department, and Richard Havey co-teach the class, and they mean business. The syllabus holds all the requirements of any dance class for an undergraduate program, including a strict attendance policy with tests and grades looming over students’ heads. No prior dance experience is necessary.
“I am currently a student in the Gerontology program here at UNLV,” says Havey. “This, as well as seeing the Senior Theater Program at the University, has helped me with teaching this course. I also believe working with Dr. Rae, who is in her senior years, has helped me understand some of the limitations that the students have in doing a jazz dance class. At the same time I am always amazed at how well they do move when given the opportunity.”
Like Quijano-Graham, Havey stresses the importance of exercising memory in class. “I think the biggest challenge with most of our material is memory, remembering the sequence of steps or if it was the right arm or the left. This seems to be a constant exploration of how we can get them to remember. In the end they are simply drilled with the material until they have it programmed in their muscle memory.”
Eighty-six year old Dorothy Kloss doesn’t seem to have trouble with her memory. She holds the Guinness world record for being the oldest show girl to date. She is a member of the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. This group of dancers, according to their press materials, is “an energetic troupe of California hoofers and singers who serve up potent three-hour matinee and evening performances as many as nine times a week. Each of them is between the ages of 55 and 86; 13 are at least 65 years old.” If you haven’t seen Kloss dance, you can catch a glimpse of her on YouTube—or go catch the show live! She and her cast members have energy to burn and share some of the best looking gams in the business.
Want another reason to create opportunities for seniors to take class? Seniors flock from all areas of the globe when the opportunity is right. Apparently, the current Follies cast is not alone in wanting to dance. “Performers age 55-plus line up by the dozens for a shot at the Follies. Auditions for the rare open slots—most members stay 10 years or more; five have been there for at least 14 years—often draw 100 performers who fly in from Europe, New York, Vegas and other points,” says the Follies press representative. Wow! Such affirmation for wanting to dance after 50 inspires us all.
Furthermore, the latest film by producer and director Dori Berinstein, “Gotta Dance,” chronicles the debut of the New Jersey Nets' first-ever senior hip hop dance team with 12 women and one man. The youngest in the group is 60, the oldest 83. “Ageism is rampant,” declares Berinstein in her artistic statement. “You hit the big ‘6–0’ and you’ve ‘aged out’ of so many things. People perceive you differently…assume you can’t or shouldn’t do things….activities you’ve done and enjoyed your whole life. I wanted to make this film to celebrate age and to inspire and challenge present and future AARP members to embrace life…to get out there and take on something they always dreamed of doing.” Berinstein does just that. Each one of her dance team members go for it. As the press packet states, “As smooth dance moves are perfected and performed in front of thousands, aging myths and misperceptions are pulverized. Despite swollen ankles, exhausting rehearsals, fashion clashes and seemingly impossible dance steps, the NETSational Seniors go for it, spreading joy, inspiration, and cool dance moves.”
For studio owners, there is tremendous opportunity out there for those who are qualified to teach seniors. “I believe that we are all dancers,” says Thoen. Yes, no matter what our age!
Katie Langan is a Professor of Dance and Chair of the Dance Department at Marymount Manhattan College.