Ginger Rogers danced every bit as well as Fred Astaire and, what’s more, she did it backwards in heels! I wanted to dance just like Ginger did, so one day I walked myself into the local Fred Astaire studio. I told the instructor I wanted to dance an elegant Viennese waltz a la Ginger for my birthday party a few weeks away. After the receptionists finished laughing (with me, not at me), I signed up for a private lesson and thus began my late life dance adventure.
Peter was my instructor. We started with a few simple box steps but it quickly became clear to Peter that because I had some ballet training I could do more advanced dancing. And before I knew it, we were waltzing around the studio to The Beautiful Blue Danube! It touched my soul in a way I never expected and from that moment on I was hooked and have been dancing ever since….Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Fox Trot and even Rumba and Bolero!
COMPETING
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I learned that ballroom dancing is in many ways really a competitive sport and got talked into competing after I had been dancing only six months or so. I entered the competition with more than a little trepidation; but since you compete within your own age group I knew I would be competing against other women “of a certain age,” not against glamorous 20-year-olds. Peter encouraged me to enter, confident that I would not embarrass myself or the studio. In fact I placed first in most of my entries and had an awfully good time dancing all day!
DANCE RECITAL
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Several months later, as we were floating around the dance floor, Peter asked me if I would like to be in the Spring Showcase. I had no idea of what a Showcase was. It turned out that it was actually a recital, very like the ones I went to for years to see my daughters’ ballet performances. In this case, students from the studio dance with their instructors for an audience made up of family and friends as well as the public, on a real stage, in a real theatre! A choreographer plans each dance to suit the taste and skill level of each student and there are several months to practice and rehearse the dance.
My immediate response was a deferential, “No thank you!” I shrank into myself saying, “I’m not really a performer. I love to dance but I’m sure I would faint on a stage.” And then Peter offered the coup de gras, “You could dance to Moon River...” OMG! Moon River!…Breakfast at Tiffany’s! Audrey Hepburn! Black and pearls and a small, sparkling tiara! Irresistible! I succumbed within the hour.
A NEW PARTNER
A week later Peter unexpectedly announced he was moving away! We had developed a graceful partnership that was oddly intimate and delightfully uncomplicated. I was really very saddened by this sudden event and seriously entertained the thought of giving up dancing altogether. But I was far too enamored of ballroom dancing to give it up!
So I decided to follow my bliss and began dancing with a new partner, Martin, who was the co-owner of the studio with his wife Gina. It took a little while for Martin and me to get used to creating our own graceful partnership, but we did. Martin would be my partner for the Moon River dance; he in tails and white tie, I in black chiffon and pearls!
Martin began by teaching me each individual step, gradually tying them together. I had no trouble with the steps, but great difficulty remembering the sequences. Eventually, after three and a half months of weekly lessons…I got it! I could actually dance the waltz to Moon River full out, taking up space, remembering the steps in their natural flow and really dancing with skill and passion. When one of the more experienced dancers at the studio watched us rehearsing and commented that our dance made her cry…I knew I had nailed it!
OVER THE MOON
Performing was a blast! Three hundred people were in the audience; I was keyed up but not nervous. When it came my turn to dance, I was in the zone, feeling absolutely confident and focused on my partner, the music and the dance. I didn’t even see the curtain go up. I didn’t see the audience or hear the applause. Now I know what it means to be totally in the present—dancing my heart out.
I was told by friends and family that Moon River was beautiful, touching and tender. It was one of the highlights of an afternoon of ballroom dancing. All I know for sure is that it was one of the most fun experiences of my long life and I can’t wait to do it again!
Anyone who thinks you can’t teach an old dog new tricks has not tried ballroom dancing! Even for people of “a certain age,” it is a marvelous form of exercise. It is pure fun while at the same time is good for your muscles, bones and brain! One of the special joys is that you don’t need to bring your own partner! Your instructor IS your partner! What could be better than to dance with an attractive young person who really knows how to dance and whose job it is to make you look good on the dance floor!
PEARL OF WISDOM
Exercise does not need to be boring! Really! You could be dancing! Sparkles are optional but movement is not. Find your own bliss on the dance floor, in the pool, in the gym or just walking in the fresh air. It pays off handsomely in short and long term benefits for elders and their caregivers as well. It is never too late or too early to start!
Joan Blumenfeld, MS, LPC is a Geriatric Care Manager in private practice in Fairfield County, Connecticut. For information visit www.joanblumenfeld.com. © Joan Blumenfeld 2013.
