Evanston Seniors Prepare To Dance During NU Halftime Show

Luba Ames still has fond memories of taking to the dance floor in the 1940s and jiving like a jitterbug. At 85 years young, she still has that love for dancing, and it shows as a senior cheerleader for the Northwestern Wildcats.

The Senior Wildcat Dance Team, which consists of residents in their 70s, 80s and 90s from The Merion, will perform at halftime with the Northwestern cheerleaders during the men’s basketball game on Wednesday, February 13. Luba and the Senior Wildcats’ final rehearsal with the college girls will be at 5pm on Tuesday, February 12 at the senior living community.

Luba believes that once you stop being active and involved, your mind can trick you into just staying put. This is why she moved to The Merion in Evanston – to have support and encouragement of friends and neighbors to stay fit and active. As Luba says, there are just some things you need friends for, things that you wouldn’t do on your own, and dancing is one of them.

Aside from the social benefits, there are many health benefits of dancing later in life, including improving balance and flexibility, strengthening muscles and reducing stress. According to AARP, dancing can also help prevent conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis and depression.