[Every Monday and Thursday at the Senior Center, at 2:30.]
“Forward two, three, twinkle and ¼ right, 5 forward on the left, coaster back, twinkle back!”
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This reads like some sort of secret pass code or scientific language.
But it is how instructor Jackie English gets about 50 older members of our community to exercise, have fun and socialize. They also seem to be pretty good at getting into sync with each other in a not-so-high stepping line dance class.
I asked one rather demure lady: “Do you think you’re pretty good at this?” She smiles broadly and answers without hesitation: “No.”
Shirley Castle is an 84-year old retired schoolteacher-turned-shuffle-stepper. She is relatively new to this class. She only has been coming here for about a year.
And what does she get out of this class? “Moving my body and socializing.”
Pointing to her head, she adds, “It’s helping my brain.”
Every Monday and Thursday at 2:30 in the Culver City Senior Center, these ladies and gentlemen, 60 to 90 years of age, dance with the very popular teacher, Ms. English, who also is over 60.
Jackie is the dance instructor and line dance choreographer for two hours of Broadway tunes, country waltzes and “sugarfooting.”
She thinks this is one great way to keep in shape and have a good time. Seniors are asked to pay only $1.50 per person, per session.
Culver City has been offering this program for quite a few years now, and the big attendance is a testimony to how popular it is with the senior set.
Faye Crawford is a mere 62. She has been dancing for more than two years with this ever-changing group of hoofers.
“I brought my 90-year-old mother here to check it out and ended up coming myself,” says Crawford. “I’ve taken yoga, kick boxing, and aerobics here, but the line dancing is the best so far. I dance twice a week, but some of these folks dance every day. When I get home, boy am I exhausted.”
There are so many more services available at the Senior Center at the intersection of Overland Avenue and Culver Boulevard.
They regularly run popular movies, serve a daily healthy lunch and help seniors with computer classes. You can learn many different languages and local doctors are scheduled to offer free checkups.
The center receives funds through a grant from the Culver City Exchange Club and benefits from monies taken in from the Veterans Memorial Auditorium across the street.
Last year’s budget was over $650, 000 according to reports online from Culver City. The city also owns the building and pays for its employees who work in the center.
As Debbie Cahill, Senior Program Specialist, likes to say, “It’s a symbiotic relationship where each of two parts gains equally from the other.”
If it is symbiosis, then the benefit of this program is very evident in the health and stamina of members on the dance floor. Some are almost obsessive about the class.
“I just like to dance,” says 73-year-old Karen Kleine. “I like to sweat and get those endorphins pumping. I may take 5 classes in a week, just to keep moving and keep in shape.
“I am not here to socialize, I’m here to get my heart rate up.”
Others come to the Senior Center to deal with more serious issues:
“If you are dancing, and listening to the music, you can’t be angry,” states Mara Kenner, 76. “You forget everything else that upset you, ‘cause it just doesn’t matter. It goes away. The music takes you out of what ever upsets you.”
Ms. Kenner has been dancing here for four years.
“Box, side together, step back,” teacher Jackie calls out.
And the group sings along to the melody, “I Just Called to Say I Love You.”
Joy Ono, who is 87years old, is taking a needed rest, sitting next to her best friend. She tells me, “I lost my husband in 1994. So I started coming here and dancing. It is just great therapy for me.”
The bottom line may be as simple as an explanation from 83-year-old Mickey Array: “This repairs your spirit.”
Ms. Ottalini may be contacted at shooterslicker@yahoo.com
