We older tappers still have a little bit of fireworks in our spirit.
The DanceGenerators will present their annual concert of new works on June 8 at 8 p.m. and June 9 at 3 p.m. Due to the closing of the Northampton Center for the Arts, this yearâs program will be performed at the Kendall Theater at Mount Holyoke College. Dance Generators is a multigenerational performance company consisting of dancers from their 20s into their 80s. Recently I read that dancing makes you smarter. This information came from a commentary made by a Harvard Medical School psychiatrist, Dr. Joseph Coyle, as a preface to an actual study done at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
In the study which was published in the N.E. Journal of Medicine, it stated that no physical activities appeared to offer any protection against dementia with the exception of frequent dancing. From the article I learned that brain cells die and synapses weaken with aging; however, it is possible one can create new neural paths with dancing.
I was glad to hear this news because at my age, needless to say, my brain likes to utilize all the help it can get. It was with delight that I learned that in moving my feet the cerebral cortex and hippocampus can rewire themselves, and that dynamic and rapid-fire decision-making creates new neural paths.
I copied the article and passed it on to my tap dance group of senior ladies who dance under the tutelage of Dianne Shields.
We’re certainly not the Rockettes, however, we older tappers still have a little bit of fireworks in our spirit. I call us The Sparklettes, in reference to sparklers, the old handheld fireworks one remembers from childhood days.
The sparkler finds itself on one end of the pyrotechnic spectrum in comparison to the booming spectacular display of the rocket on the opposite end. Nonetheless the sparkler does emit little sparks that dance about.
It’s nice to know that while we seniors are tap, tap tapping, our brains are rewiring. Inside our head the sparks are flying. We are the Sparklettes.
Our group recently performed one dance routine at the annual spring dance recital of the parks and recreation department. We were a group of ten dancers, nine women and one man. The audience could easily Identify the male dancer; he was the one who didn’t have to wear tights nor fishnet stockings. Lucky him, he wore black slacks.
Ballroom dancing is also touted as a brain enhancer. The biggest draw back with ballroom dancing is one needs a partner as Pearl Bailey sings in her long ago musical rendition, “It Takes Two to Tango.” Shakespeare said it quite simply in Much Ado About Nothing when he wrote the plea, “God match me with a good dancer.”
One is never too old to dance. Learning new steps, keeping time to the beat of the music, and feeling the happiness and the emotional joy at the same time increases the brain’s function. Who could ask for a better combination?
Don’t wait to start dancing. Do it now. Tap, jive, waltz, rhumba, tango, quick step, who cares? Just do it, and help the brain regenerate; the sooner the better.
As the saying goes, “Dance as if no one is looking. And if you make a mistake, act like it’s part of the dance.”
Don’t walk. DANCE!
Betty C. McCann, of Longmeadow, enjoys writing, reading and ballroom dancing.
.