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photo by Brianna Phillips
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photo by Brianna Phillips
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photo by Brianna Phillips
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photo by Brianna Phillips
Recently retired from teaching at Murray Ridge School in Elyria, Vickie Nagy was searching for ways to keep moving in 2018. Living with rheumatoid arthritis and bilateral knee replacements, she knew it was important to stay active.
“As you get older, you don’t move the same. You don’t move as much,” the 62-year-old Brunswick resident explains. “We get more and more sedentary.”
An advertisement for Medina Centre For Dance Art’s senior classes caught her eye. She’d been a dancer before, nearly 40 years prior — maybe, she considered, she could try again. Though apprehensive, she took the plunge — and found herself back in a pair of ballet shoes.
“Your body starts remembering,” Nagy says of starting to dance again. “Do you point your toe this way? This move goes like this. When I do this, my leg goes over here. It all comes back.”
Founded in 2002, Medina Centre moved out of the world of competitive dancing around 2017 — a decision which allowed it to focus on expanding its other programming.
“Our mission has always been to train dancers to be their very best selves,” says owner and CEO Kelly Parks. “We want every student to have that opportunity to feel like they’re a star here. Sometimes that is when you’re a couple decades in. You get to find out, This is for me too, and I get to enjoy the value of what this brings to my life.”
Now, the studio offers programs for all ages, including tap and ballet classes for those 55 and older. Both tap and ballet focus on coordination and balance. Those in ballet classes focus more on flexibility, while tap dancers focus on musicality. Medina Centre’s older adult dancers gather for ability-focused instruction — modifying their movements to match their comfort levels and capabilities.
“A good pirouette is all about balance,” says program director Connie Laettner, who teaches senior ballet. “If you can’t balance, you can’t turn. We offer a lot of different modifications … you do what you’re able to, and once you’re comfortable, then challenge yourself to add a different aspect.”
A student who wants to focus on their leg movements in ballet, for example, might hold their arms statically in second position — then, once they are comfortable, add arm and head gestures. A tap student, meanwhile, is primarily focused on the hips down. They might lighten their step, make their movements smaller and slow those movements down.
Though they don’t usually perform in Medina Centre’s recitals, the older adult students’ studio time puts a spotlight on wellness.
“The goal is to be using the body, to be moving, to be experiencing the musicality, to be challenging yourself,” Parks says. “That’s how you grow. But we’re always stressing injury prevention. … You’re going to improve your balance, your coordination, your muscle tone.”
Kathleen Tompkins, another ballet dancer, found Medina Centre following her retirement in 2021. After hip surgery and a broken shoulder, the 65-year-old Medina resident wanted to sustain her active lifestyle.
“I was always a very active person. I have a horse. I ride. I do chores in the barn,” Tompkins says. “But I saw how it could be this slippery slope when you’re not able to walk. … I was like, No. I’ve got to get out. I’ve got to do more.”
Dance can be beneficial in all phases of life — especially during our golden years.
“Our seniors ... use this as a time not just for the health benefits of physically moving but social connections and friendships,” says Parks. “It’s full circle.”
Brain Boost
According to Laettner, learning the sequences involved in ballet and tap dancing can directly benefit brain functionality. Tap dancing, especially, involves the use of fine motor skills.
“I always talk to the dancers about how new combinations will strengthen them mentally,” she says. “Dance has been shown to reduce symptoms of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.”
That’s a key aspect of the art form for Tompkins. Both of her parents lived with the disease, and she found that an inability to complete sequence-based tasks was an indicator of their declines. Social dancing, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine says, can reduce one’s Alzheimer’s risk.
According to Harvard Medical School, dancing can improve memory, strengthen neuronal connections and activate the brain’s sensory and motor circuits. It can also lower the risk of dementia through mental-social stimulation.
“We do that in a ballet class when we’re doing a tendu combination,” Parks says. “They’re all looking at me like, Really? Both feet in opposite directions? It’s brain puzzles.”
Compared to other exercises, dance is most beneficial for balance.
“Every time we do a barre combination, we finish in a balance,” Parks says. “This becomes the second nature.”
Dancing can also improve mental health, allowing students of all ages a space to shake off the pressures of day-to-day life.
“This is a place where they can drop that baggage at the door, dance and feel better,” Parks says.
Body Benefits
Dancing may look effortless at times, but it’s still a workout — improving muscle tone, strength and posture.
“I love the atmosphere. I love the discipline,” says Tompkins. “I feel like I’m accomplishing something. It’s not just exercising like I’m on a treadmill.”
It can boost mobility, too.
“Getting up to do these classes, it keeps you moving,” Nagy says. “It improves your range of motion. In our daily lives, we’re not running around like kids. So, your arms aren’t going in the same places. Your legs aren’t going in the same places.”
While tap dancing can be higher-energy, ballet can do more to improve flexibility. Regardless of class choice, however, the body’s muscular system is being challenged. Laettner works hard to demonstrate proper technique — including showing dancers which muscles support their movements. This method, Nagy says, brings more awareness into her practice.
“When we work with the adults … it’s about education,” Parks says. “These are what these movements are, these are how you use these movements. These are the muscles that you’re using. Here’s enough information for you to apply that to how it fits into your body.”
Most importantly, the center emphasizes acceptance of all ages, bodies and abilities. It’s personal to Laettner.
“I am 4 foot 10.5. Very curvy. I was told very early on that ballet had no room in its world for me,” she says. “I went to other styles that are more accepting. But now that I’m teaching the seniors — ballet is for everybody.”
