No age restrictions apply to seniors who enjoy dancing

Visions of energetic dancers twirling around the dance floor are probably not what comes to mind when you think about a senior center activity. However, times are changing and today’s seniors are looking to use dance as a way to remain physically active into their 90s and beyond.

Seniors along the Grand Strand are trendsetters as is the Grand Strand Senior Center. Unique as it may be, the center’s Grand Strand Beach Social Dance Club has put a lively step into senior activities at the Myrtle Beach center for the last 20 years.

Seniors looking for a little action on the dance floor migrate to the Grand Strand center program, which has drawn dancers of all levels of experience from all across the area for the last two decades. Even “snow birds” visiting from across the country and Canada during the winter months purchase their tickets in advance to ensure they can join in the fun when in town.

While the club was founded as the Beach Ballroom Dance Group to promote ballroom dancing for an aging population of dancers, the good news is dances held today are no longer strictly ballroom. The group changed its name to reflect the diversity in dance styles and to encourage more people to get involved, according to club committee member Gayle Schaeufele.

Schaeufele, 74, and her husband immediately joined the dance group in 1998 after moving to the area from New Jersey. With no dance lessons behind them, the Schaeufeles enjoy moving to the beat of the music and the socialization of the dances. When it comes down to what keeps some people away from the dances, she said, “They think they can’t do it when they think it is just ballroom. They think of what they see on TV. But we all march to a different drummer. That’s why life is so interesting.”

Jeanie Rhodes, Grand Strand Senior Center manager, agrees.

“This day in time, you have to include more social dancing,” RHodes said. “The word ‘ballroom’ scares some of the younger ones.”

While the center hosts the dances that are held on the third Saturday night of the month from September through April, it is the dance club that handles all details to avoid burdening the limited center staff.

In celebration of the Senior Dance’s 20th anniversary, the senior center’s dance floor will sway to a full house of smartly dressed dancers on Nov. 21, from 7-10 p.m. Participants can expect to see everything from experienced ballroom dancers to those who enjoy line-dancing, country waltzing or even having fun with the polka.

Seniors keeping dance alive

Bringing dance to the senior center dates back to 1995 when a group of 14 dance-loving seniors formed the Beach Ballroom Dance Group and sought a place to dance. Beginning with Sunday afternoon tea dances in the auditorium of the senior center, the group quickly learned there were dozens of seniors in the area craving a place to continue dancing into their elder years. By 1996, the dances were drawing more than 100 participants, which prompted a permanent partnership between the group and the Grand Strand center that operates under the Horry County Council on Aging.

Audrey Kovanda, a member of the U.S. Ballroom Association, and her husband Robert were two of the originators of the dance group and worked to bring it under the auspices of the senior center after moving to the area from Michigan. She said she and her husband used to dance four or five times a week. She recalls how many husbands were “dragged in” the first time and ended up having a wonderful time. Now with Robert deceased and she into her 80’s, she is no longer able to participate due to health restrictions.

Of the senior dances that she helped initiate in the area, she said, “I’m proud it is still going on. I wish I could be there. I miss it. It was a lot of fun, not only the dances but making friends. We used to get together on weekends and go over to North Carolina to dances.”

Another original couple in the group is Evelyn Consalvi, 82, with her husband, Al, 80. A dancer since junior high, Evelyn Consalvi said dance is good for your physical and mental health.

“You have to concentrate. It is not something you can wobble through, you have to think about it and work on it,” she said. She and her husband do what she calls “true ballroom” dancing the rumba, foxtrot and tango.

While she admits a lot of people enjoy sitting down to just watch and listen to the music, some of the older folks who can hardly walk still get on the dance floor.

“We’re not the oldest people there,” Al Consalvi said. “There’s no judgement going on. Everybody is there to enjoy themselves and each other. They may feel intimidated before they come but not after they get there.”

The couple credits Ray Fontaine, executive director of the Horry County Council on Aging, for helping to get the dances started. “He was a big help when we got all this up,” Al Consalvi said. “Whatever we suggested, he was on board.”

Rebranding the senior center

The 11,400 senior centers, recognized as a community focal point serving more than a million of America’s older adults daily, are reinventing themselves to serve the more active senior of today.

According to the National Center on Aging, the trend is sweeping the nation as senior center management realizes the need to change programs to meet the demands of a more active baby boomer generation. Baby boomers make up more than two-thirds of the over-50 age group.

The Grand Strand center is one of 10 in Horry County. The age for participating in some activities such as dance and golf is set at 50 at the Grand Strand center but is 60 at all other centers. The age is also higher for those receiving state services such as the Tuesday and Thursday lunches, Rhodes said. The center with a long list of activities that include bingo and card games, as well as rented space for some private dance lessons is a busy place on any given day.

“We are now in the process of rebranding ourselves,” Rhodes said. “What comes to mind is people that come to sit and knit and play games. We want people to know we are more active.”

Rhodes said movement has proven to keep minds active. “It helps to keep mind and memory going. I tease that we have a motto that ‘you’re not old until you’re dead!’ That actually came from my then 4-year-old grandson who is now in his teens. But it’s a good outlook on life.”

Rhodes herself is a good example of her own motto. At age 74, she retired once only to return to work at the center three years ago as manager. Sitting around as a retiree was not for her.

“I’ll retire when I stop having fun,” she said. She and Schaeufele set a goal of still being around when the Senior Dance celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Drawing a crowd to the dance floor

Today, the dances draw the maximum capacity of 160 attendees purchasing $7 tickets for a night of fun with live musical groups like husband and wife team Karl & Karen who will play for the anniversary dance, or DJ music provided by some of the best entertainers in the area. The cover charge pays for the music with $1 from each ticket reserved to pay for senior center expenses.

Because the club is a nonprofit, any leftover funds are used to purchase items for the center. Past purchases include a stereo system, paddle fans, tables and chairs, and this year some landscaping.

For anyone considering attending, Barbara Loughran who joined the club over a decade ago with Bill, her husband of 61 years, has some advice.

“I would tell people if they want a lovely evening out, a social evening, the people at the dances are so nice. Everybody knows everybody. If you don’t go, you are just missing out on a good time. You can just come, watch and have a good time. It is just a fun thing to do,” she said. “We love new people to come and encourage them to come.”

Malon and Cecilia McGee of Georgetown drive up to Myrtle Beach to participate. They were taking dance lessons 15 years ago when they attended a senior dance with some friends. They were looking for places to dance when they “fell in love” with the senior center dance group.

“As soon as you go in there, they just make you love them,” Malon McGee said. “You just fall in love, that’s how great they are. They make you feel so welcome and at ease.”

Rhodes said both couples and singles attend the dances and there are no restriction on participation, with one exception. “No restrictions except for behavior and we’ve had no problems so far,” she said with a grin.

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 5:33 AM with the headline "No age restrictions apply to seniors who enjoy dancing."