By Jill Blackman
It’s 11 p.m. on a Monday night and 80-year-old Archie Stalker has spent the past two hours twirling dance instructors around the room. His white shirt and black pants are neatly pressed and his white hair is only slightly out of place.
What began as a response to a free introductory class coupon has kept Stalker dancing for the past five years.
“I wanted to learn to dance,” he says, “It’s great fun and good exercise.”
Stalker is one of many students at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in the Glebe who is learning ballroom dance steps and staying healthy at the same time.
He dances four times per week, two hours at a time. He says he doesn’t have a regular exercise program, so this keeps him active and gets him out of the house.
“I am going to do it for as long as I can,” Stalker says.
Couples waltz, fox trot and rumba around the room to the beat of lively music. The women’s skirts fly freely as their partners spin them in circles. The occasional burst of laughter echoes through the room, often a reaction to a missed step.
Robert Morgan and his wife, Rachel, glide across the floor through various dance steps. “Big steps are hard on the hips. Small steps make it easier on the hips,” says their instructor Jason Chouinard, as he coaches them. “Stand up straight. Relax your shoulders. Keep your head up.”
The couple started lessons in November and have been coming once or twice per week for hour-long lessons. Rachel, a retired nurse, works out regularly at a gym, but says she enjoys dancing more.
“It’s more fun, more relaxed. It doesn’t feel like exercise.”
This total-body workout involves strength and endurance and can burn between 200-300 calories per hour.
“You’re using muscles you’ve never used before,” Chouinard tells them.
They have been practicing non-stop for the past hour. Their faces glow and beads of perspiration dot their hairlines. The collar of Robert’s light pink shirt is slightly damp.
“We’re sweating, you might not be able to tell,” he jokes.
Robert, an ophthalmologist, admits that he is not as athletic as his wife.
He used to ski and curl, but now only finds time to walk the dog. But he says he’s noticing the benefits of dancing.
“I’m not sure if I’ve lost [weight], but I think I have,” he says as he grabs his waist.
The couple has already registered for a year of lessons.
“It’s something we’ll be able to do when we’re 80,” says Rachel.
“It’s great for keeping the body active and great for the mind,” says studio director Melissa Krulick.
With sequences of steps that have to be memorized and performed in order, it’s a great mental workout as well. With repetition, the movements become part of muscle memory.
In nine years of teaching ballroom dance, Krulick says she has never seen any major injuries. Dance competitors and instructors have strained elbows and knees, but she says the most common complaint is stiff and sore muscles.
It’s a relatively inexpensive activity because it does not require special equipment. Students can dress in any clothes or shoes they feel comfortable wearing.
Krulick says women’s special shoes are more comfortable than they look. She says she teaches for about seven hours a day, and her only discomfort results from a partner stepping on her toe.