This retired nurse wants to give seniors a leg up
Uses dance to combat perception that older people are no longer productive
By Vanessa Lu
It is a typical summer’s day, and the main room in the Birkdale community centre on Ellesmere Rd. is just starting to warm up.
Carol Banez, 63, is switching into her white sneakers, getting ready for the Scarborough Ontario Seniors Association (SOSA) regular Saturday morning activity – line dancing.
People are slowly arriving, but by the time her 66-year-old husband Edd has the speaker system up and running, they are in position, ready to start.
But first, they stand for the national anthem, and then a catchy fast tune by the Soca Boys, and the words “follow the leader, leader, leader” get them going.
Close to 100 people, mostly Filipinos, form different lines, moving from left to right, some looking at their feet to focus on their steps, others at ease on the floor and adding hand flourishes.
“We treat it as exercise and it’s fun. If you tell me to go to the community centre or the gym, I’m not going to go,” said Victor Uyham, 62.
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